It was established in 2002 as a merger of the Library Association (LA, sometimes LAUK) and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS).

CILIP's 2020 goal is to "put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society".

[14] Until 2023, CILIP had been based at number 7 Ridgmount Street,[15] in the building purpose-built in 1965 as the headquarters of the Library Association.

[17] CILIP launched a monthly journal, Information Professional[18] in 2017, providing news, interviews, and analysis.

CILIP publications also include Lisjobnet (a recruitment website), and Facet Publishing (professional books).

Past keynote speakers include Dr Carla Hayden (Librarian of Congress in the US), Professor Luciano Floridi and Sir Nigel Shadbolt.

CILIP's archives are held by University College London Special Collections, having been deposited with the institution between 2002 and 2007.

[32] CILIP accredits degree courses in library and information science at universities in the UK, as well as a number of overseas programmes in China, Germany, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Oman, Thailand and Qatar.

The method of calculation was changed in 2018 to count 'Life Members' as a separate category in published membership statistics and hence these figures do not represent a continuous series.