Staff Development Weekly Update

ALN Staff Development Update #80 – 8 October 2025

This weekly update is intended to keep you up to date on ALN’s staff development programme; to highlight interesting initiatives being undertaken by ALN or its members; and to promote job opportunities in our member libraries. If you have any queries or any content you’d like to include, please get in touch at: academiclibrariesnorth@sconul.ac.uk

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ALN Events

We’re busy on the new programme for 2025/26 and are excited to share with you those events already planned.

October 2025

Becoming an ALN Mentee – Information Session 1
Date: Tuesday 14 October 2025
Time: 10.00 – 11.00am
Platform: Online via Teams

Becoming an ALN Mentee – Information Session 2
Date: Wednesday 29 October 2025
Time: 10.00 – 11.00am
Platform: Online via Teams

 

November 2025

Skill Up with ALN – Introduction to Special Collections & Archives
Date: Tuesday 11 November 2025
Time: 2.00 – 3.00pm
Platform: Online via Teams

 

Solo specialists/single point of expertise
Date: November 2025 (date TBC)
Time: 90-120 mins TBC
Platform: Online via Teams
See below for call for contributions

 

December 2025

Skill Up with ALN – Introduction to Academic Skills
Date: Monday 8 December 2025
Time: 12.00 – 1.00pm
Platform: Online via Teams

 

Green Open Access Event
Date: 10 December 2025
Time: 10am – 12 noon
Platform: Online via Teams
See below for call for contributions

 

May 2026

Systematic Review Event (sponsored by Covidence)
Date: Thursday 14 May 2026
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm (TBC)
Location: Newcastle University

We are excited to announce that we are planning on hosting a Systematic Review event, sponsored by Covidence. This event will be an opportunity to share knowledge and network with fellow professionals.

We are currently seeking members who are interested in attending, presenting and/or assisting with its organisation. If you have an interest or knowledge in systematic reviews or related areas, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested in attending, please complete this online form. If you are interested in presenting or helping to organise the event, please get in touch with Lorna Smith: lorna.smith@ncl.ac.uk.

Initially we will be limiting attendance to two members from each ALN institution.

 

Call for Contributions

Solo specialists/single point of expertise
Date: November 2025 (date TBC)
Time: 90-120 mins TBC
Platform: Online via Teams

We are planning an online event for the middle/end of November 2025 and are looking for people interested in sharing their experiences of being a solo specialist (eg copyright officer, digital preservation manager, RDM advisor, business data analyst etc) in an academic library. We’re interested in hearing from people who have managed to advocate for the support they need, build communities around themselves both within their institution and beyond, or any other advice that could help others in similar positions. We’d also like to hear from managers about their experiences of supporting staff with unique portfolios.

If you would are interested in being involved please fill in this form by Wednesday 8 October 2025.

If you have any questions about the event please contact Kate O’Neill or Neil Sprunt. Full details of the event, including how to register to attend, will be announced soon.

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Green Open Access Event
Date: 10 December 2025
Time: 10am – 12 noon
Platform: Online via Teams

The ALN Research Support Group welcomes volunteers to present/ talk about their experience around topics such as:

• Promoting green OA to academics
• Challenges of green OA
• Green OA for journals
• Green OA for books
• Green OA and discoverability

If you know of someone working on a project or doing research on green OA and want to suggest we reach out to them, please send us their contact details.

Responses to Delphine Doucet and Megan Kilvington please.

 

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ALN Mentoring Scheme – Apply to be a mentee

Recruitment to the next wave is now open (Tuesday 7 October 2025). The application form will be open for one month (deadline Friday 7 November 2025).

The next wave is due to begin in January 2026.

To help you to understand a bit more about what the scheme is all about, we have set up two information sessions where members of the Mentoring Oversight Group will present an overview of the scheme and be available to answer your questions. These will be taking place on:

• Tuesday 14 October 2025, 10.00-11.00
• Wednesday 29 October 2025, 2.00-3.00

You can apply to join the scheme as a mentee by completing our Mentee Application Form. Please note: in order to be involved in the scheme, it is important that you attend the ALN Mentee Briefing with our external trainer, Karen Hickman of the Coaching Bug (https://thecoachingbug.co.uk/). This session will run for 2 hours and will be with fellow mentees on the scheme. This year’s session will take place on Teams on Thursday 27 November 2025, 2.00 – 4.00pm. The briefing is essential to get the most out of the scheme and we ask that you do your utmost to attend; however, we acknowledge that it may not be possible if it clashes with holidays or other commitments. In that case, you may need to apply for the next wave of the scheme.

See our Mentoring webpage for more information.

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Mental Health & Wellbeing Resource

Did you know that ALN has a Mental Health & Wellbeing Advocacy Resource, packed full of useful information, case studies and links to resources? A project team drawn from across ALN has worked together to create the resource to support library work around mental health and wellbeing. The resource consists of explanatory text and links to resources relating to this emerging agenda and case studies contributed by ALN libraries, so that we can learn from each other. We’d love more people to make use of the resource – and, if you have been working in this area, we would love to add your case study to our collection.

ALN Skill Up Series

New series – Skill Up with ALN!
Have you seen that we introduced a new series last academic year called Skill Up with ALN? These hour long sessions offer an opportunity to learn about different roles and areas of library life and aim to demystify areas of the library service. We already have some topics for the 2024/25 academic year but if you have any ideas, please do share them with us.

ALN SD Offer Infographic

Do you think you know all that ALN offers to support your staff development? Why not check out our Staff Development Infographic to see the full list of activities. Let us know how you got on. Did you get all of them?

Frontline Forum 2025/26

The Frontline Forum is a pilot online discussion and development space for teams working directly with students and users. The forums are an opportunity to share best practice, engage with other ALN activities and learn about different service models and delivery types offered by different universities. The forum is aimed at staff who work on frontline desks and provide the first line of support to students and other library users.

We have run 4 forum sessions over the 2024-25 academic year, in November, January, March and May. We hope you managed to come along to at least one.

We are hoping to run the Frontline Forums again next academic year – the provisional dates (subject to change) are:

• Tuesday 18 November 2025, 10.00 – 11.30 – theme will be social media – more info to follow asap
• Thursday 22 January 2026, 2.00 – 3.30
• Wednesday 25 March 2026,  10.00 – 11.30
• Tuesday 2 June 2026, 2.00 – 3.30

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External Events

The last of the LIHNN/ CILIP NW Wider Professionals Talks for 2025 will focus on prison librarianship. Pamela Berry (Forest Bank Education Librarian – Justice Services) and Bridget McKeown (Library Manager, HMP Manchester) will talk about their respective roles in prison and justice library services. LIHNN/ CILIP NW have got plans for more sessions in 2026.

 

CDS Survey – AI Applications in Libraries – Bodleian Libraries
The survey is conducted by the Centre for Digital Scholarship at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford is inviting you to participate in an expert survey on AI Applications in Libraries. The results of this research will inform the Bodleian Libraries’ decisions and will also be shared with the wider library community. They are seeking input from library professionals across a wide range of institutions and technical backgrounds. All experiences with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Language Models (LM) in libraries are valuable—from extensive engagement to no direct experience. They are especially interested in insights into how library professionals are approaching, experiencing, and viewing the application of AI and LMs in conducting, supplementing, or supporting institutional library work. The survey should take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary, and responses will be anonymised and aggregated before internal analysis. Any published materials will include only anonymised findings, unless explicit consent is obtained separately.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the project researcher, Charlotte Oertel (charlotte.oertel@tss.ox.ac.uk), or Megan Gooch (megan.gooch@bodleian.ox.ac.uk).

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Job Opportunities

Library Attendant
Location: Newcastle University
Contract Type: Open Ended; Part Time
Salary: £24,685 per annum (pro rata)
Closing date: Friday 17 October 2025

The Role

Library Attendants are essential to the running of the University libraries, working either during core Library service hours or during evening, overnight and weekend opening hours. You will provide excellent customer service, and ensure that the library is opened safely and securely during periods of limited staffing. You may be required to work at any of the Library sites, and duties will vary in emphasis depending on the shifts that are worked.

Previous experience of working in a customer focused service environment is essential. You will possess good interpersonal and customer care skills and the ability to work accurately and with attention to detail.

Mobility and physical fitness consistent with the need to push trolleys, carry parcels and move equipment is essential. You will also be required to undertake mandatory health and safety training relevant to the role.

There are two vacancies, both of which will require some bank holiday working:

• Post 1
  Hours: Midnight to 8 am, Monday to Wednesday (term time only, 31 weeks a year)
• Post 2
  Hours: 4.30 pm to 10 pm*, Monday to Wednesday and Saturdays.

*10pm finishes will be extended to Midnight during busy exam times and some Saturdays during summer vacation will not be required.

Key Accountabilities

• To provide a reception service monitoring occupancy levels, operating the night door system, dealing with general and directional enquiries, keeping relevant records of these, as required, and referring more complex enquiries to Customer Services staff
• To provide assistance to customers in the use of a range of Library equipment, and to maintain this equipment as required, for example replenishing printers and photocopiers, and reporting faults as necessary
• To use the Library Management system to carry out a range of functions including both customer-facing and stock maintenance activities
• To empty book-bins and load trolleys, and to sort, shelve, tidy and retrieve library materials
• To ensure first aid duties are carried out including supporting the use of EVAC chairs, undertaking routine patrols and to carry out fire safety duties and safety checks, reporting defects, and testing fire alarms
• To contribute to overall building safety and security and responding to emergency situations, taking appropriate action to minimise damage or distress, e.g. assisting with emergency evacuations, dealing with floods
• To carry out incidental cleaning to ensure the good order of the Library, emptying waste bins, taking refuse to appropriate collection points, moving furniture and replenishing sanitary supplies
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Anne Middleton: Anne.Middleton@ncl.ac.uk

 

Head of Cultural Collections
Location: Manchester Metropolitan University
Grade/Salary: Grade 10/£58,225 to £67,468
Closing Date: Sunday 19 October 2025
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time

You will lead the development and impact of the collections in the North West Film Archive, Manchester Poetry Library and our Special Collections. Balancing management and care of the collections with creativity and ambition, you will ensure they inspire discovery, generate knowledge and transform lives.

You will:

• Provide inspirational leadership, taking a holistic approach across teams, collections and disciplines.
• Drive innovation in teaching, research and civic engagement.
• Deliver digital transformation in digitisation, preservation, access and discovery.
• Build trusted partnerships with academics, communities, cultural organisations and funders, locally, nationally and internationally.
• Inspire and develop teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence.
• Be an active member of our Senior Leadership Group, driving change and delivering impact.

About you
You will be a confident, creative leader who sees new possibilities for cultural collections. You will have:

• Senior experience of managing cultural collections and driving innovation (ideally in higher education, but it’s not essential).
• A proven ability to unlock the potential of collections for education, research and civic engagement.
• A commitment to successful partnership-building.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to inspire teams and influence at a senior level.

To explore the post or to ask any questions, please contact Rachel Beckett, Director of Library and Cultural Services, at rachel.beckett@mmu.ac.uk.

Interviews are likely to take place on the 11th and 12th November.

 

Head of Digital Services and Transformation
Location: Manchester Metropolitan University
Grade/Salary: Grade 10/£58,225 to £67,468
Closing date: Sunday 19 October 2025
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time

About the opportunity

This is your chance to lead transformation to support education, research and civic engagement. You will:

• Shape an inspiring future digital experience for our users, including in our new library building.
• Design and manage user-centred digital systems, platforms and services that are robust, sustainable and responsive to evolving needs across the Library, North West Film Archive, Special Collections and Manchester Poetry Library.
• Develop intuitive access and discovery solutions, connecting people to knowledge, collections and creativity.
• Drive AI-powered services, automation, digital-first workflows and data-driven approaches to enhance access, efficiency and user experience.
• Build digital confidence and capability across Library and Cultural Services.
• Contribute to the senior leadership group, driving change and delivering impact.

About you

You are a confident, creative leader who understands the innovative possibilities for library and cultural services. You will bring senior experience in a library or cultural collections environment and deep expertise in digital library services, discovery and content. With a proven track record in digital transformation, you combine a passion for innovation and user experience with the ability to inspire teams, shape strategy and collaborate across the University and the wider sector.

To explore the post or to ask any questions, please contact Rachel Beckett, Director of Library and Cultural Services, at rachel.beckett@mmu.ac.uk.

Interviews are likely to take place on the 11th and 12th November.

 

Library Experience and Spaces Manager
Location: University of Manchester
Salary: £47,389 to £58,225 per annum
Employment type: Permanent, Full Time
Closing date: Monday 20 October 2025

The University of Manchester Library seeks a Library Experience and Spaces Manager to deliver outstanding frontline services and create welcoming, inclusive, high-quality experiences for all.

About the Role
The Library Experience and Spaces Manager leads the Library Experience Team in the delivery of frontline services and support. This role combines people management, service development and innovation to create welcoming and supportive environments that enhance the overall library experience.

What you will do
You will provide inclusive leadership to the Library Experience Team, fostering collaboration, growth, and high performance.
You will oversee day-to-day operations, ensuring that enquiries, memberships, and library spaces are managed effectively and remain responsive to user needs. A key part of the role will be acting on user feedback, alongside reviewing and refining policies and processes to drive continuous improvement.

You will also ensure our spaces are safe, inclusive, and well-maintained by embedding best practice in health and safety, equality and diversity, and information governance.

Any queries, please contact Sarah Rayner, at sarah.rayner@manchester.ac.uk.

 

Open Research Manager
Location: University of Sheffield
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time (Hybrid)
Grade/Salary: Grade 7/ £38,784 – £47,389
Closing Date: Wednesday 22 October 2025

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Working across the University and nationally with the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN), you will support projects to accelerate open research practices, embed an open research culture, and enhance research transparency, reliability, and reproducibility.

Under the direction of the University’s new Office for Open Research and Scholarship, you will contribute to key open research projects on the University’s Research Culture Action Plan, including activities around open research reward and recognition, understanding reproducibility in different disciplines, and open research information. You will also advocate for and support open research practices and communities across the University, including the Open Research Champions and the Data Stewards Network.

As the institutional Open Research Coordinator and Administrator (ORCA) for the UKRN Open Research Programme (ORP), you will also play an active role in the ORP Training Project (funded by Research England until August 2026). You will raise awareness of the UKRN across the University, coordinate recruitment to the ORP Training Project, support Sheffield researchers who have completed train-the-trainer courses in open research practices and realise the benefits of the ORP at Sheffield.

You will be comfortable with cross-team working and developing relationships with both academic and professional services. You will work with stakeholders from across the University, including Research Partnerships and Innovation, Research & Innovation IT, Faculty and School research leads, individual researchers, and research-enabling staff. Based within the University Library’s Scholarly Communications Team, you will report to the Head of Open Research and work in liaison with the University’s academic Research Practice Lead.

For informal enquiries about this job contact: Dr Holly Ranger, Head of Open Research: on h.ranger@sheffield.ac.uk; Anna Grigson, Associate Director (Digital Strategies, Research and Engagement): on A.C.Grigson@sheffield.ac.uk.

 

Assistant Librarian (weekends)
Location: RHS, Harlow Carr
Salary: £28,303 (pro rota for 0.5 FTE – £14,152)
Contract: Part time (18.75)
Closing date: Sunday 2 November 2025

We are looking for an enthusiastic and pro-active Assistant Librarian to join our library team, covering weekends. The RHS Library collection is widely regarded as the finest collection of horticultural literature in the world and has been awarded Designated Status by Arts Council England, signifying its national and international importance. The Harlow Carr Library has a stock of more than 8,000 books and 50 journal titles and houses the Harlow Carr archives. Over 30,000 visits are made to the library each year. Open to all garden visitors, the library also offers a lending service to RHS members and staff.

The Assistant Librarian will:

Work weekends, taking responsibility for the library and provide a welcoming and accessible service to a wide range of visitors.
Supervise weekend library volunteers and assist with recruitment and training.
Respond to enquiries and support lending services.
Assist with collection work including book and journal acquisitions and cataloguing.