Rachel is Director of Library and Cultural Services at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she is responsible for the University Library, Manchester Poetry Library, Special Collections Museum and North-West Film Archive. Before joining Man Met in 2020 Rachel spent 10 years as Associate Director of the John Rylands Library and Associate Director of the John Rylands Research Institute at the University of Manchester, where she was also Head of Academic Engagement. Her previous experience includes special libraries and Further Education. She is Co-chair of the SCONUL Horizons Strategy Group and was previously Convenor of the RLUK Special Collections Network and the RLUK Associate Directors network, and a member of the Wellcome Trust Research Resources Funding Committee. Rachel is passionate about leading change: identifying and seizing opportunities to shape and develop services, collections and spaces in support of student experience and success, transformative research, and impactful public and community engagement.

Anna O’Neill joined the University of Warwick in November 2022 and was previously Director of Library Services & Arts Strategy (University Librarian) at the University of Southampton (2019-2022). Anna has worked in the library sector for over 30 years and has a range of experience across a number of sectors, including the NHS, heritage, charities, law and financial services. She has been responsible for a wide range of services throughout her career including IT Services, E-learning, Academic Skills, Print Services, Galleries and a Concert Hall. Anna is co-chair of the Technology and Markets Strategy Group.

Robin is Associate Director: Head of Libraries within Swansea University’s Academic Services Directorate. Prior to moving to Wales in 2022, he held roles in specialist research, research-intensive and research-led institutions in London, Scotland and South-East England. Robin has sought to establish and enhance collaborations and networks to benefit the academic and research library community throughout his career. He is particularly interested in how partnerships can help libraries deliver infrastructure and services.

Lorraine has spent her career in academic libraries, working at senior, strategic level for the last 18 years. She has leadership experience in both research intensive and teaching focussed institutions based in the North West. In her current role she leads the Library Services at Liverpool Hope University where she is developing and delivering a new Library Plan. Prior to that she had been on the leadership team at the University of Manchester Library for 17 years. Throughout her career she has worked in partnership with colleagues across the Library sector on topics as wide ranging as research data management, digital collections and rights retention in organisations including RLUK, N8, Academic Libraries North (ALN) and Sconul. Lorraine has particular experience in digital leadership and digital strategy, having previously led a large digital team at the University of Manchester Library and also being a long serving member of the University’s IT Leadership Team. She has also developed library strategies and services to enable open research. She is experienced in developing and leading teams through change and creating cultures which allow team members to innovate and reach their potential. I am an experienced mentor, having previously been a mentor on the Aurora programme as well as currently through ALN.

Having initially trained and worked as a Secondary School English and Drama teacher, Phil swiftly made the decision to alter course, changing career to follow a life of excitement and high adventure in Librarianship. Phil has worked at the University Library at Coventry since 2007 in a number of leadership roles and was appointed University Librarian in 2014 with responsibility for the operational and strategic direction of the service across the entire University Group. He began his career at Durham University in 1999 where he worked for several years, most significantly as an ‘accidental’ Systems Librarian. Phil’s professional interests are wide ranging and include space planning, equity and inclusion, educational resources, and the student journey.

David is Deputy Director of Library and Student Support and Head of Library and Learning Enhancement at Middlesex University. His responsibilities at Middlesex include the library, support for academic writing and numeracy and a university-wide award-winning peer assisted learning scheme. David’s career in library service started in New Zealand. Since moving to London he has worked in libraries including at Kings College London, the Institute of Education, Senate House Library and the University of East London. Professional interests include the application of UX approaches to higher education libraries, student belonging, digital transformation and change management, leadership and workforce development. He is a member of the Steering Group of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries and of CILIP’s Professional Registration Panel and a Senior Fellow of the HEA.

Regina Everitt is Assistant Chief Operating Officer (ACOO) & Director of Library, Archives and Learning Services at the University of East London. She began her professional career as a technical author/trainer working with computer companies that developed software for the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial sectors in the US and UK. After managing a small library at a university in West Africa as a volunteer with the United States Peace Corps, she transitioned into the HE sector developing and managing libraries, social learning spaces, and other learning resources. At University of East London, she is institution champion for the customer experience strategy and is leading on the development of the institution belonging framework. Concerned about the low representation of Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) staff members in leadership positions in academic libraries, she co-project managed SCONUL research to document BAME staff experiences in LIS with a view to working with the sector to develop more diverse talent. She continues to work with the SCONUL Board to support member institutions in implementing the recommendations from the report. She is also a member of the British Library Advisory Council, a past member of the Steering Group of the M25 Consortium of Libraries as well as a member of a CILIP trailblazer group that is developing a standard for a Level 7 apprenticeship for library, information and knowledge professionals. She co-edited a book called Narrative Expansions: Interpreting Decolonisation in Academic Libraries which considers how academic libraries are navigating this contentious topic. She is currently working on another co-edited work about academic libraries in university estates strategy.

Mark has been in role as Head of Libraries at Cardiff Metropolitan University since 2016, and prior to that worked in senior roles in both HE and Public Libraries. Mark served a term as Vice Chair and then Chair of the WHELF consortium between 2021 and 2025, and he currently is a member of SCONUL’s Technology & Markets Strategy Group, within which he Chairs the AI sub group. He has a longstanding interest in digital and technology service development, and is a very passionate advocate for the power of library collaborative and partnership working

Allison Kavanagh is Head of Library Services at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), which was formed in 2019 from the merger of three institutes of technology in the Dublin area. She has led TU Dublin Library Services through significant change, merging three library services into a single, fully integrated multi-campus service while also undertaking two interrelated library building projects. Allison joined Dublin Institute of Technology (now TU Dublin) in 2004 having previously worked at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Library. She is also a qualified taxation consultant and previously worked at management level in international corporate tax consulting with KPMG’s Silicon Valley office following a number of taxation consulting positions in Ireland. Allison is Secretary of Ireland’s Consortium of National and University Libraries (CONUL) and a former Chair of the Irish University Association’s Librarians’ Group. She is a member of the Irish Research eLibrary (IReL) consortium’s Governance Committee and is Chair of the Library Association of Ireland's Professional Standards Committee.

Martina McChrystal has been Director of Library Services at the University of Glasgow since 2017, responsible for supporting learning and research through library services and collections which are global in reach. The University of Glasgow is one of Scotland’s four ancient universities. Martina joined University of Glasgow in 2015 as Deputy Director and Head of Academic Engagement. She is the current chair of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries ( SCURL ) and external examiner for the School of Creative and Cultural Business at Robert Gordon University. Martina was CILIP in Scotland president in 2020 and was awarded CILIPs Honorary Membership in 2021. Martina was one of the leads in setting up RLUK’s New Directors’ Network and co-convened the NDN 2019-2021. Martina has served on a number of boards, including Edinburgh’s City of Literature Trust. Prior to joining the University of Glasgow, Martina’s experience includes the role of Head of Libraries at City of Edinburgh Council, community engagement, and local governance through neighbourhood partnerships. Martina was asked by the Scottish Government to chair the National School Library Strategy Advisory Group, leading to the publication of Scotland’s first national strategy for school libraries, Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools.

Andrew Preater (pronouns: he/him) is Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths, University of London. Andrew joined Goldsmiths in 2023 and provides leadership and strategic direction for the Library. Prior to this, his experience in higher education included posts at University of West London, Imperial College London; Senate House, University of London; and the University of Durham where he began his career working in library systems. Andrew’s professional interests include the role of academic libraries in equity and widening participation and working-class experiences of higher education, and the application of critical librarianship to library leadership. He is also a member of the M25 Consortium of Libraries Steering Group, and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Amy (she/her) is the Library Manager at Norwich University of the Arts. She has been at Norwich Uni since 2016, having originally joined as the Librarian before becoming the Library Manager in 2020, in what turned out to be the early days of lockdown. With over 20 years of experience in academic libraries, Amy began her career as a Library Assistant at an FE/HE college in 2004. She is co-chair of the SSI SCONUL group, and an active member of the GuildHE Libraries group, contributing to the network of small and specialist libraries in Higher Education. Beyond her professional life, Amy enjoys indulging in many librarian classics, including cats, crocheting, and coffee cake.

Emma is Director of Library Services and University Librarian at Loughborough University. She has been at Loughborough since 2013 having held the post of Head of Academic Services before becoming Director in 2015. Emma has worked in academic libraries since 2000 and previously worked in F.E and the commercial sector. She has been a member of the SCONUL Mercian Collaboration Steering Group since 2017 and chaired the Mercian Conference group from 2017-2019 and still maintains a supporting role in this activity. Particular areas of interest include managing the range of stakeholder needs in academic libraries, leadership and support for emerging leaders and managing change in uncertain times.

Katy Woolfenden is the Deputy University Librarian and Associate Director Faculty & Student Partnerships at the University of Manchester Library and a longstanding member of the University of Manchester Library’s senior team. She has worked in the UK higher education sector for over 30 years and is proud of the fact that her career began as SCONUL Trainee at the John Rylands Library. Since then, she has worked at the University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester Libraries in a wide variety of professional roles, including several subject & faculty Librarian roles, and in more recent years has taken senior responsibility for customer services, academic engagement, teaching, learning and the student experience. As Deputy University Librarian, she works in partnership with the University Librarian to take senior responsibility for the operational effectiveness and strategic direction of The University of Manchester Library at both university & sector level. She also takes strategic responsibility for HR and staff learning & organisational development across the Library, along with equality, diversity & inclusion, and library spaces. On a sector level Katy is a member of the Academic Libraries North Board and a member of the RLUK Associate Directors Network and RLUK Space Programme Committee. Katy is particularly passionate about the role of librarians as experts and partners in the development and delivery of high-quality teaching, learning and academic skills, the importance of co-creation and the student voice, and all aspects of staff learning, organisational development and workforce planning.