RLUK networks and working groups

Associate Directors Network (ADN)

The RLUK ADN is a professional network for RLUK members in a Deputy Librarian or Associate Director role. It aims to provide a forum for discussion and sharing of experience, the opportunity to participate in the business of RLUK and to aid succession planning.

RLUK ADN

Special Collections Leadership Network (SCLN)

The SCLN is a professional peer network for RLUK members in a senior special collections role. It aims to provide a forum for discussion and sharing of experience, and the opportunity to participate in the business of RLUK by helping to shape the strategic direction for RLUK around special collections work.

RLUK SCLN

Digital Scholarship Network (DSN)

The DSN is a professional peer network for RLUK members involved in the development and provision of Digital Scholarship services within member libraries.

RLUK DSN

Collections Strategy Network (CSN)

The CSN is a professional-peer network for colleagues who are responsible for collection strategy within an RLUK member library.

RLUK CSN

New Directors Network (NDN)

The NDN is a forum for discussion, peer development, knowledge sharing for RLUK colleagues who have recently been appointed as library directors, those in interim positions as directors, or for directors who have recently been appointed to an RLUK member institution.

RLUK NDN

Open Access Publisher Processes Group (OAPP)

The OAPP focuses on the challenges, barriers and other issues in relation to publisher OA practice and processes.

RLUK OAPP

Digital Shift Working Group

The Digital Shift Working Group oversee and lead the programme of activity to realise the vision of RLUK’s digital shift manifesto.

Digital Shift Working Group

RLUK external representation

RLUK is represented on the following working groups led by external organisations:

UUK/Jisc content negotiation strategy group

The group focuses on setting strategy for major journal and open access negotiations both during this transitionary period and post transition.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

Content expert group

The content expert group complements the work of the UUK/Jisc content negotiation strategy group.

By informing the work of the content negotiation strategy group, it is ensured that national negotiation strategy and objectives for research materials are translated into tactics, which secure sustainable agreements that can operate effectively at institutional level.

RLUK Representatives: David Prosser, Executive Director and Gavin Beattie, Kings College, London

Library purchasing coordination group

The group collaborates, coordinates and communicates on strategic and practical issues that shape and impact library procurement.

The library purchasing coordination group serves as a forum to share information, coordinate responses and give procurement a voice in the UK higher education sector.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

Learning content expert group

The learning content expert group was formed in recognition of the need to support UK sector negotiations for learning and teaching content across further education and higher education.  The group will work closely with the UUK Jisc Content negotiation strategy group to secure agreements that provide affordable and equitable access to learning content and solutions that enable excellence in teaching and enhance the student experience and learner outcomes.

RLUK Representatives: William Nixon, Deputy Executive Director

COAR: Confederation of Open Access Repositories

COAR is an international association that brings together individual repositories and repository networks in order to build capacity, align policies and practices, and act as a global voice for the repository community.

RLUK Representatives: William Nixon, Deputy Executive Director (Honorary Member)

UKRI Open Access Policy Stakeholder Forum 

The new UKRI Open Access Policy applies to peer-reviewed research articles acknowledging UKRI funding from 1 April 2022, and monographs, book chapters and edited collections from 1 January 2024. The UKRI Open Access Policy Stakeholder Forum is being established to engage and work with the research sector to support the successful implementation of the policy and wider adoption of open access.

The purpose of the Forum is to bring together representatives from the research sector who are supporting the implementation of the UKRI Open Access Policy to share information and good practice, discuss issues and provide sector insight on policy implementation with the aim of optimising implementation of the policy, and supporting the shared goal of open access transition.

RLUK Representatives: Ruth Harrison, Imperial and Kirsty Wallis, UCL

Open Access Monographs Steering Group

A group set up out of the work of the UUK OA Coordination Group sub-group on monographs.  Their remit is to oversee an evidence-based data analysis of the current financial landscape for academic books.

RLUK Representatives: David Prosser, Executive Director

LACA: the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance

The Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance (LACA) lobbies in the UK and Europe about copyright and related rights on behalf of its member organisations and UK users of copyright works through library, archive and information services.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

Copyright for Knowledge

Copyright for Knowledge is a cross-sectoral body which aims to work with government at both a UK and European level to achieve a balanced copyright regime in Europe.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

The National Archives HEAP

The Higher Education Archive Programme #HEAP is part of The National Archives’ continuing programme of engagement and sector support with particular archival constituencies. Research underpins the programme (including a series of research papers), building on a foundation of engagement and mapping work. It is a mixture of strategic and practical work encompassing activity across The National Archives and the wider sector including guidance and training, pilot projects and advocacy.

RLUK Representative: Judy Burg, Durham University

The National Archives Professional Fellowship Board

This group oversees the Professional Fellowship scheme which would enhance the existing ties between TNA and RLUK members, and would be in direct support of the joint Memorandum of Understanding and supporting Action Plan, as signed in October 2014.

RLUK Representatives: Christina Kamposiori, Programme Officer and David Prosser, Executive Director

SCONUL Health and Social Care Strategy Group

The group has existed in many forms over a considerable number of years, having worked in a previous incarnation as the SCONUL Advisory Committee on Health Services (ACHS) which was established in 1993.  The group was re-established in its current form as the Health Strategy Group in May 2004. The HSG agreed from its inception to include in its membership, those individuals who had extensive and wide-ranging experience of working with the NHS. In 2008, the HSG agreed to develop into a tripartite group of SCONUL, Research Libraries UK and CILIP to further strengthen its advocacy and engagement scope. The enlarged Joint Health Strategy Group continues to respond and to advocate at the highest levels on behalf of its constituent members.

RLUK Representative: Jane O’Neill, Queen’s University Belfast

European Alliance of Research Excellence

The European Alliance for Research Excellence is a coalition of companies which are committed to the future of innovation and R&D. We want modern copyright rules in Europe that enable a fair and effective use of Text and Data Mining, to ensure Europe’s competitiveness and future prosperity.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

Jisc-Elsevier Open Science Group

RLUK Representative: Yvonne Budden, Head of Scholarly Communications, University of Warwick

Archives Hub Steering Committee

The key aims of this Committee are to represent the interests of Jisc members and of the Archives Hub contributors, to provide strategic and policy guidance on the operations and development of the service, and to raise and discuss the opportunities and constraints faced by the service. It acts as an advocate for the Archives Hub and the fundamental importance of archives within research and learning.

RLUK Representative: Christina Kamposiori, Programme Officer

Open Research Competencies Coalition (ORCC)

ORCC aims to identify and map the skills and competencies needed by the current and future open research support workforce. Professionalising these roles across the sector will achieve the very highest quality of support for researchers. ORCC engages heavily with the library and research management communities through active outreach at community workshops and conferences.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director and Christina Kamposiori, Programme Officer

Research Libraries Position Description Bank Advisory Board

The Research Libraries Position Description Bank (RL PD Bank) is a collection of position descriptions (PDs) from major academic and research libraries.  The RL PD Bank fosters the sharing of information through a browseable and searchable database that provides access to a national collection (or bank) of PDs. The RL PD Bank supports the management of PDs for individual institutions, providing an effective organisational method and system that supports findability as well as archiving for long-term digital preservation. Research Libraries UK (RLUK) joined as a partner consortium in 2021.

RLUK Representative: David Prosser, Executive Director

RLUK Reports