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M25 SpeedMeet

Welcome to M25 SpeedMeet. Every month we meet someone working in an M25 member institution and ask them to tell us a little bit about themselves.

One of the three strategic themes of the M25 Strategic Plan 2019-2022 is connecting and collaborating through our network. Our aim is to provide a regional network whose members offer multiple perspectives that can inform decision making, and facilitate opportunities for networking and joint working on shared issues. What better way to do this than to meet?

If you’d like to feature in the M25 SpeedMeet, please contact m25libadmin@london.ac.uk.

Who are you, where are you based and what do you do? 

Birgit Fraser, Assistant Director – Academic and Content Services, Anglia Ruskin University. I’m based at the Chelmsford site and I lead our teams across academic and content services in delivering high quality academic liaison and research support, acquiring and managing print and online collections, delivering content to users and providing a comprehensive range of information and digital skills training to support our staff and students.

What do you most enjoy about your job? 

I like the large variety of the job, the opportunity to make a strategic contribution to the areas I’m involved in, and working in collaboration with a large variety of colleagues across the university.

What motivates you in your work? 

I find it endlessly motivating to know that my work, in combination with the work and expertise of my colleagues, can have a positive impact our students’ university experience.

How has/can the M25 Consortium support you in your career? 

I have always found the varied professional development programme, and all the networking this entails, very beneficial throughout my career.

What would it surprise people to know about you? 

I used to be a bass player in a band before I started university, although we never graduated beyond the rehearsal room and a couple of gigs at the local youth centre.

I like crochet and sometimes spend evenings working on a new blanket or winter accessories.

Complete the sentence: If I wasn’t working in a library I would be…working as a political researcher or sociologist, because I very nearly ended up going down that route as a university student.

Birgit Fraser, Anglia Ruskin University, November 2022

 

To read more SpeedMeet interviews see the links below!

Stuart Hunt, University of Reading, Director of University Library & Collection Services and University Librarian

Sarah Pipkin, UCL – Outreach and Exhibitions Coordinator, Special Collections Library

Anna Gillis, Royal Veterinary College – Research Support Librarian

Rachel Geeson, Anglia Ruskin University – Assistant Director, Customer Services

Jennifer Domingo, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine – Library Assistant

Christopher Cipkin, Royal Holloway, University of London – Director of Library, Learning Support, & Culture

Emma Wisher, University of Essex – Assistant Director for User Engagement

Louise Ellis-Barrett, British Museum – Librarian Acquisitions and Projects

Paul Johnson, University of Surrey – Director of Library and Learning Services

Sara Burnett, Kingston University – Information Specialist 

Robert Atkinson, Birkbeck, University of London – Director of Library Services

Laura MacCulloch, Royal Holloway, University of London – Curator

Rowan Williamson, UAL – Associate Director of Library Services and Support

Frances Willis, National Art Library at the V&A – Assistant Librarian

Robin Armstrong Viner, Courtauld Institute of Art – Head of Library Services

Adam Edwards, Middlesex University – Library Liaison Manager

Linda Coombs, Buckinghamshire New University – Library and Learning Resources Manager

Liz Pinel, Royal College of Nursing Library and Archive – Customer Services Manager

David Allen, Royal Society of Chemistry – Librarian

Russell Burke, LSHTM – Assistant Librarian

Verity Allison, St George’s, University of London – Journals and E-Resources Librarian