News issued by CILIP on 25 January 2010
A professionally recognised library and information degree is now available in Northern Ireland after a gap of many years. The MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programmes offered by the University of Ulster have recently been granted accreditation by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.
CILIP accreditation means students can graduate with a professionally recognised library and information degree. This will significantly enhance their career opportunities. In the longer term it will also help raise the status of library and information work in Northern Ireland.
Patricia McAdams, a student who works in the Derry Central Library explained that CILIP accreditation meant, “recognition of the work I have put in so far, and encouragement to finish the Masters.”
CILIP accreditation is only awarded after an in-depth and rigorous review of all aspects of the programmes. It assures students and employers that accredited courses meet the standards of the profession they are about to enter. The programmes are already attracting students from all sectors of the library and information management workforce.
Successful completion of a programme accredited by CILIP is the first step for candidates who intend to proceed towards Chartered membership of CILIP. Chartered membership means graduates can continue to develop the highest standards of professionalism in whichever aspect of librarianship, knowledge management or information science they practice.
Dr Ian Lovecy, Chair of the CILIP Accreditation Board explained the value of accreditation, it“indicates that students who successfully complete the course have been introduced to the full range of knowledge and skills required for information work.”
CILIP in Ireland is among the supporters of the accredited programmes and can provide a limited number of bursaries for CILIP members, to help with course fees.
The MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programmes could not have been developed without the support of library staff at the University of Ulster and the Library and Information Services Council (NI) Library Education Advisory Group. Students are drawn by the wide-ranging curriculum and the accessible and flexible nature of course delivery, much of which is via video-conference and brings together students at the University’s Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee campuses.
