I am finding all the discussion about the perception of charter
membership vs regular membership of CILIP extremely interesting and the
debate invigorating - it's nice to see that we, at least view ourselves
as a true "profession". Information Professionals in North America are
not often recognized as true "professionals" in the same way as lawyers,
accountants and other such professions with Association regulated
certifications. This is sadly reflected in the current low salaries for
positions that require the same level of education and professional
involvement. The ALA is attempting to address the issue of low salaries
through an advocacy campaign for better salaries and pay equity here in
the US, however, I believe that a professional standard of achievement
such as chartered membership would be beneficial for raising the
perceived status of Librarians as "professionals".
I am a Canadian working in the US and an overseas member of CILIP, with
aspirations to work overseas. I am very much interested in the charter
membership process as neither the ALA nor the CLA currently offer any
such professional certification of librarians as CILIP does for
Information Professionals or ARMA does for Records Managers. I am
curious if this status is open to overseas members, and if so how many
overseas members currently hold chartered status? If there are any
overseas chartered members I would be interested to hear about their
experiences.
Sandra Dunkin
13225 N. Fountain Hills Blvd. Apt. 203
Fountain Hills, Arizona 85268
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