About Academic Libraries North

Academic Libraries North was formed in January 2021 by the coming together of two successful and dynamic regional consortia, the Northern Collaboration and NoWAL.  

Remit & Purpose

ALN is a network of academic libraries in the North of England and a sub-group of SCONUL (charity commission no: 278550). Through collaborative activities and mutual support, we seek to provide opportunities for our members in the exchange of knowledge and experience. We help facilitate initiatives that respond to emerging themes and opportunities and support our members through future challenges in higher education and the library environment. 

To achieve this Academic Libraries North: 

  • Advocates for member libraries in the region, should Government policy decisions impact upon them, especially highlighting key roles in the contribution of libraries supporting learning and research and the strategic goals of our wider institutions 

  • Supports institutions to improve quality and efficiencies within their services, including measuring service quality and demonstrating impact  

  • Harnesses the skills and experience of staff within member institutions in developing relationships and contributing to the sharing of experience and learning from others 

  • Provides a positive and inclusive environment for all members and their staff 

  • Celebrates success through collaboration, innovation, influence and partnership 

Key elements of activity include: 

  • Providing a high-quality professional development programme (including an annual conference) for all our library staff, that facilitates knowledge exchange, experience sharing and feeds the talent pipeline and contributes to succession planning 

  • Exploring technology opportunities to increase the efficiency of access to training, events and meetings 

  • Through Special Interest Groups and Communities of Practice providing our staff with opportunities to work with and learn from their peers  

  • Exploring opportunities for sharing procurement expertise  

  • Identifying potential funding opportunities, business models and collaborative projects 

  • Making connections between library staff and related professional groups and stakeholders across library and wider education sectors