If all senior staff/employees of Cilip are members then indeed it can be
called 'a member led organisation', however there doesn't seem to be a great
deal of evidence to support the idea that senior Cilip management are indeed
member led or consider that this is the case. As an example: Over the last
few years there have been numerous discussions on both the Workplace and
Solo lists, some of which have included formal representation and feedback
to Cilip by members. A number of times members have made proposals,
including several requests for better information flows from Cilip about
what they are doing regarding proposals about the way Cilip is run, plus a
number of new initiatives have been requested and proposed by members. I
have not yet seen much (if any) evidence of Cilip responding to the lead
that members have proposed. Some ideas may well have been taken-up by senior
management, however that is no more evidence of Cilip being a member led
organisation than it is of one where the senior management being bereft of
positive ideas themselves have used the membership to achieve this.
Perhaps, if indeed Cilip is a member led organisation, someone can let this
individual (who is proud to be a member) know the following...
1 - How many proposals/initiatives have been put to Cilip from the grass
roots level (over say) the last 5 years?
2 - How many proposals/initiatives in total Cilip have actually introduced
over that time frame?
3 - what percentage of those proposals/initiatives that have been introduced
were generated at the grass roots level?
It may be that Cilip does not keep a record of such things, but then that in
itself is evidence that Cilip does not consider proposals from it's members
as worthy of noting, let alone acting on.
It may indeed be a laudable aim to have Cilip as a truly member run
professional body but as things stand at the moment that simply is not the
case in reality as far as I have seen.
Bert Washington.
-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Edward Dudley
Sent: 03 November 2004 17:34
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CILIP Subscriptions
Now that the discussion on flat rate subs seems to have run its course, it
strikes me that many of the questions raised on this list and elsewhere
should be asked at any time about what CILIP should be doing with our
money, what are its priorities, and don't need to be sparked off by a
proposed change in subscriptions. And given that we are a 'member led'
institution, a little more leadership from the bottom is needed. And we
have the means, for each of us is a member of a Branch which has a CILIP
Councillor and most of us of two or more special interest groups, each
with a Councillor and there are nationally elected Councillors.
On the CILIP website there are the names of Councillors and of the
Committees of Branches and Groups with addresses and in many cases email
addresses, all indicating where leadership from the bottom can start
(you'll find me as a member of the Committee of the newly formed Cilip in
London). Ask them questions and tell them about your CILIP worries and
joys.
And at our professional election times an improvement in the percentage of
members voting (it's usually in the very low double figures) is another
opportunity for leading from the bottom. It's not a member led
institution if members fail to lead.
Edward Dudley
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