SLA Conference 2024 – Turning Pages, Turning Tides: The Role of Senior Library Assistants in Today’s Academic Libraries [TG4/SLA24]
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Annual SLA Conference 2024 – Turning Pages, Turning Tides: The Role of Senior Library Assistants in Today’s Academic Libraries
CPD25 is pleased to bring you our annual SLA (Senior Library Assistant) Conference, designed for those who supervise staff, services or both. This is a popular and well-loved event, giving our members the invaluable opportunity to meet and network in-person. This year will focus on the changing role of SLAs.
If you would like to contribute to the day by sharing a 5 minute presentation of how your role has changed or is changing, please contact us at cpd25@london.ac.uk with details by Monday 24th June.
The event will be held at Toynbee Hall. With centuries of history and an impressive portfolio of guests, Toynbee Hall has seen it all, from ‘Smoking Room Debates’ and wars, to world leaders and famous historians.
There will also be an opportunity to visit the Whitechapel Gallery, a few minutes’ walk from Toynbee Hall. This will include a tour, as well as a brief talk on the foundation of the gallery and overview of the exhibitions and Reading Room. You will also have time to look around the Gallery itself independently.
The conference will be in-person and will be a highly participative day with plenty of opportunities for networking – enabling attendees to share their experience and best practice. This event is open to all, but would benefit in particular Senior Library Assistants, Information Services Supervisors, Library Assistants, Information Assistants or their equivalent.
Programme:
9.30am – Registration and refreshments
10.00am – Welcome and introduction
10.10am – Keynote session – how are HE libraries and SLAs roles changing?
Includes case studies from City University by Martin Edwards, Anglian Ruskin University by Natalie Brown & King’s College London by Sally Brock
10.40am – Tea, coffee & biscuits
11.00am – Visit to the Whitechapel Gallery
- Group 1 Tour 1110-1140, then look around gallery independently 1140-1240.
- Group 2 Look around gallery independently 1110-1210, tour 1210-1240.
12.45pm – Lunch
1.50pm – Delegate presentations:
Erin Johanson, University of Sussex
Arved Kirschbaum, King’s College London
2.10pm – Exchange of experience discussion
2.30pm – Tea, coffee & biscuits
2.50pm – Facilitated session on managing change in the workplace
3.50pm – Close and feedback
4.00pm – Finish
Speaker biographies:
Martin Edwards has been working in libraries across the UK (from Wales to the South-East and then on to London) for over twenty years. He has covered many varied roles, including SCONUL Graduate trainee, Desk Supervisor, Systems Manager, Law Librarian and is now the User Services Manager at City, University of London. His main duties are to manage the day-to-day running of the main university library and its on-site and online enquiry points. Martin also heads up the User Experience team: highlighting engaging options for optimising learning spaces across the sites, as well improving web content and online support. He has been supporting cpd25 task group 4 since 2017.
Natalie Brown has been working in customer service for over 17 years and been working in libraries for the last 11 years. She has covered a variety of roles within public libraries, law libraries and most recently Higher Education libraries. She currently works for Anglia Ruskin University as Library Customer Services Team Leader making sure the library service runs smoothly whilst also supporting student services. Natalie is also the treasurer for the LGBTQ+ Committee for CILIP and is an EDI trainer for ARU supporting colleagues through their EDI learning journey. Natalie has been a cpd25 task group 4 member since 2022.
Sally Brock chartered in 1994 and since then has worked at the London College of Communication and London South Bank University. She is currently the Head of Operations within Libraries & Collections at King’s College London, with responsibility for HR-related matters, finance, business intelligence, library administration, staff rotas, health & safety, business continuity and marketing & communications. Since 2021, she has been chair of cpd25 task group 4.
Erin Johanson is a Student Experience Library Supervisor at the University of Sussex, a PhD Researcher in History and the University’s Pagan Chaplain. Her background is in customer service in the computer game and music industries. She is Australian, but don’t hold that against her.
Arved Kirschbaum (he/him) is currently working towards CILIP Chartership, having recently completed an LIS degree from the University of Sheffield with Distinction. He currently holds the position of Senior Library Assistant (Marketing & Communications) at King’s College London. An enthusiastic volunteer and keen networker, he also fulfils the role of Treasurer for the CILIP London Members Network.
Arved has diverse experience in both academic and special libraries collection management, library teaching, and community work having previously built a library for homeless people, reclassified the Durham Classics Library, and worked in library reading list support for the University of Durham. Before joining King’s, he completed his Library Graduate Traineeship in the library cataloguing department of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
His professional interests centre on the future of libraries and information in complex 21st century societies, celebrating their victories today, and improving their processes and capabilities to set them up for future success. All one step at a time.
When he’s not running around to meet people somewhere – he runs around on a football pitch, climbs up walls in the closest bouldering gym, and racks up Parkruns. He also reads voraciously, loves to traipse through one of London’s many museums, and does his best to get his hands on any and all biscuits he can find. On Twitter you can find him as the very on-brand @0ptimistBiscuit.
Cost:
£200 members
£400 non member institutions
Cost includes lunch and refreshments
Information for joining:
- Electronic CPD attendance certificates can be provided on request. Please request via cpd25@london.ac.uk
Cancellations less than one week before the event will be charged a 50% cancellation fee. In the event of a ‘no-show’ on the day, the full fee will be charged.
To book a place please use our online booking forms. Please remember to include your PO number as bookings cannot be confirmed without this.
Please email cpd25@london.ac.uk if you would like to contribute to the day by sharing a 5 minute presentation of how your role has changed or is changing