What is your role on the committee?
I’m the Treasurer of the ILG.
When did you join and why?
I joined ILG as Treasurer in January 2012. I’ve been a manager of Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) InfoSkills (IL) programme for a number of years and I’d spoken at several conferences (including LILAC) on what we were doing in IL at the MMU. When the vacancy for Treasurer came up I saw it as an excellent opportunity to be more involved nationally in IL initiatives and networks. Membership of the IL committee hasn’t only been a brilliant way of finding out about what others are doing in a variety of sectors, but it’s greatly increased my library network. The committee, and the people I have met through it, have unfailingly been helpful, full of advice and supportive. The skills I need for my day job have definitely been enhanced having a networking of experienced and co-operative colleagues at hand.
What do you do in your committee role?
Wrestle with spreadsheets and VAT! The committee is very financially active with the LILAC Conference and the Journal of Information Literacy financing, amongst other things, the group’s free training programme, and the sponsorship and research bursaries; applications for which are welcomed from the IL community (see the website for more info!). The Treasurer post has been a great way of getting experience of finance and budgets and understanding the wider workings of accounting systems. I also work with the rest of the committee on advocacy work; promoting IL to different sectors and the work of the group to its members.
What is your day job?
I’m a Deputy Library Services Manager at the MMU with responsibility for both a Faculty and the library-wide InfoSkills programme. With InfoSkills I’m particularly interested in creating engaging and active
IL training and how the InfoSkills team can support the teaching librarian in ensuring our IL teaching is as effective as it can be. In terms of Faculty support the last few years have been quite different as the MMU has undergone big changes and all the Manchester campuses have been consolidated into one main Library. This has meant an exciting opportunity to be involved in the closure of a site library and its integration into an existing site.
What are your other interests?
Away from work I enjoy keeping fit and do a lot of cycling and walking. My recent purchase of the world’s smallest campervan has led to many fun adventures in Northern Europe; walking up spectacular mountains, kayaking through beautiful fjords and cycling through Scandinavian cities at rush hour; a terrifying prospect for a Mancunian commuter who is used to being one of the few cyclists on the road!