Staff Development Weekly Update

ALN Staff Development Update #86 – 6 January 2026

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

ALN Events

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

January 2026

The library role in wellbeing: an event for Blue Monday
Hosted by: ALN Mental Health & Wellbeing team)
Date: Monday 19 January 2026
Time: 12.00 – 2.00pm
Platform: Online via Teams

Frontline Forum – Supporting international students
Hosted by: Frontline Forum organising Group
Date: Thursday 22 January 2026
Time: 2.00 – 3.30pm
Platform: Online via Teams

February 2026

Print Storage Solutions – BL High Density Storage 
Hosted by: British Library
Date: Thursday 5 February 2026
Time: 10.30 – 11.30am
Platform: Online via Teams

** New ** Exploring personal and team resilience – booking to open soon
Provisional Date: Thursday 12 February 2026 (TBC)
Time: 10.00 – 12.30pm (TBC)
Platform: Online via Teams

March 2026

** New ** Introduction to Critical Appraisal for Librarians – booking to open soon
Provisional Date: Tuesday 10 March 2026 (TBC)
Time: 10.00 – 12.30pm (TBC)
Location: Leeds Trinity University

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.

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 have already run two sessions this year and have some more topic ideas 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

Our next forum of 2025/26 is taking place on Thursday 22 January 2026, 2.00 – 3.30. The theme of this forum is Supporting international students.

Join us to share your experiences and learn about how frontline colleagues at other universities support the international students at their institution. There will be a few short presentations and a chance to share your own experiences, ask questions, and gather new ideas to take back to your own library. Please note: You don’t need to contribute a presentation to register!

Could you contribute to the forum?

We are looking for engaging 5-minute presentations focused on the theme of “supporting international students.”

We encourage contributions from individuals working in frontline roles within academic libraries, as well as those closely collaborating with frontline teams. If your day-to-day work brings you into direct contact with students, we would love to hear from you.

What we’re looking for

We welcome presentations on any aspect of supporting international students, such as:

• Practical strategies for providing inclusive and accessible frontline support.
• Communication approaches and techniques for engaging multilingual or culturally diverse student groups.
• Successful initiatives, workflows, or resources that your team has implemented.
• Challenges you have faced and the solutions you have implemented.
• Small changes that have made a significant impact in your library.
• Insights gained from training, student feedback, or personal experiences.

You do not need to be an experienced speaker to present at a Frontline Forum. We are looking for individuals who are eager to share valuable insights with their peers in a friendly and supportive environment.

Share your thoughts and ideas with us at – academiclibrariesnorth@sconul.ac.uk.

About the Forum

The Frontline Forum is an 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.

The provisional dates for the rest of the year are as follows and we’ll be confirming topics in the weeks leading up to each one:

• Wednesday 25 March 2026,  10.00 – 11.30
• Tuesday 2 June 2026, 2.00 – 3.30

External Opportunities

Information Literacy Group New Professionals Committee – Randomised Coffee Trials

In January 2026, the Information Literacy Group New Professionals Committee is launching another Randomised Coffee Trial for new professionals to meet and share Information Literacy experiences. This is available for any current students or recent graduates of library courses, apprenticeships or anyone new to a Library job (less than 5 years experience) in all library sectors.

What is a Randomised Coffee Trial?
A Randomised Coffee Trial is a way of meeting new people and networking in an informal way through a 1-1 or a small group. You’ll be matched with someone else from a different sector to arrange a virtual catch up at a time to suit you both. There will be some ‘conversation starters’ provided as well as some guidance but you can discuss whatever you want – the point is to share experiences, views on information literacy and get to know each other better.

Why should I sign up?
If you’re new to the library profession, this is a perfect way of meeting others who are in the same boat as you. You can share experiences, learn about different sectors and receive support. People who have attended a Randomised Coffee Trial before have enjoyed meeting new people and have been able to share ideas and best practice that they can take back to their organisation.

You can sign up by filling in this form by 14 February 2026. You’ll then be informed who your RCT partner is and how to take part at the beginning of March. If you’d like to hear more about the upcoming events and projects by the ILG’s sub-committee for new professionals please sign up for the newsletter or contact ilgnewprof@googlemail.com.

Navigating Environmental Mismatch as a Neurodiverse Academic Librarian
Date: Wednesday 14 January 2026
NLISN is hosting a free online event in which Priscilla Carmini, Digital Repositories Librarian at the University of Waterloo, will be discussing Navigating Environmental Mismatch as a Neurodiverse Academic Librarian. In this session, Priscilla will share insights and strategies she has developed throughout her short career to navigate challenging workplace environments as an academic librarian across various institutional contexts. Topics include techniques for managing low motivation days, setting boundaries, advocating for oneself, and a toolkit of resources aimed at helping individuals retain their wellbeing – and potentially thrive in difficult working conditions. While these strategies do not address the fundamental structural issues across post-secondary institutions, it is hoped that leading by example can inspire positive change at the local level.

Moving the dial on OER in the UK and Ireland: SCONUL OER CoP Webinar
Date: Thursday 22 January 2026
Join colleagues from across the UK to hear the latest developments with the OER Community of Practice for the UK and Ireland and to hear from libraries and academics who will share current best practice in the sector. This webinar will also highlight solutions and discuss how SCONUL libraries can get more involved in driving OER initiatives in their libraries. It will also identify demand and willingness for participation from institutions for future work. Speakers include Barb Thees, Director of Community Engagement, Open Education Network who will provide an update on the Community of Practice; Irene Barranco Garcia, Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian at Imperial College London and Celine Peignen, Head Librarian at Technological University of the Shannon who will share their experiences of OERs in their libraries; Academic OER authors Professor Jan Grabowski from University of Lancaster and Dr Alex Best from University of Sheffield; Darrin Sabourin, Account Executive at Pressbooks on getting started with publishing; and Sue Hodgson, Strategic Advisor, Content Strategy at Sylla.

Open Research Week 2026
Date: Monday 2 to Friday 6 March 2026
The schedule and registration for Open Research Week 2026 has been announced. Open Research Week is a series of events that discusses new, developing and current practice in all things Open Research. It is organised by Edge Hill University, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, and the University of Essex. All events are free, and you can register for each one individually. All sessions (except the Friday Fika) will be recorded, so if you cannot attend, please sign up and these recordings will be sent out in due course. As a specific call to action, please feel free to share with your colleagues, contacts and comrades that are interested in Open Research. All are welcome.

The organising group would like to thank all speakers for sharing their time and expertise as part of Open Research Week 2026, in particular, colleagues from the University of Leeds/ALN who will be joining for a discussion on global knowledge in one of Thursday’s sessions and colleagues from the University of Manchester and their Open Research Days last summer that inspired an invite to Wednesday’s talk! You can see a list of the events here.

Job Opportunities

Ensembles Librarian
Location: RNCM
Salary: £29,588 – £32,080 per annum
Closing date: Tuesday 13 January 2026
Interview date: Friday 23 January 2026

We have an exciting opportunity to work in one of the world’s leading conservatoires in the RNCM Ensembles Team. The Ensembles Librarian leads on all aspects of the running of the orchestra library. You will work as a core part of the Orchestras and Ensembles Team, working closely with the Head of Ensembles, Programming Team, RNCM Library, publishers, conductors, professional partner organisations and our own students.

This pivotal role requires a detail orientated collaborator who is committed to facilitating, advising and supporting students to achieve their potential through the RNCM Performance Programme. You will have responsibility in the College for providing relevant music materials relating to all RNCM Orchestras and Ensembles, Performance and Programming and Opera activities.

The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge of music, a music degree or equivalent qualification and a keen interest in developing skills in orchestral librarianship. A willingness to work flexible hours with limited supervision is essential.