Established | 2002 |
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Website | www |
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. CILIP’s vision is a fair and economically prosperous society underpinned by literacy, access to information and the transfer of knowledge. CILIP has 13,470 members as of May 2014.
It was formed in 2002 by the merger of the Library Association (abbreviated as LA or sometimes LAUK) – founded in 1877 as a result of the first International Conference of Librarians and awarded a Royal Charter in 1898 – and the Institute of Information Scientists, founded in 1958. Membership is not compulsory for practice, but members can work towards Chartered Membership which entitles them to the postnominal letters MCLIP, and subsequently toward Fellowship (FCLIP) [sic]. These are roughly equivalent to the Library Association's postnominal letters ALA (Associate of the Library Association) and FLA (Fellow of the Library Association). Affiliated members can also obtain ACLIP upon completing certification. Honorary Fellowship (HonFCLIP or FCLIP(hc)), a qualification akin to an honorary degree, is granted to a small number of people who have rendered distinguished service to the profession.
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has its headquarters at number 7 Ridgmount Street, London; the building was purpose-built in 1965 as the headquarters of the Library Association, one of CILIP's predecessors. The previous headquarters of the Library Association was Chaucer House, in Malet Street, London.
From 1899 to 2002 the Library Association published a monthly journal, the Library Association Record (ISSN 0024-2195). Since 2002 CILIP has published Library & Information Update (ISSN 1476-7171).
The following information on CILIP Membership numbers is taken from CILIP Council reports, with the exceptions of the estimates for 2002, 2003 and 2005. Membership numbers for 2004 and 2006 are not available.
CILIP accredits degree programmes in library and information science at universities in the UK, including Aberystwyth University, City University, London, Loughborough University, the Manchester Metropolitan University, the Robert Gordon University, the University of Sheffield and University College London.