JISC

The results of the first election to the Board of JISC Collections, the newly formed mutual trading company which licenses online resources for further and higher education, were announced today.

With two posts up for election and with every further and higher education institution in the UK a member of the company and therefore eligible to vote, the posts provide vital representation and a focus for influence for the education community on national collection development activities.

Hazel Woodward, University Librarian and Director of the University Press at CranfieldUniversity, and Deborah Shorley, University Librarian at the University of Sussex, were elected after a ballot in which more than 160 FE and HE institutions exercised their right to vote.“JISC Collections has a history of working very closely with FE and HE institutions to support their learning, teaching and research needs, and our new Board members will provide a focus for the strengthening of these important links."

Hazel Woodward is a prominent figure in the library and information field having been a member of a number of national bodies, including JISC committees, predominantly in the collections area.  In 2004 she chaired the JISC Collections Strategy Review Group which created the current JISC Collections Strategy. Commenting on her election, she said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to represent the education and research community on the board of JISC Collections. I hope to bring my knowledge and previous experience of JISC activities to bear on the important task of enhancing still further the digital collections available to the UK community.”

Deborah Shorley too has a wealth of experience in the library and information field having been Chair of the Library & Information Services Council (Northern Ireland) and, more recently, President of CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). Of her election, she said: “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to be involved in the development of the JISC collections strategy and ensure that it continues to provide creative and effective ways of meeting the information needs of the UK research community.”

David House, Chair of JISC Collections, said the new Board members each brought considerable experience and a vital perspective to the continued development of a world-class portfolio of online resources: “JISC Collections has a history of working very closely with further and higher education institutions to support their learning, teaching and research needs, and our new Board members will provide a focus for the strengthening of these important links. We congratulate them on their election and look forward to their involvement in our work.”

JISC Collections was established as a legal entity in September of this year. The change was made in order to allow the new organisation to operate within a commercial framework and to enable greater efficiency and effectiveness when negotiating with content providers on behalf of UK FE and HE.

For further information, please go to: JISC Collections