Presentation given by Carol Brooks, Viki Lagus and Karen Newton at Umbrella conference, Hatfield, July 2009

1. Portfolio Building
Viki Lagus
Karen Newton
Carol Brooks

2. Learning outcomes
• An understanding of what a portfolio is in this context
and why CILIP requires one as submission for its
qualifications
• Ideas about how to construct your portfolio
• Awareness of the types of evidence you can include
in your portfolio
• Improved awareness of the regulations and
assessment criteria
• Awareness of support networks available to help you
• Confidence to progress towards gaining your CILIP
qualification successfully

3. Why portfolios?
• Gather and present evidence
• Focus mind on past experience
• Beneficial to you and employer – recognising skill and
contribution
• Aid reflection for appraisal, career change, new job –
improved performance and career prospects
• Demonstrating your professional judgement in
material selected

4. Chartership criteria
• An ability to reflect critically on personal performance
and to evaluate service performance
• Active commitment to continuing professional
development
• An ability to analyse personal and professional
development and progression with reference to
experiential and developmental activities
• Breadth of professional knowledge and
understanding of the wider professional context

5. Content of Chartership portfolio
• Contents table
• Curriculum Vitae (CV), including title and descriptions
of the posts you have held
• Personal Professional Development Plan (PPDP)
• Personal Evaluative Statement (max 1000 words)
which (i) explains why you chose the material
included in your portfolio (ii) includes outcomes of
developmental activities in which you have
participated and an evaluation of how they have
contributed to your professional development (iii) is
cross referenced to other items in your portfolio

6. Content of Chartership portfolio
• Materials selected to show that you understand the
objectives of the organisation and information
service/products and are able to analyse how
effectively these objectives are met
• Organisational structure charts, where appropriate
• Job Description
• Evidence of participation in a mentor scheme

7. Getting started
• Start now and keep a record of everything
• Use a box, folder, online tool – whatever suits you
• Keep everything - then use your professional
judgement to select what is important to include in
your portfolio, what shows you in the best
professional light
• Review your learning/experience regularly – evaluate
what happened and how it helped your development

8. Being evaluative
• Where you’ve had training you need to show what
outcome there has been, any worthwhile benefits, if it
has changed the way you work…
• Follow a statement about a developmental activity
with what you liked / disliked about it. What would you
do differently?
• When you make a point say why observation is
important, say what problems are (if any), say what
you think / feel / believe should happen instead.

9. Evaluative statement
• Be strict about the word limit
• Analyse, reflect, evaluate
• Be constructively critical
• Show awareness of the wider profession and
professional community
• Show commitment to Continuing Professional
Development

10. Evidence..be selective..
• In selecting the best pieces of evidence you
demonstrate professional judgement
• Evidence your portfolio can include:
– Certificates
– Contribution to professional press (book review?)
– Training undertaken & evaluation
– Reports on events, visits or meetings

11. Evidence..be selective..
• Evidence your portfolio can include:
– Bibliography
– Evidence of work based learning (publicity created, emails,
enquiries from colleagues or users)
– Web pages
– Membership of professional networks
– Examples of commitment to CPD
– Even relevant non-library experience

12. Structure
• Check you have included all essential documents
• Create a useful contents page
• Divide into clearly marked sections
• Be selective: each document should show something
unique
• Use documents as evidence for more than one area

13. Presentation
• Check in the handbook that you have met all the
criteria.
• Check other regulations and ensure portfolio meets
all requirements, for example
– It is word processed in 12pt font
– It is single sided
– It includes page numbers

14. Submission of portfolio
• Get someone to proof-read your work
• Make sure it is securely bound (ring/comb binding is
preferred)
• Clearly identify your work
• Submit correct number of copies
• Include appropriate forms
• Include correct fee
• If in doubt, ask!

15. Support available
• Your mentor
• Career Development Group and Candidate Support
Officers
• CILIP website
• Email discussion lists (lis-cilip-reg, lis-cilip-aclip, lis-
cilip-reval, and CILIP Communities)
• Informal Chartership groups (colleagues, other
candidates in your area)
• Don’t be afraid to seek advice

16. CILIP mentors
• Mentors are mandatory for Chartership candidates, it
is strongly recommended that Certification (ACLIP)
and Fellowship candidates have one too
• Mentors have both training (initial and ongoing) and
support (Mentor Support Network)

17. Candidate Support Officers
• Voluntary and informal network organised by Career
Development Group.
• At least one CSO in each Division
• Role includes:
– organising qualifications courses
– loaning out successful submissions
– reading and commenting on portfolios
– offering advice and assistance to individual candidates
• Advice is personal, impartial and confidential

19. • an ability to evaluate personal
performance and service performance
• an understanding of the ways in which
their personal, technical and professional
skills have developed through training and
development activities and/or through
practice
• an appreciation of the role of library and
information services in the wider
community

20. • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Personal Statement
• Personal Development Plan (PDP)
• Supporting letter
• Relevant items of evidence to support your
application
All forms, templates and associated
guidance notes can be found at
http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartershi
p/FrameworkiofQualifications/certification/cert
ificationforms.htm

21. • Criterion 1: (Candidates must demonstrate) an
ability to evaluate personal performance and service
performance
• Criterion 2: (Candidates must demonstrate) an
understanding of the ways in which their personal
technical and professional skills have developed
through training and developmental activities and/or
through practice
• Criterion 3: (Candidates must demonstrate) an
appreciation of the role of library and information
services in the wider community
• Please provide an overall assessment of your
development and how it has benefited you and/or
the service in which you work

26. Fellowship Portfolios – the
difference
The Criteria:
• Substantial achievement in professional practice
• Significant contribution to profession
• Active commitment to CPD
How do I go back over all those years…?
• Review career
• Identify highlights
• Consider evidence availability
• What will make the most impact?
• Who might do letters of support?
The Evaluative Statement:
• 500 words!

27. What evidence?
• Conferences/workshops
• Committee/group activity
• Special projects
• Publications
• Training & development
• Community work
• Outside work activities?

28. What if you can’t find it all?
• Find the easiest first
• Select the best
(greatest impact)
• Review – how much
digging down
needed

29. Making the evidence work
• Break into
manageable
chunks/groups
• Identify outcomes &
impact (for personal
statement)
• Don’t assume it’s
obvious

30. A look at the criteria:
substantial achievement in professional practice
• Career highlights
• Significant
achievements in roles
Originality
Innovation,
Complexity,
Large scale
• Identify impact

31. A look at the criteria:
significant contribution to profession
• Committee/group activity (regional,
national etc.)
• Presentations
• Reports
• Publications (not essential)
• Any activities with impact beyond job
role

32. A look at the criteria:
active commitment to CPD
Holistic approach
• Qualifications
• Attendance at conferences, courses,
networking
• Professional activities
• Support for others e.g. mentoring
• Training & development- self and others

33. Tips to succeed
• Check with the CILIP quals office if any queries
• Have an up to date CV
• Ask your manager/colleagues for feedback
• Look at other personal statements
• Develop a support group
• Get your family/friends on side
• Start a file of evidence
• Set a target date for collecting your award
• Get someone else to read it through

34. Making it manageable
The way to deal with an impossible task
is to chop it down into a number of merely
very difficult tasks,
and break each of them into a group of
horribly hard tasks and each one of
them into tricky jobs
Terry Pratchett

35. On your marks…
• Think about the contribution your professional activity
has made to the library and information service you
work in?
• Start gathering evidence
• Register as a candidate
• Get yourself a mentor
• Start being reflective

36. Selling yourself

37. Any Questions