Advisory group members

Ayub started his career as a Saturday Library Assistant, became Principal Project Officer for the new Library of Birmingham, and now leads universal, front-facing services in Warwickshire. He wrote a book on designing libraries in 2008 and has recently co-authored a revised edition. He also co-wrote the library buildings guidelines in the Metric Handbook.

Ayub was awarded an MBE for his services to libraries in 2013. He is President of Libraries Connected and a past-President of CILIP. Until recently he was a member of the Library Buildings Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and has worked with the British Council on library projects in several countries.

Karen is a library building consultant who recently retired from academic librarianship. She is a past Chair of the IFLA Library Buildings and Equipment Standing Committee, and a former Secretary of the European LIBER Architecture Group.

She is also a Trustee of the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Irish Architectural Archive, and two Historic Buildings Trusts. The author of more than 50 publications, Karen has served on judging panels for architectural awards in the UK, Australia, Europe and China. She is a CILIP Fellow and an honorary member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects. She received an IFLA Award for her work in library design and was awarded an OBE in 2007.

Duncan has been Chief Commercial Officer for the Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) since April 2023 and oversees their Business Development, Marketing, Finance and Digital improvement work.

Previous to this role, Duncan had a 19-year career in the construction industry, helping clients design and redevelop a wide range of private and commercial buildings. More recently, Duncan has worked with other charities in the education and social work sectors.

Leo Appleton has held management and leadership positions in several university libraries, as well as in Further Education colleges and NHS Hospital trusts. Since 2008 he has worked in university library management and joined the Information School at the University of Sheffield in 2020 where he is a Senior Teacher, Director of Education and Deputy Programme Co-ordinator for MA Librarianship.

Meanwhile Leo has continued his own studies and was awarded a PhD in Library and Information Science from Edinburgh Napier University in 2020. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

Ed Fay is Director of Library Services and University Librarian at the University of Bristol, responsible for Library strategy, University learning environments, and the Centre for Cultural Collections. He has a decade of experience in higher education leadership and has developed a consciously human-centred approach to community and service development.

He has been variously responsible for open research, hybrid learning, and digital scholarship and has a particular interest in progressing the civic mission of universities.

Isobel Hunter has been CEO of Libraries Connected since 2018. This is the membership body for public libraries in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. Libraries Connected provides peer networking for library leaders and innovators, training, development programmes, seeks funding and advocates on behalf of the sector. We are involved in exploring how public library buildings need to adapt, in line with evolving user needs, continuing trends of co-locating services and the need to reduce carbon footprints.

Previously, Isobel was head of Archive Sector Development at The National Archives, where her department supported archives to build and refurbish their repositories, and to ensure they were in line with requisite standards.

Isobel is also Chair of the Roald Dahl Museum, a small museum in the Chilterns which is currently planning a refurbishment thanks to a generous donation from the Dahl family.

Ben Meunier is the University Librarian at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Previously he was Director of Operations for Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science at University College London (UCL). He is Vice Chair of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau University Libraries Alliance and a member of the Pacific Rim Research Libraries Steering Committee, and the IFLA Library Buildings and Equipment Committee.

He was Secretary of the LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries) Architecture Group between 2018 and 2023. Ben holds an MBA in Higher Education Management from UCL and a BA from the University of Warwick.

Tina is Head of Archive Sector Leadership at The National Archives. She qualified as an Archivist in 2002 and has worked mostly in local and central government roles.

She worked in project Archivist, Borough Archivist and Head of Heritage roles for a London Borough before moving to MLA London and MLA Council. Her work at MLA Council included Programme and Project Management of a national £37.6 million grant programme and Programme Management of a large and complex Cultural Improvement Programme.

She started at TNA in 2012 when it took on leadership and development roles for the archive sector, initially as Engagement Manager for London then Head of the Regional and Networks Team and more recently as Head of Archive Sector Leadership. She is a member of the Community Archives and Heritage Group steering committee and is also a board member of Archives for London, which brings together everyone interested in archives in or about London.

Alison is the Chief Executive of the School Library Association and Co-Chair of the Great School Libraries campaign, which aims to bring libraries and access to librarians back to every school in the UK. She was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2018 and was a school librarian before taking up her current role.

The School Library Association is a charity supporting everyone involved with school libraries - whether teaching assistants, library staff, Heads of Service or Governors. Alison also sits on the strategic boards for the Summer Reading Challenge, World Book Day and others. She’s passionate about helping people maximise the impact of their school library.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), Pamela was responsible for providing independent advice to the Scottish Government on Library and Information Services across Scotland. The SLIC is responsible for managing and distributing grant funds to libraries in Scotland, and its membership spans libraries across the education, health and special interest sectors.

Pamela currently sits on the British Library Advisory Council, the Scottish Government’s Creative Industries Advisory Group, the University of Strathclyde’s Information Science Industrial Board, the First Minister’s Reading Challenge Advisory Group and the Board of Culture and Business Scotland.