Staff Development Weekly Update

ALN Staff Development Update #105 – 1 July 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

July 2026

Exploring AI in Academic Libraries: Voices, Views, and Visions
Date: Thursday 2 July 2026
Time: 10.00-12.30
Platform: Online via Teams

September 2026

**New!** Thriving in Your Career 2026 – a free face-to-face event for UK Ethnic Minority colleagues
Date: Monday 7 September 2026
Time: 10.00am – 4.30pm
Location: Manchester Metropolitan University

** New ** ALN Annual Review 2025

Free External Self Directed Opportunities

There are many different places where you will find a range of materials which are freely available.

After consulting with members of our Staff Development Group we have begun to pull these together in one document which helps to highlight resources that other information professionals have found useful or have recommended to others to use.

If you’d like to give us feedback on any resources you’ve used, want to suggest your own or report any broken links, we’d appreciate your thoughts via this webform.

Frontline Forum 2025/26

We held our final Frontline Forum as part this years staff development programme offer on Tuesday 2 June with a theme of supporting neurodivergent students.

Take a look on our Frontline Forum webpage for more information and our past Frontline Forums here.

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About the Forums

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.

ALN Conference 2026

Thanks to everyone who submitted a proposal to present at the conference and to everyone who has booked a place. Our online day takes place on Wednesday 24 June 2026 and we can’t wait to see you all there. You should have received your invitation to the event and details of how to join the sessions you’re interested in. If you haven’t please get in touch – ALNConferenceTeam@gmail.com

As a reminder, the theme of our conference is ‘Reimagining Openness in Academic Libraries’ and will be looking at what “open” really means in academic libraries today. We are confident that the theme will appeal to a broad spectrum of library staff and we would love to receive submissions on scholarly communications, digital preservation, teaching and learning, metadata, collection development, or community engagement – and any other area of the library service to see how you’re grappling with openness in practice.

Online Day – Wednesday 24 June 2026 – withProfes sor Stephen Pinfield, Professor of Information Services Management at the University of Sheffield, as our keynote speaker at our online day.

In-person Day – Monday 6 July 2026 (Dalton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University) – with Caroline Ball, Community Engagement Lead for the Open Book Collective (OBC), as our keynote speaker at our in-person day.

If you have any queries about the conference, please contact ALNConferenceTeam@gmail.com.

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 2025/26 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?

ALN Group co-Chair Vacancies

We’re looking for co-Chairs for a few of our groups. It’s a great professional development opportunity – please get in touch if you are interested or would like to know a bit more about what it entails.

You can see more information here on what the groups do, along with videos of some of our current chairs talking about their experiences chairing a group, as well as our role overview, providing more details on the roles.

These are the groups with current vacancies:

• Customer Services CoP – 2 vacancies
• Leaders’ Network – 2 vacancies
• Metadata and Linked Data Group – 1 vacancy
• Technology – 1 vacancy

External Calls for Contributions/Involvement

• Library strategy and scholarly communications
• Research support and research management
• Open access services
• Research policy and administration
• University publishing and institutional repositories

Your experience will help us test our understanding of the sector’s strategic priorities for long-form OA and identify areas where additional guidance, collaboration, and investment could have the greatest impact. By participating, you will help ensure that future support, guidance, and policy development are grounded in the realities faced by institutions across the UK.

Invitation to participate in a research project
My name is Joanne Chan and I’m currently completing my MA in Library and Information Services Management (LISM) at the University of Sheffield. I am conducting my research project on the perception of workplace experiences and professional identities by LGBTQ+ academic library professionals in the UK. Informed by my perspective as a queer librarian, the aim of this project is to highlight the experiences, contributions and challenges of LGBTQ+ library professionals and contribute to ongoing conversations about representation and inclusion in the academic library sector.

I am inviting LGBTQ+ individuals who work in academic libraries in the UK to participate in this research project, which involves taking part in a one-to-one online interview (roughly 30-45 minutes) in June – July 2026. Participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time. To support accurate transcription, interviews will be recorded. Recordings will be permanently destroyed following the anonymisation of the data.

Your insights and experiences would be invaluable to this study, and I would be very grateful if you agree to take part. If you are interested in participating or would like more information about the project, please contact me at cmjchan1@sheffield.ac.uk.

To help me reach as many voices as possible, please consider forwarding this invitation to other academic librarians in your network. I appreciate your help immensely in spreading the word.

Job Opportunities

Metadata Librarian
Location: Newcastle University
Contract Type: Fixed Term, Full Time
Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 with progression to £46,049 per annum
Closing Date: Sunday 5 July 2026

The Role

This is an excellent opportunity to join our Content and Discovery team in the University Library, making a key contribution to the support we provide for education and research. You will help to develop and maintaining workflows that provide efficient access to Library resources in all formats. You will provide reports and analysis to inform the management and development of our extensive collections.

You will work collaboratively with colleagues across Library services, Professional Services and faculties and so good interpersonal and communication skills are essential, as is the ability to play a significant role in the work of a busy team. You must have a keen eye for detail and the capacity to prioritise competing demands with minimal supervision.

The post is fixed-term until 14th May 2027, and is a potential secondment opportunity.

Informal enquiries may be made to Pamela Dodds (Pamela.Dodds@ncl.ac.uk).

To apply please upload your CV along with cover letter evidencing how your skills and experience align to the person specification as outlined within job description.

Senior Library Manager, Student and Academic Services
Location: Open University
Contract Type: Permanent, Part Time
Salary: £47,389 to £56,535 (pro-rata for part time hours)
Closing Date: Tuesday 7 July 2026

About the Role
The Senior Library Manager (Student and Academic Services) provides a pivotal role within the Library, managing the relationship with one of our four faculties, and leading a key service area.

We work in partnership with the whole OU community to design and deliver a Library service which continually improves to meets the need of the University. Key to this is proactive relationship management with faculty colleagues to ensure we understand the needs of our community, and align our services appropriately.

Working within a matrix management structure, the Senior Library Managers collaborate on the provision of services to support the University. Alongside faculty relationship management, the post holder is responsible for the strategic leadership of a key service area. Key services include synchronous and asynchronous training, real-time help and support, and embedding library content and skills into the curriculum.

Senior Library Manager – Records Management
Location: Open University
Salary: £47,389 to £56,535
Contract Type: Full Time, Permanent
Closing Date: Sunday 12 July 2026

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the development and delivery of the University’s records management function at a pivotal time. The Records Manager will play a central role in embedding modern, efficient, and compliant records practices across the OU, helping shape how the University manages its physical and digital records for the future. The role includes leading the design, improvement, and promotion of consistent records lifecycle processes, and supporting the responsible adoption of emerging technologies—such as AI‑driven classification, intelligent search, and automated retention—to enhance recordkeeping capability. Working within the Knowledge and Information Management team, you will influence and shape service development, engage widely across faculties and directorates, and support the OU in meeting statutory, regulatory, and operational requirements.

Library Services Coordinator (Spaces and Environment)
Location: Newcastle University
Contract Type: Full Time, Open Ended
Salary: £29,588 with progression to £31,236 per annum
Closing Date: Wednesday 15 July 2026

The Role

Newcastle University Library is dedicated to delivering a friendly, professional and efficient service to all our customers and putting them at the heart of everything we do. We are the only University Library in the UK to have received the Charter Mark five times, and now hold the Customer Services Excellence award which replaced it. We are committed to developing and delivering innovative services as stated in our Library strategic plan.

We are looking for someone to line manage and supervise colleagues at our main library and at our off-site Research Reserve. Our Library Research Reserve provides access to state-of-the-art off-campus storage facilities, and houses both library and other University material. The Research Reserve provides a book retrieval, delivery and journal article scanning service. You will have responsibility for the safe and secure day to day operation of our library buildings and will contribute to the delivery of consistent, high-quality customer focused services across the library’s extensive opening hours.

Two posts are available, one to be based primarily at the Research Reserve at Team Valley, the other based primarily at our main city centre campus library. The two post-holders will work closely together, working flexibly across both sites, and providing cover for each other as required. These are full-time, on-site roles, with very limited opportunity for hybrid/home working.

Successful candidates will require satisfactory evidence of a full UK driving licence. Appointment is subject to Occupational Health Pre-Placement Check.

To apply, please upload an up-to-date CV and a letter of application (no more than one page) which outlines your fit for this role and any relevant experience to the key accountabilities listed below.

Informal enquiries can be made to: Gareth Mckay gareth.mckay@ncl.ac.uk.

Collections Team Lead (Library Services)
Location: university of Lancashire
Salary: £35,608 to £41,064 per annum
Contract Type: Full Time, Indefinite
Closing Date: Wednesday 15 July 2026

About the role:

We are seeking a Collections Team Lead to join our Library Services team in a key leadership role. You will play a central part in shaping and delivering high-quality library collections that support an excellent experience for both students and staff.

You will lead the end-to-end acquisitions and collections service across print and digital resources. This includes responsibility for reading lists, inter-library loans, digital content services, and formula-driven acquisitions, ensuring services are efficient, responsive, and aligned with institutional priorities.

About you:

We are looking for someone who combines strong operational expertise with leadership and analytical skills, along with experience of working with library management systems. Confident to lead on projects to improve library services, you will build and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders across the University and externally.

With excellent interpersonal skills you will help the University Library respond to challenges and opportunities, supporting the continued development of services in a rapidly evolving landscape.

You will have an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject or equivalent experiential learning.

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience and the written elements of your application should accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience.

University Teacher in Librarianship and Information Services Management
Location: University of Sheffield
Contract Type: Full Time (Hybrid), Fixed-term
Salary: £48,822 – £58,225
Closing Date: Monday 20 July 2026

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

As University Teacher you will play a key role in contributing to, and maintaining, the School’s portfolio of research led, high-quality, teaching. You will be expected to provide face-to-face and remote lectures and seminars to campus-based and distance-learning students, and to produce and mark assessments on core and optional modules across our Librarianship and Library and Information Services Management (LISM) MA programmes, including:

Management for Library and Information Services; Information Organisation; Leadership Strategy and Change; Academic and Workplace Library, Information and Knowledge Services; Libraries, Information and Society; and Personal and Professional Development

You will also carry out supervision of Masters dissertation projects.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Design, deliver, assess, and evaluate campus based and distance-learning teaching on Librarianship and LISM programmes. This will include identifying learning objectives, selecting appropriate curricula and teaching methods.
• Prepare and implement student assessments, which will include designing assessment criteria, marking and ensuring adequate moderation.
• Undertake academic tutor/pastoral responsibilities for postgraduate students.
• Carry out module and course evaluation, including facilitating student feedback; reflecting on own teaching design and delivery; and implementing ideas for improving own performance.
• Conduct personal scholarship; identifying literature and updating own knowledge; assessing the validity of the literature and its contribution to the development of own field as well as developments in practice in your area of expertise.
• Contribute to the operations of the School, the Faculty and the wider University community through administrative responsibilities and committee memberships as and when appropriate.
• Ensure digital accessibility of teaching materials by ensuring that content, activities and all their components are accessible to all, in order to remove barriers to learning.
• As a member of staff you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University’s Sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Faculty Engagement Librarian
Location: Newcastle University
Contract Type: Full Time, Open Ended
Salary: £47,389 to £50,253 with progression to £56,535 per annum
Closing Date: Wednesday 22 July 2026

The Role

This role represents an exciting opportunity to join the Library’s highly regarded Academic Engagement team. You will lead the library’s engagement with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, working collaboratively with staff and students to ensure the library’s services align with Faculty plans for education and research. This will include development and delivery of embedded digital, information and research skills teaching and support across a broad portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, in alignment with Newcastle University’s Education for Life 2030+ Strategy.

You will bring experience of working in an academic or equivalent library environment, and enthusiasm for supporting those working and studying in higher education. You will have provided subject support and information literacy teaching and will have knowledge of the information resources and tools available to support teaching and research. This role provides the opportunity to further develop your leadership and management skills, and alongside leading your team, you will be expected to play a senior role in cross-library developmental projects and initiatives.

This role is offered on a full-time (37 hours per week), permanent basis. The role is suitable for blended working, with a minimum of 60% (3 days) to be worked on campus. If you would like to know more about the role, please contact Elizabeth Oddy at Elizabeth.Oddy@newcastle.ac.uk.