CILIP

What CILIP does

CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) is the UK's chartered professional body for librarians, information specialists, and knowledge managers, operating under a Royal Charter since 2002 (in succession to the Library Association founded in 1877). It is registered as a charity in England and Wales (Charity No. 313014) and Scotland (SC049474), headquartered in London with regional offices in Glasgow (CILIP Scotland) and Derry/Londonderry (CILIP Ireland). The organisation serves four distinct constituencies: individual information professionals (membership and professional registration), employers (the Employer Partner Scheme across Standard Plus, Value, and Premium tiers), library/information product suppliers (the Supplier Partner Scheme, advertising, and the Annual Buyers' Guide), and learning providers (academic degree accreditation and short-course accreditation). Its flagship credentialing framework offers three levels of professional registration — Certification (ACLIP), Chartership (MCLIP), and Fellowship (FCLIP) — with reciprocal recognition agreements with the American, Australian, and Irish library associations.

CILIP's core products centre on community, credentials, and content rather than proprietary technology. The Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB) is an interactive skills-mapping tool marketed as the internationally recognised sector skills standard; CILIP Pathways operates as the UK government's designated End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) for Level 3 and Level 4 LIS apprenticeships; the eLearning Hub delivers courses such as Digital Leadership for Libraries, Leading Libraries, and Stepping into Leadership. Content products include the Information Professional magazine (print, digital, and mobile app), the Pen&inc. publication, the annual Buyers' Guide Directory, the Salary Guide, and the Information Professional Jobs board. Events include the annual CILIP Conference, Supplier Showcase, Copyright Conference (with AI-themed programming), and Data Protection Conference. The underlying technology stack is not proprietary; the membership platform runs on YourMembership by Community Brands and the organisation holds Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications.

The revenue model is multi-stream and subscription-recurring at its core: individual memberships at £45–£181/year (students to standard, with concessionary rates), organisational Employer Partner fees at £600–£750+/year, Supplier Partner annual fees, Professional Registration enrolment and submission fees, advertising on the Information Professional Jobs board (with Employer Partner discounts), Information Professional magazine subscriptions, and event/exhibition/sponsorship revenue from the CILIP Conference and Supplier Showcase. The go-to-market is community-led, combining regional member networks (eight in England plus three devolved nation entities), 20+ Special Interest Groups, diversity networks, advocacy campaigns (e.g., #GreatSchoolLibraries), and partnerships with Arts Council England, Libraries Connected, and Jisc. Marketing channels span the cilip.org.uk website, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, fortnightly email newsletters via Dot Digital, podcasts, and a press office. Financial results are not publicly disclosed, and CILIP operates without venture, private equity, or parent-company ownership.

Name

CILIP

Legal name

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

Website

https://cilip.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) is the UK Royal Charter-backed professional body and registered charity for librarians, information specialists, and knowledge managers, serving individual members, employer organisations, suppliers, and learning providers through membership, professional registration (ACLIP/MCLIP/FCLIP), accreditation, and training products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Library and information science
• Professional registration
• Knowledge management certification
• Continuing professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Fees: Annual subscription fees from individual members including students, standard members, and registered professionals. Fees range from concessionary rates to standard rates, payable monthly or annually.
2. Employer Partner Scheme: Organizational membership tiers (Standard Plus at £750/year, Value at £600/year, Premium at negotiated rate) providing employer organizations with workforce development benefits, webinars, recruitment advertising discounts, and access to PKSB tools.
3. Supplier Partner Scheme: Annual partnership fees for library and information product/service suppliers to access members, advertising, and exhibition opportunities.
4. Event Exhibitions and Sponsorships: Revenue from exhibiting at CILIP Conference and Supplier Showcase events, including sponsorship opportunities.
5. Advertising - Information Professional Jobs: Recruitment advertising on the Information Professional Jobs board, with discounted rates for Employer Partners.
6. Information Professional Magazine: Subscription revenue from non-members for the Information Professional magazine, available in UK and international editions.
7. Professional Registration Fees: Separate enrolment and submission fees for Certification (ACLIP), Chartership (MCLIP), and Fellowship (FCLIP) professional registration programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CILIP is the UK chartered professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers, providing individual and organisational membership subscriptions, Royal Charter-backed professional registration (Certification, Chartership, Fellowship), course accreditation for academic and short courses, skills assessment via the PKSB tool, eLearning, events and conferences, recruitment advertising, and sector advocacy. It operates as a registered charity and represents approximately 87,000 information professionals across the UK.

Product overview

CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) is a professional association and charity serving the UK library and information profession. The organisation operates a membership platform providing individual and organisational membership tiers, professional registration (Certification/Chartership/Fellowship), and course accreditation services. Key products include the Information Professional magazine, the eLearning Hub with online courses (Digital Leadership, Impact Toolkit, Leading Libraries), the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB) skills assessment tool, and the Annual Buyers' Guide Directory. CILIP also runs events including the annual Conference, Supplier Showcase, Copyright Conference, and Data Protection Conference. Organisational offerings include the Employer Partner Scheme and Supplier Partner Scheme. The organisation provides apprenticeship endpoint assessment through CILIP Pathways and operates recruitment advertising through Information Professional Jobs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Information Professional: CILIP's member magazine for Information, Knowledge and Library workers in all sectors, providing the latest news, insight and in-depth reporting from across the profession.
• Pen&inc.
• CILIP Connect Toolkit
• Impact Toolkit
• PKSB (Professional Knowledge and Skills Base)
• CILIP Pathways

Products and services

• CILIP Individual Membership Annual or monthly subscription membership for librarians, knowledge managers, information specialists and students, providing access to CPD, networking, the Information Professional magazine, eLearning Hub, PKSB and member benefits. Priced at £68/yr (student), £181/yr (standard) and £109/yr (concession).
• Employer Partner Scheme Organisational membership with three pricing tiers — Standard Plus (£750/yr), Value (£600/yr) and Premium (price on application, for 250+ staff or 3+ bundled memberships) — offering workforce development benefits, webinars, individual CILIP memberships, recruitment advertising discounts (15-20%), PKSB access and badging for employer organisations.
• Supplier Partner Scheme Annual partnership programme providing library and information sector suppliers with advertising opportunities, exhibition placement at Supplier Showcase events, and inclusion in the supplier directory to reach the 87,000-strong CILIP member community.
• Professional Registration (Certification, Chartership, Fellowship) Royal Charter-backed credentialing programme granting postnominals ACLIP (Certification), MCLIP (Chartership) and FCLIP (Fellowship) to information professionals, with annual revalidation requiring minimum 20 hours CPD plus a 250-word reflective statement. Also includes a Knowledge Management Chartership and Apprentice Conversion to ACLIP route.
• Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB) Interactive online skills mapping tool and internationally recognised sector skills standard for the information, knowledge, library and data profession, used by individual members for CPD planning and by Employer Partners for workforce development.
• eLearning Hub Online learning platform delivering structured courses (Digital Leadership for Libraries, Impact Toolkit, Introduction to Research Skills, Leading Libraries, Stepping into Leadership) plus open access webinars and recorded past sessions for CILIP members.
• Information Professional Magazine CILIP's flagship member magazine covering news, insight and in-depth reporting for information, knowledge and library workers across all sectors, available in print, digital and via a mobile app for iOS and Android with access to the digital archive, Pen&inc. and the Annual Buyers' Guide.
• Academic Accreditation Quality assurance accreditation for university undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes preparing graduates for professional practice in library, data, information and knowledge sectors, with international reciprocal recognition via agreements with ALA, ALIA and LAI.
• Short Course Accreditation Quality assurance accreditation for shorter and modular courses in Library, Knowledge or Information fields that do not lead to formal qualifications, offered to learning providers seeking professional body endorsement.
• CILIP Pathways (Apprenticeship End Point Assessment) End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) operating as CILIP Pathways for the Level 3 Library, Information and Archives Services Assistant apprenticeship Standard and the Level 4 Information Manager standard, providing quality assessment of apprentices on LIS programmes.
• Annual Buyers' Guide Directory Annual published directory described as the most comprehensive listing of suppliers' products and services to the library, information and knowledge sector, used by procurement decision-makers to identify vendors.
• Information Professional Jobs Board Specialist online job board serving the information, knowledge management and library sector, offering free job seeker access and paid recruitment advertising for employers, with discounts available to Employer Partners.
• Register of Practitioners Public online registry that enables verification of a CILIP practitioner's professional standing, displaying their postnominals and most recent revalidation date.
• CILIP Conference Annual flagship conference bringing together the global health information community and library professionals for knowledge exchange, networking and professional development, with paid delegate tickets and sponsorship opportunities.
• Supplier Showcase Annual buying event featuring product demonstrations and 1:1 meetings between library sector suppliers and procurement decision-makers, with exhibition and sponsorship packages available.
• Copyright Conference Annual conference focused on copyright law, AI implications, international perspectives and orphan works issues for library and information professionals.
• Data Protection Conference Annual conference featuring data protection experts, with the Information Commissioner's Office delivering a keynote and additional speakers from the Turing Institute, Scottish Funding Council, Oxfam and other major institutions.
• Salary Guide Salary benchmarking research resource providing pay reference data for the knowledge, information and library sector, used by members for career planning and by employers for compensation benchmarking.
• Benevolent Fund Independent charity providing financial assistance and welfare support to CILIP members and their families experiencing financial hardship, funded through voluntary contributions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 64.8% of the workforce earning £40,000 or more hold a professional qualification, indicating career and earnings benefit of professional registration

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Library Association of Ireland (LAI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2019Reciprocal recognition agreement for undergraduate, post-graduate and Master's level degree programmes. 'The Library Association of Ireland and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals recognise the undergraduate, post-graduate and Master's level degree programmes accredited by each of the associations.'
• Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2017Reciprocal agreement for degree recognition. ALIA and CILIP recognize each other's Bachelor Degree and Post Graduate Diploma programs accredited by each association.
• American Library Association (ALA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal agreement recognizing that academic qualifications accredited by ALA are accepted in the UK for professional purposes. 'The American Library Association and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals recognise the Master's-level Degree programmes accredited by each of the two associations.' Updated 15 May 2017.
• UK ENIC (National Information Centre)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCILIP refers international qualification holders to UK ENIC for verification of overseas qualifications that may be accepted in the UK.
• JisccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJisc is referenced in the context of negotiating big deal publishing offers with universities, working fine-tune deals for the sector. CILIP engages with Jisc on sector-wide initiatives.
• Libraries ConnectedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCILIP and Libraries Connected partner with Arts Council England on the Public Library Skills Strategy to develop the public library workforce of the future.
• Arts Council EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CILIP and Libraries Connected on the Public Library Skills Strategy to develop the public library workforce.
• Sage PublicationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCILIP members receive free access to Sage journals as a member benefit, covering a broad range of library and information topics.
• ProQuestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCILIP members receive free access to ProQuest journals as a member benefit.
• Library Juice AcademyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployer Partners receive 20% discount on online learning from Library Juice Academy, which focuses on practical library, information and knowledge skills.
• School Libraries Association (SLA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCILIP co-leads the #GreatSchoolLibraries campaign jointly with CILIP School Libraries Group and the School Libraries Association.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CILIPinfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCz8QaiJQD8S_EHlS/iPro
• Facebookfacebook.com/119527011399432
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cilip
• Instagraminstagram.com/cilip_info

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CILIP