Alastair Flett will join Cambridge University Libraries in June 2022, leaving his current role as Deputy Director for Libraries, Museums and Galleries at the University of Liverpool. As Deputy University Librarian and Director of Academic Services at Cambridge, he will take on many of the responsibilities currently overseen by Patricia Killiard, who retires from her role later this month after more than 25 years of dedicated and loyal service to librarianship at the University of Cambridge.
Cambridge University Librarian Dr Jessica Gardner said: “I’m delighted to announce Alastair’s appointment as Deputy University Librarian and Director of Academic Services for Cambridge University Libraries.
“Alastair joins us with an outstanding track record in librarianship and strategic planning, most recently at the University of Liverpool. He will come to Cambridge at a time when we are renewing our vision for services and spaces around the changing needs of the communities we support.”
The Deputy University Librarian leads the development of library services in support of research, teaching and learning, and collection development and management across the Cambridge University Libraries network.
A priority for the new Deputy University Librarian will be to help lead the Libraries’ crucial work around its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) agenda, as well as seeking to further strengthen the critical partnership between Cambridge University Libraries and the wider University as partners in research and fulfilling the Libraries’ mission to provide an unrivalled education and student experience.
“The EDI agenda is hugely important not just for Cambridge, but the entire library sector,” said Alastair Flett. “We need to look not only at our collections – it’s crucial we broaden our scope so that all stories are told fairly and equally – but also our spaces, services, and the profession more generally, to make sure they’re are as open and welcome to all as possible.
“Moving from a model of fairness that treats everyone the same to one that recognises, respects and celebrates difference, and then adjusts what we do to remove any barriers, will take time but it will be worth it.
“I’m also really looking forward to supporting Jess in making sure we deliver on the University’s priorities for library services, and our national and international responsibilities as one of the world’s leading research libraries. Two of the things that attracted me to Cambridge are the range of libraries the UL works in partnership with and the exceptional nature of the community they serve. The UL and the Faculty and Departmental Libraries, combined with those of the colleges, provide a real network of wraparound care for students, academics and researchers.
“One of my priorities will be to speak to as many people as I can – academics, students, librarians and administrators alike – to get a sense of their needs, recognising that Cambridge is clearly very different to Liverpool. I can’t wait to get started!”
Added Dr Gardner: “While for many of us it’s almost impossible to think of our libraries without Patricia’s expertise and experience to draw upon, in Alastair we have found a Deputy University Librarian who represents the qualities and skills we need for our next phase of development.
“Alastair brings with him a strong strategic focus on the needs of education and research and a sense of shared excitement and ambition for the internationally important role played by Cambridge University Libraries and our collections which span thousands of years of human thought and discovery across more than six centuries of collecting.”