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2020 CILIP Conference by Emma Jambor, CILIP North West Bursary Winner



I was fortunate to be able to attend this year’s CILIP conference thanks to the CILIP NW bursary. As a current Library and Information Management postgraduate student at Manchester Metropolitan University, it sounded like a great opportunity to find out what’s going on in the profession, make new connections and perhaps develop early ideas for my dissertation.

Conference Day

The conference took place on the 19th November online. It was nice not to have to worry about travelling, with the added benefit of attending the conference wearing my slippers! 

On the day, I logged onto the platform early to explore the digital exhibition hall and programme. You could see how many other people were also looking at each page which was a very clever feature. Looking through the sessions for the day, there were so many options I wasn’t sure what to attend! Luckily all the sessions have been recorded so, when I have time, I hope to catch up on the ones I missed.

Keynote and Morning Sessions 

The day began with a highly interesting and relevant keynote from Richard Ovenden exploring the history of the destruction of information. Richard explained how professionals play a critical role in preserving information as a service to society in a time where information can be easily destroyed.

Following this I attended my first session of the day titled Empowered Digital Citizens, led by Ruth Carlyle and Bob Gann. Although I don’t have much experience of the health sector, it was interesting to hear about health literacy in relation to the current pandemic, and how digital health literacy is key to accessing and understanding information. I had not considered before how we all need to apply health literacy in our daily lives.

Following a quick tea break was a keynote from Jo Cornish who explored the importance of professional recognition and CILIP's vision for this. It developed my understanding of why professionalism is important for gaining recognition of our continuous development and unique skills so that we can bring about positive change.

Next, I attended The Digital Pivot, which explored how libraries and teaching staff have adapted to teaching online. The session was run by Jane Secker, Hossam Kassem, Crystal Fulton and Claire McGuinness. The session explained the challenges and opportunities that online learning has brought about. As a student, I have experienced online learning and appreciate the efforts of staff to adapt so that students can be supported digitally.

Presidential Address and yet more wisdom!

After lunch and another quick explore of the virtual exhibit hall was the Presidential address from Judy Broady-Preston who discussed how professional identities are formed. This was followed by an incredibly inspiring talk from Tracie D Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association. Tracie highlighted how the pandemic has brought the issue of digital exclusion to the fore. Without access to broadband, key information is inaccessible which results in information poverty. Tracie called on us to advocate for universal information access saying, ‘We must rise to the occasion’.  

The final session I attended was International - The role of libraries in crisis and recovery. The session brought together information professionals from around the world to explore how libraries have responded to the pandemic. It was interesting to see so many similarities between the responses of different sectors with each one adapting their service in order to ensure that their resources remain accessible. The speakers emphasised the resilience of libraries and the strength of our worldwide profession to change and evolve.

Concluding Thoughts

After a long day, I left the virtual conference feeling inspired and motivated. Attending the conference has expanded my understanding of a variety of topics including our professional identity and health literacy. It was a fantastic opportunity to feel connected to other professionals and also inspiring to hear about the profession’s response in these challenging times. 

I’d like to thank CILIP NW again for the opportunity to attend the conference.


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