Leading Librarians

Dr Judith Broady-Preston

Leading Librarians!
Dr Judith Broady-Preston, a lecturer at Aberystwyth University's Department of Information Studies, has been elected Leader of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)

Dr Broady-Preston, who was elected as one of 12 trustees to the new CILIP Council in December 2007, will be working with other Council members to forge the Institute's strategy for the review and development of the profession.

Her appointment, which is for a fixed period until 30th June 2008, was announced following the recent launch of CILIP’s new vision for the role of information professionals in the rapidly developing arena of global information resources.

Dr Broady-Preston believes that this is an opportunity to participate in shaping the future of the 21,000 member professional association, and therefore of the profession itself.

“The priorities for effective management of information resources and the services that provide public and commercial access to those resources have widened well beyond the scope of traditional service provision”, she said.

“We are living in exciting times, with so many new developments enabling us to move forward in ways hitherto undreamt of, and it is important that we make the right decisions about our profession and its future.”

“Research regarding the tools for storing, retrieving, and processing information has more recently been developed through investigations of personal and organisational knowledge as resources. Current studies are investigating public expectations regarding access to information and the perceptions of intermediary information services in meeting those expectations. CILIP’s members represent a wide range of individuals whose initial involvement in the field of information services is enhanced by professional development opportunities,” she added.

CILIP is the national agency for determining and auditing standards for professional practice for professionals working in the sector. It also accredits education and training for the purposes of validating professional status among information staff and its accredited qualifications are recognised by equivalent agencies throughout the world.

In her previous role as Chair of the Chartered Institute’s division in Wales (CILIP Cymru/CILIP/Wales), Dr Broady-Preston oversaw rapid development in the network of public and commercial information services in Wales. This included liaison role with the Welsh Assembly Government’s division for Museums, Archives & Libraries (CyMAL), the Welsh Higher Education Libraries Forum (WHELF), Society of Chief Librarians as well as the National Library of Wales

There are currently 29 special interest groups which represent the range of professional involvement and investigation into traditional and emerging subject areas. Further information is at: http://www.cilip.org.uk/

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