M25 SpeedMeet
Welcome to M25 SpeedMeet and Spotlight. Every month we meet someone working in an M25 member institution or who is involved with an M25 Consortium Group, Network, or Committee and ask them to tell us a little bit about themselves and how the Consortium has benefited them.
Record it or write it
We’re keen to meet even more members so if you’d like to feature in the M25 SpeedMeet or Spotlight please contact m25libadmin@london.ac.uk. You can send in your replies to our questions or alternatively video your answers and we’ll show the video here.
September 2025 Spotlight: Eloise Carpenter
Who are you, where are you based and what do you do?
I’m Eloise Carpenter, Collection Services Manager at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. My role includes responsibility for the procurement, acquisition and management of collections, access to and promotion of resources, and management of the Collection Services team.
What M25 Groups are you involved with, what is your role and what tasks are you doing?
I have two roles: I’ve been a member of cpd25 Task Group 3: Operations Management for several years (having defected from TG4!), and more recently became Co-Chair of the M25 Sustainability Working Group.
What motivates you in your work?
The Sustainability Group is working on ideas and feedback from our session at the M25 Consortium Annual Conference 2025. Priorities are creating a toolkit of sustainability resources, promoting best practice and sharing information about sustainability initiatives.
cpd25 Task Group Three has been discussing organising a sustainability-related event for a few months but waited to see what came out of the conference. I’m hoping to do a joint Task Group 3/Sustainability Group event. Other ideas in the pipeline for TG3 include AI, OERs, quality assurance, collections management/decolonisation, LGBTQ+, qualitative data, and exchange of practice. Watch this space!
What are the benefits of being involved with an M25 Consortium Group and are any specific skills required?
There are many benefits! I joined cpd25 TG4, and then TG3, because I wanted to try something new, step outside my comfort zone, and contribute to the cpd25 staff development and training programme (having benefitted from attending events). I’ve been able to connect and network with library and information professionals, gaining confidence and knowledge along the way. The M25 Consortium is very welcoming, positive and supportive.
You don’t need to be in a senior role or an expert to join a group, just enthusiasm and a willingness to get involved. I’d recommend it to anyone thinking about joining a task/working group.
To support your professional development, what subjects and/or activities would you like the Consortium to cover in the next twelve months?
There are many issues and challenges facing library and information professionals. Priorities for me include:
- the impact of AI on the information profession and on information users
- commitment to sustainability and achieving the UN’s SDGs
- diversity and inclusion in the workplace and services
- optimizing collection management (including publisher negotiations e.g. TAs, sector finances, advocacy, TNE licensing, decolonization, metadata), and
- developments in open science
If I wasn’t working in a library I would be
playing the bassoon because that’s what I spend most of my spare time doing! You’ll often find me donning mess dress or ‘Red Sea Rig’ and tootling with the Central Band of the Royal British Legion. Please do come along to a concert.
Read more SpeedMeet interviews here:
2025
Leah Gulley, Academic Liaison Librarian at Buckinghamshire New University
Dr Janice Fernandes former Academic Support Manager, University of West London
Helen Curtis, Director of Learning Resources and University Librarian at Oxford Brookes University
Dan Herbert, Library Buildings Development Manager, Queen Mary, University of London
Polly Mortimer, Library Manager and Learning Support Lead, British Psychotherapy Foundation
Ian Clark, Academic Services Manager, University of East London
2024
Chris Foreman, Associate Director of Library Services at University of the Arts, London
Vicky Robertson, Deputy Librarian, UCL School of Pharmacy Library
Laura Scullion, Administrator (Events & Programmes), M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries
Dave Puplett, Associate Director, Libraries and Academic Enhancement, University of Greenwich
Fiona Ainsworth, Head of Library and Archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dianne Shepherd, The British Museum, Senior Librarian
Jill Howard, M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries, Operations Manager
Cliff Van Dort, National Archives, Kew, Head of Library
Camilla Churchill, British Medical Association, Library and Archive Lead
Chloe Carson-Ashurst, The National Gallery, Library Assistant
2020-2023
Birgit Fraser, Anglia Ruskin University, Assistant Director – Academic and Content Services
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
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