Building your portfolio: the CILIP guide
July 23, 2009
Since the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) introduced the Framework of Qualifications (FoQ) in April 2005, overturning established methods of achieving Chartership, and introducing new qualifications, there has been a hunger for guidance among both candidates and those (such as mentors) attempting to support them. This guide, stated as being at least partly a response to queries made to CILIP, is one of the more substantial offerings made. Contributors include candidates and successful achievers of the various awards as well as CILIP officials and familiar writers in the field such as Keith Trickey.
My personal experience as a mentor since 2005 (including at a somewhat ill tempered mentor training event early on...) is that, inevitably given the newness of the FoQ, there is something of a mismatch between the expectations of at least some candidates (and mentors), of a clear set of rules, a syllabus, etc (in some cases reflecting their experience of the former Chartership regulations), and the rather more flexible, unprescriptive nature of the current system. While this flexibility is essentially beneficial it can be productive of anxiety, especially when it is accompanied as now by a formidable paperwork battery, form filling etc. The book’s foreword suggests that the perceived difficulty is in the construction of a portfolio at all, while my impression is that anxieties are focussed on ‘getting it right’ – which the format required is secondary to.
This disjunction to some extent is reflected in the book, although overall it is extremely useful and to be recommended to anyone contemplating involvement with the FoQ. However, most and probably all the content could be absorbed by a judicious reading of the material on the CILIP website, and by asking peers and mentors otherwise (the continual anxieties over the exact format required of the _final_ Chartership PPDP will not be completely solved by this book, for example). There is a risk in these kinds of publications being seen as prescriptive (some discussion on mailing lists of what are intended as suggestions in the text has shown that some candidates at least have taken this view), and the reader should be aware of the varied intentions of the individual chapters, and authors.
The initial chapters well describe the overall Framework and the assessment criteria used, which are frequently overlooked when deciding what CILIP is actually looking for in a submission. More concrete examples would be useful here though. Assessment methods for Certification and Revalidation are also currently under review which obviously the time of publishing could not take account of.
The early chapter on reflective writing is well positioned as it is a crucial skill for all the qualifications – but here the split discussed above shows. It is not made clear enough here (or in the Chartership Handbook, for that matter), that it is _this_ that is most likely to meet the required criteria, rather than a stack of certificates. There is a risk of chapters such as this being skipped past by the reader expecting a ‘how to’ guide, to their own loss. A clear link between this chapter and that on evidence would have solved the problem.
The chapters covering CVs, Personal/Professional Development Plans (PDPs) and personal statements are all practical and helpful, with a good balance of case studies and ‘personal voice’ narrative from people at various stages in the FoQ. Again readers need to be wary of reading their examples in an overly prescriptive manner – some material shown is a suggested way of recording one’s development, not a ‘CILIP approved’ method of final presentation, and since all levels of the FoQ are discussed not all case studies will be similarly applicable. The case studies though are probably the most worthwhile part of the book, particularly for candidates working in isolation. One also indicates how the Body of Professional Knowledge can be used, which most candidates have difficulty with.
Overall then a welcome and useful book, but not a substitute for reading the CILIP guidance and successful submissions, and one repaying thoughtful reading rather than precise following of instructions.
- Author
- Margaret Watson
- ISBN
- 9781856046121
- Publisher
- Facet Publishing
- Publisher's website
- http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk