CILIPS Awards 2025
Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year 2025
Nominations Now Open
Sponsored by Bolinda Digital
Scotland’s Library & Information Professional of the Year Award, generously sponsored by Bolinda Digital, is given to an individual who has been an outstanding library or information worker in the past 12 months. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 25th April.
Nominations are judged on the following criteria:
- Making a positive contribution to the lives of the nominee’s service users and/or library community
- The nominee’s commitment to wider profession
- Outstanding practice and/or achievements within the nominee’s workplace or service
- Innovation in the nominee’s role or service
Shortlisted candidates all receive a free place at the CILIPS Annual Conference, where the award winner’s name is announced. The winner also receives a prize of £500.
Award Sponsors
Bolinda Digital is an industry leading audiobook publisher, supplying libraries with audiobook content for over 30 years. Bolinda’s innovative lending platform BorrowBox, is the number one solution in the UK and offers a complete end-to-end service to libraries, with the best and most exclusive range of eAudiobooks and eBooks, since digital lending began. BorrowBox allows users to browse, download and borrow eContent in one easy to use app. It is the library that never closes.
The Ian McCracken Awards
Two additional awards for professional practice have been made possible for the next nine years thanks to a generous donation by former CILIPS Trustee Ian McCracken. Ian served on the CILIPS Board for a number of years, in addition to several sub-groups, and he is an Honorary Member of CILIP Scotland.
The Ian McCracken Innovator Award
This is a £500 prize for an individual who has carried out innovative work in their role and created change.
The Ian McCracken Outstanding Achievement Award
This is a £350 prize for an individual who has achieved something outstanding within the past 12 months.
How to Apply
The deadline for all three 2025 CILIPS awards is 5pm on Friday 25th April.
Please click here for the nomination form.
To make the application process as simple as possible, there is a single application form for all three CILIPS Awards: Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year, The Ian McCracken Innovator Award, and The Ian McCracken Outstanding Achievement Award.
You can nominate yourself or a fellow CILIPS member for one, two or all three awards. Please use the tick boxes on the form to confirm which awards you would like your application to be considered for. Nominees must be members of CILIP who live or work in Scotland.
Nominations for Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year will be assessed on their answers to all four questions on this form. To be considered for this award, you must answer questions one, two, three and four.
Nominations for The Ian McCracken Outstanding Achievement Award will be assessed on their ‘outstanding practice and achievements’ answer only. To be considered for this award, you need only answer question three.
Nominations for The Ian McCracken Innovator Award will be assessed on their ‘innovation in role or service’ answer only. To be considered for this award, you need only answer question four.
