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CILIPS Research Fund

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CILIPS Research Fund

The CILIPS Research Fund offers a unique opportunity to support research that contributes to Library and Information Sector advocacy in Scotland. The Fund was launched at our 2022 Annual Conference and makes available up to £10,000 per year in funding for researchers, practitioners, activists, students and other interested professionals whose work seeks to advance library advocacy.

Applications

  • The lead applicant must be a CILIPS member and applications are welcome from both individuals and larger groups.
  • Your application must include a letter of support from a relevant supporting organisation, such as a university or library service.
  • Applications must include a clear proposed timescale for completion, although this can be flexible according to arrangements with CILIPS.
  • Part funding of a piece of research is possible, including for aspects such as marketing or infographics. Applications should make clear the source(s) of any additional research funding, and whether this funding is applied for or confirmed.
  • Funding bid outputs can take a range of formats provided they stick to the overall criteria set out below.
  • A clear dissemination plan must be included in your application – e.g. your plans to share your findings at events or through infographics. All successful funding bids will involve a blog write-up for the CILIPS website and a presentation at a CILIPS event.

Assessment

Applications will be assessed by the CILIPS Finance and Staffing Committee, plus an active researcher from a LIS school. A key criteria for assessment will be that the research proposed makes a clear contribution to library advocacy.

We are open to proposals on any topic but the following can be used as a guide, based on recent discussions with the sector (not in order of priority):

  • Budgets and funding
  • The impact of school libraries
  • Professional identity/De-professionalisation
  • Censorship/Book banning
  • Critical librarianship – grounded in the CILIPS EDI commitment
  • Leadership
  • Future viability of collections
  • AI and libraries
  • Library led environmental sustainability
  • Media and information literacy

Funding

  • Evidence of how funding has been used and updates on research progress will be provided to the CILIPS Board via a report at a Board meeting in spring 2025 (unless alternative agreed).
  • As part of the funding process, CILIPS will offer all applicants training in advocacy best practice and in using Canva for creating research infographics.

For further information or to discuss any accessibility requirements that are relevant to applications for the Research Fund, please contact us at admin@cilips.org.uk.

CILIPS Research Fund 2024-5 successful bids

In 2025 the National Library of Scotland will celebrate 100 years with a centenary campaign influenced by the users of the library and the books that shaped them. The NLS has received funding from this year’s CILIPS Research Fund to review and assess the impact of a new library advocacy model related to the campaign. Their plan is to create a long-term, sustainable collaboration among the leading Scottish Library organisations, designed to strengthen collective advocacy for the library sector in Scotland, starting with a national centenary campaign to celebrate the value of libraries.

The funding will support research, monitor and evaluate partner engagement, interactions and project outcomes to inform and develop future collaborations within the sector. The research team will work in partnership with the Audience Agency – a mission-led charity whose purpose is to provide knowledge, data and insight to enable cultural organisations to increase their relevance, reach and resilience. The Agency would spend time with participating organisations after the campaign and gather the qualitative insights the team would need to both measure the effectiveness of the campaign but also put a legacy in place for this partnership.

The second project that we are thrilled to announce as part of the Research Fund 2024-2025, comes from Dr Bruce Ryan, a senior research fellow in the Applied Informatics Subject Group, within the School of Computing Engineering and the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University. The project seeks to expand on CILIPS’ current work on the spread of mis and disinformation. Delivering a foundation for advocacy on this topic, and how Scotland’s school librarians can work to support pupils to better understand the implications of mis and disinformation. The project’s research will endeavour to answer the following questions:

  • How involved are school librarians in enabling pupils’ handling of mis/disinformation?
  • What would they like to do to help pupils better prepare to handle mis/disinformation?
  • What training/support do they have and wish for?
  • How can they collaborate with teachers?
  • How can this be used to advocate for school librarians/libraries?

The project will compile and utilise both qualitative and quantitative data about the perspectives of school librarians through focus groups and interviews. The outputs of this research will include content hosted on the CILIPS blog, shareable infographics, a research paper and CILIPS conference session.

CILIPS Research Fund 2023-4 successful bids

Libraries as Agents of Sustainability Thinking in Scotland (LASTS) from the University of Strathclyde will explore the role of libraries in promoting sustainable thinking initiatives amongst Scottish school and public library users. Building on the findings of the ongoing SLIC Innovation and Development Fund project ‘Libraries for a Sustainable Future’, LASTS will develop an action plan and a toolkit for developing environmental literacy and sustainability. Aiming to promote user awareness, especially environmental literacy and sustainable thinking, LASTS intends to align the everyday lives of those living in Scotland with new knowledge in these areas, providing a structure that can be built on for the design and development of context-specific environmental literacy and awareness programmes in Scottish public and school libraries.

Also supported by the CILIPS Research Fund 2023-24, The National Library of Scotland plan to research, review and adapt the Carbon Literacy for Museums toolkit to create a tailored Carbon Literacy for Libraries Toolkit. The toolkit will provide a comprehensive introduction to carbon literacy: empowering library staff to take action to reduce the carbon footprint of their service through a one-day training course and standalone resource that, under creative commons licensing via the Carbon Literacy Project, can be cascaded to the wider library sector. The collated resources will empower library staff to make informed decisions on practical measures that support a sustainable working practice. The combination of the toolkit and training will allow library professionals to advocate for changes required across the sector to help us all tackle climate change.

CILIPS Research Fund 2022-3 successful bids

The first project the CILIPS Board provided funding for is (REVEAL) Reinforcing Ethics and Values for Effective Advocacy for Libraries from the University of Glasgow. This project will underpin library advocacy in Scotland by providing a professional development framework for the engagement with and dissemination of the ethics and core values of the profession, developing a free to use evidence-based training programme and infographic materials for the library workforce and other stakeholders to utilise.

‘I’m honoured and delighted to be among the first recipients of the CILIPS Research Fund,’ says lead researcher Dr David McMenemy. ‘The importance of effective advocacy for the library and information profession is hard to overstate, and the materials produced in the REVEAL project will be designed to be usable and accessible to people working in libraries as well as those advocates from outside the profession who understand the importance of effective library provision as a vital component of strong and vibrant communities across Scotland, and beyond.’

The CILIPS Board has also agreed to fund a second project, A beacon of hope: visioning libraries for the future, from Glasgow Women’s Library. Following on from recent research into GWL as a Transformative Space (highlighted in the CILIPS #LibrariesAreEssential – Scotland’s Stories advocacy campaign), this project will move beyond libraries in ‘survival mode’ to explore them as thriving hubs of activism that can change the world, challenge inequality and offer solutions to our climate crisis. GWL’s Net Zero Handbook will form a practical basis for a collaborative ‘visioning the future’ of libraries in dialogue with people that use library spaces both locally, digitally and in wider communities of interest.

‘Libraries are one of the only surviving commons. They are accessible, diverse spaces that allow people to imagine different futures, gather together, and nourish and share ideas,’ notes GWL Librarian Wendy Kirk. ‘We are thrilled to be able to ‘vision the future’ of libraries in dialogue with people who use our digital and physical spaces. Our research aims to move beyond the view of libraries in ‘survival mode’ to explore them as thriving hubs of activism and change. Thank you to CILIPS Research Fund for supporting our project.’

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