Skip to main content

2019 CILIP Conference by Julie Burrell, CILIP North West Bursary Winner






Recently, I was lucky enough to attend this year’s CILIP conference, thanks to a bursary from the CILIP NW Member Network. 

As a recently qualified library professional, who’d never attended a conference before, the CILIP conference seemed the perfect place to start, especially as it was being held just down the road at Manchester University. So I submitted a short bursary application form, kept my fingers crossed and was delighted to receive an email a few days later telling me I’d been awarded a place at the conference! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Fast forward to the morning of 3rd July…

The excitement was now mixed with a healthy dose of apprehension. What if I didn’t know anyone else there? Was I wearing the right clothes? The questions went round and round in my head but luckily, all of my fears were allayed as soon as I stepped inside University Place. I instantly spotted a couple of work colleagues, and soon met up with a couple of other familiar faces too. I was greeted with a warm welcome at the registration desk and was relieved to see a wide range of outfits on display amongst the other delegates! So, now on with the conference! It was such a jam-packed 2 days that there’s no way I can discuss everything, so I just wanted to pull out a few of my highlights:

Day 1

Kriti Sharma
Kriti delivered the opening keynote, which posed the question “Can AI create a fairer world?” Her talk explained how a lack of diversity in AI and machine learning leads to the development of biased algorithms that have a negative impact on our social fabric. She spoke passionately about the potential AI has to create a more positive impact on society, and reminded us that how the next decade looks depends on the systems that are created now. This speech was both funny and interesting – the perfect way to start the day!

Media and information literacy panel
I am currently developing a digital identity and well-being workshop with a colleague, so this session was a perfect fit for me. It was great to hear from speakers who were actively involved in projects in this area, and I especially enjoyed Sangeet Bhullar’s presentation on promoting digital literacy and wellbeing for children and young people, which left me with a lot of food for thought.


Slide from Sangeet Bhullar's presentation
Day 2

Shirley Yearwood-Jackman
Diversity was one of the overriding themes of this year’s conference and it was again evident in Shirley’s breakfast seminar about the BAME network and Allies forum. This was another thought-provoking session, which really challenged me to consider my power and privilege as a member of a dominant group, and think about ways in which I could use this to promote the rights of non-dominant/marginalised groups. I’ve since signed up to the Allies forum as a result of attending the seminar, and I’m really keen to hear more from them and the BAME network in the future.

CILIP Leaders Network
Whilst not currently in a leadership role, I went along to this series of lightning talks in the hope of picking up some useful career tips. And it certainly didn’t disappoint. Although the speakers were a diverse bunch who worked in a variety of sectors, a number of common themes emerged; the importance of establishing a work-life balance, self-reflection and engaging with CPD were just three of the things I took away with me. I’m also determined to take part in more peer observation and see if I can seek out a mentor too.

Higher Education Developments seminar
As I currently work in a university library, this seminar seemed like an obvious choice. The talks covered topics including the new Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) and Open Access publishing, with the most relevant from my personal point of view being Ann Rossiter’s talk on challenge, creativity and drivers for transformation. Ann addressed each challenge in turn, before closing with eight predictions for the university library of the future. As someone who is right at the start of their career, it will be interesting to see which if any of these come to pass over time.

To sum it all up, I had a fantastic time at CILIP 2019. I feel lucky to have listened to so many amazing speakers who were passionate about making libraries work better for users and staff alike. I definitely feel that I did a lot of learning over the 2 days of the conference and left feeling inspired, hopeful and uplifted. Thank you so much to CILIP North West for this amazing opportunity. I’ll definitely be applying for more bursaries in the future - and would encourage anyone else to do likewise!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Careers Support Conversations Programme: Job Searches and Applications - additional resources

Thank you to everyone who attended our first Careers Conversations event - we hope it is the first of many and welcome any and all feedback on the programme. Please keep an eye on our newsletter , social media and website for upcoming events.  Please find below a summary of the major points discussed during the session. Underneath this summary, please find links to useful resources for the job searching and application process for several library and information sectors; The session began with a discussion about where individuals typically look for job listings and analysis of some of the bigger providers. Along with the resources listed below, possible locations for job listings include noting listings on recruitment agencies and applying directly, looking at organisations that are being refurbished or expanded upon as they may account for new roles, and the information and archiving teams within unions. It was noted that it is worthwhile looking at roles outside of one's chosen ...

CILIP North West: Summary of 2021

 As 2021 is coming to an end, let’s reflect on the year and look to what we would like to achieve in the future. The CILIP North West committee would like to thank our member network for your continued support and engagement. We wish you all the best for the new year. Events As we continue to adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, collaboration for many of us continues to take place online. The CILIP North West committee has held a number of online events this year, which has allowed us to reach a wider audience and collaborate with other organisations.  Our Professional Registration Support Officers, Gil Young and Victoria Treadway, have held a number of Revalidate in a Morning events this year: • 2 joint sessions with CILIP North West & Academic Research Libraries Group North West (January and July 2021) • 1 for Health Education England library team (July 2021) • 1 as part of the Professional Registration Support Officer Network (September 2021). As well as these...

My experience of the CILIP Conference 2025 by Sarah Kaye

On Wednesday 2 nd July, I travelled from Cheshire to Birmingham for a day at the CILIP Conference 2025. After registering and being given a map and a timetable, I entered the exhibition room which was pulsing with excitement. People were hugging each other and shaking hands, waving from across the room and running to say hello with huge smiles on their faces. This was obviously an opportunity for colleagues and friends to come together and celebrate librarianship as well as for librarians like me to network and build new connections. After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I spoke to the people on the Better World Books stand and the BorrowBox stand. These were both brands I recognised due to Cheshire ELS working with them. Although I knew about what those companies did, it was lovely for me to ask questions, learn more about different project they were undertaking and some of the history of the companies. I walked away feeling more confident and uplifted. The opening comments by Lo...