23 November 2004

Research Libraries Network appoints top jobs

Executive Director and Chair of Advisory Board Announced

Dr Michael Jubb has been appointed as Director of the Research Libraries Network (RLN) based at the British Library, with Professor Robert Burgess taking up the role of Chair of the Advisory Board. With £3 million funding from a consortium of funders, the RLN will ensure 'joined up' information services for UK researchers.

The RLN will bring together the UK's four higher education funding bodies, the British Library, the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales and the eight members of Research Councils UK, to develop the UK's first national framework aimed at addressing the information needs of researchers. The RLN will run initially for three years and start operating in February 2005. It will be led by an executive unit - based at the British Library - and take strategic guidance from the advisory board. More key executive unit and advisory board positions will be appointed in the near future.

Michael Jubb brings a wealth of experience to the post. He comes to the RLN from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), where he has been Director of Policy and Programmes and Deputy Chief Executive since its establishment in 1998. He has played a leading role in developing the Board and its activities, and in its transition to full Research Council status.

Michael has a broad range of experience in education and the public sector. He spent over ten years at the National Archives in a variety of roles and three years at the Department of Education and Science. He joined the AHRB after eight years as Deputy Secretary of the British Academy, developing the Academy's role in the funding of postgraduate study and research in the humanities and the social sciences.

Professor Burgess is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester and carries his knowledge of the education sector to his role as Chair of the RLN Advisory Board. He is a member of the British Library Board, the Council of the Institute for Employment Studies and an Academician of the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences. He was previously Director of CEDAR (Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research) and Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick. He was also President of the British Sociological Association, and Founding Chair of the UK Council for Graduate Education.

Michael Jubb said:

"Establishment of the RLN presents an exciting opportunity to develop a research information infrastructure that is systematic, comprehensive and sustainable in collecting, preserving, and providing access to the information resources that researchers produce and need. It is a privilege and a challenge to be asked to help in this way in developing the kinds of information services that are critical to the health of the UK research base, and to the effective exploitation of its work."

Robert Burgess said:

"The Research Libraries Network will play a vital role for UK researchers, and will contribute enormously to our research infrastructure and capabilities. It is a welcome development and I look forward to making a contribution to this important and groundbreaking initiative."

Professor Geoffrey Crossick, Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board said:

"Michael has been an outstanding figure in the AHRB, and we wish him every success in this very important new challenge."

For more information and images please contact: Colin Beesley, the British Library Press Office. Telephone: 020 7412 7114 or email: colin.beesley@bl.uk

Notes

1. The RLN was set up following the recommendations of the Research Support Libraries Group (RSLG), and endorsed by the House of Commons Select Committee on Education and Skills. The RLN will:

provide strategic leadership for collaboration between publicly-funded research information providers and their users - to develop effective, efficient and integrated information resources and services to support UK research
co-ordinate action to propose and specify solutions to meet researchers' changing needs - building on the earlier studies into UK researchers' needs carried out by the RSLG
act as a high-level advocate for research information, across the UK and internationally.

2. The RLN executive unit will be accountable to the funders of the RLN, namely: The Higher Education Funding Council for England; the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, The British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales and Research Councils UK on behalf of the Arts and Humanities Research Board and the seven Research Councils (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council.)

3. Background to the formation of RLN. The Research Support Libraries Group (RSLG), chaired by Sir Brian Follett, was established in 2001 by the four UK higher education funding bodies, the British Library and the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales. The RSLG was asked to 'make recommendations for a UK-wide strategic framework and mechanisms for promoting collaboration in the development and provision of library collections, their long-term management, and services to support research'. The RSLG's full report, published in 2003, is available [Adobe PDF].

4. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk.