Conference build-up 7

With just a week to go before conference we continue our look at the conference sessions. This time the Entrepreneurial Information Professional.




Annie Mauger and Rebecca Davies will talk about the changing landscapes of the library and information communities, and how we can better form partnerships particularly with users and with fellow professionals in the delivery of services. This session will also suggest how we can get noticed in the organisations we work in as key people to be involved and engaged with.  Annie and Rebecca will also talk about the kind of skills that we need to do this and how we already have them!

Annie Mauger

Annie joined CILIP as Chief Executive in October 2010 after a career in public libraries in England and Scotland for more than 20 years. She was Head of Libraries and Heritage for the City of York before becoming Chief Executive of MLA Yorkshire in 2003. After this she worked as a consultant to charities and public sector bodies and as Chief Executive of a charity for asylum seekers and refugees. She has a degree from Exeter, a PGDipLib from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and an Executive MBA from Leeds Metropolitan University. Annie is a passionate advocate for the skills and contribution of information professionals to society and economy, and speaks on this subject often to politicians, the media and other key stakeholders. She is currently working on her CILIP Fellowship.

Rebecca Davies

Rebecca is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student and Staff Services at Aberystwyth University and performs the function of Chief Operating Officer.  Rebecca is a graduate of Aberystwyth University where she studied Librarianship and Education, and also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Almost 20 years later she returned to Aberystwyth as Director of Information Services, and was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor in 2011. Prior to this appointment she was the Head of the Assembly Library & Public Enquiry Service for the Welsh Assembly Government (2002). Her early career focused on health information provision and research and included; working within a health promotion unit, as Nursing Librarian at Trinity College, Carmarthen, as researcher at the Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University and as Health Science Librarian for the School of Health Science, University of Wales, Swansea.  Rebecca is passionate about libraries and using technology to make life easier and delivering excellent services.

End Note

We have two librarian Pro Vice-Chancellors presenting  at the CILIP Cymru Conference this year: Rebecca and Maxine Melling. Does this career pathway epitomize the entrepreneurial information professional? Is this something that you aspire to? Are you planning for your career, or is this a more organic process for you? Is there a point on the career horizon that you are heading for? How will you get there?

We will also be celebrating achievement, innovation and impact with the inaugural Welsh Librarian of the Year Award. It will be fascinating to see if Rebecca and Annie's description of the entrepreneurial professional mirrors what we see in our nominees and winner! 

Image Credit: Geralt via Pixabay (Public Domain CC0 image)