Benchmarking Library, Information and Education Services: New Strategic Choices in Challenging Times

David Baker has published widely in the field of Library and Information Studies, with 19 monographs and over 100 articles to his credit. He has spoken worldwide at numerous conferences and led workshops and seminars. His other key professional interest and expertise has been in the field of human resources, where he has also been active in major national projects. He has held senior positions at several institutions, including as Principal and Chief Executive of Plymouth Marjon University, and Emeritus Professor of Strategic Information Management. He has also been Deputy Chair of the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc). Until recently he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Universities of Northampton and South Wales. He is Chair of the Board of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. He is a leader in the field of library and information science.

Lucy Ellis is a consultant and research associate within higher education. Her background is as a lecturer, research scientist and project development consultant. With Professor David Baker she is Editor-in-Chief for the Elsevier Major Reference Work ‘Encyclopaedia of Libraries, Librarianship, and Information Science’ and Chandos-Elsevier Series Editor for ‘Digital Information Review’ and the ‘Advances in Information’ series. Recent books in this series include Libraries, Digital Information and COVID: Practical Applications and Approaches to Challenge and Change and Future Directions in Digital Information: Predictions, Practice and Participation. She is a reviewer for Information and Learning Sciences (Wiley), Journal of British Institute of Organ Studies, British Academy grants scheme and the publisher Palgrave. Following a PhD in Experimental Phonetics she worked as a Senior Lecturer and programme leader at Plymouth Marjon University and as a project development consultant. She holds an Honorary Research Fellowship with the College of Humanities at Exeter University.

Caroline Williams as University Librarian at The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia is responsible for leading UQ Library, with a focus on the student experience, modernizing library spaces, and support for research, including open access. Prior to UQ in the UK she was Director of Libraries at the University of Nottingham where she led a student-focused transformation strategy and oversaw an award-winning library building redevelopment and development of research data management (RDM) infrastructure. Other previous roles include Executive Director of Institute and Deputy Director of Mimas, a national data centre funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). She has also worked in a range of library roles at Manchester Metropolitan University, the Open University, and Nottingham Trent University. Caroline holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education Research, MBA, MA in Library and Information Studies and BA (Hons). She has written and presented internationally on change management and digital transformation.

Since moving out of the sound engineering field, Cliff developed his career in the Polytechnic sector, rising through the Human Resources area (specializing in Staff Development), becoming Director of HR, and then Polytechnic Secretary (incorporating Company Secretary and Clerk to Governors). This, in turn, became University Secretary, a role he fulfilled for 10 years. In 1995, Cliff left to become a freelance management consultant for HE, and one of his early projects was to take on the development and management of a benchmarking programme, on behalf of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He ran this programme successfully for 24 years, involving universities from around the globe. He also undertook a broad range of consultancy work for individual universities and HE organizations (such as the Leadership Foundation and the Higher Education Academy, now Advance HE). Cliff’s other interests include working as a Licensed International Tennis Official. (He worked as a Chair Umpire at Wimbledon for 20 years before concentrating on his role as a Chief Umpire and Referee.)