RLUK is delighted to announce the election of a new Chair and seven new Directors following their recent AGM, held at the University of Exeter on 22nd March 2013.
Stella Butler (University of Leeds) will succeed Janet Peters (Cardiff University) as Chair, and with the RLUK Board, will oversee the conclusion of activities of the current strategic strands and will steer the development of a new RLUK strategy to be announced in 2014.
Stella Butler is the University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds. From 2007 to 2011 she was Deputy University Librarian at the John Rylands University Library, now known as The University of Manchester Library. In March 2012 she was elected to the RLUK Board and chairs the strategic working group on Research Data Management.

Speaking on her appointment Stella Butler said: ‘I am delighted to have been elected Chair of the RLUK Board. This is a pivotal time for higher education and our libraries face many changes and challenges including the increasing dominance of the electronic environment, the open access agenda, the management and curation of research data as well as the exploitation of the vast riches in our special collections. I look forward to working with board members and the RLUK executive team whose collective experience and expertise will enable RLUK to drive, develop and shape the agenda for libraries and scholarly information in the UK’.

Joining Stella Butler are new Board members Chris Pressler (University of London), John Robinson (SOAS), Jess Gardner (University of Bristol), John MacColl (University of St Andrews), Caroline Brazier (British Library), Phil Sykes (University of Liverpool) and Jan Wilkinson (University of Manchester), and reappointed members Chris Banks (University of Aberdeen) and Anne Jarvis (University of Cambridge). They will join continuing Board members Wayne Connolly (Newcastle University) and Sarah Thomas (Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).

David Prosser, Executive Director of RLUK, commented: ‘Our Board is key to driving activity for RLUK. Being a Board member is no sinecure – our Board members take on significant roles not only in the development of strategy but also ensuring strategy is implemented. We are very pleased that we have such a full Board representing the range of RLUK members. We look forward to working with the entire Board, together with our new Chair, Stella Butler, to shape and realise the vision of the modern research library’.