MEDIA RELEASE
13 November 2006
New librarian appointed at Victoria
Victoria University has appointed a new librarian with a wide range of experience in education information services.
Sue Roberts is expected to take up her new role as University Librarian at Victoria University in February next year and
is currently Dean of Learning Services at Edge Hill University in Britain. In addition to providing library services at
Edge Hill’s three campuses in North West England, Learning Services incorporates learning resource centres and
information provision, learning support, ICT user support for learning and teaching, e-learning development and support,
media services, skills development and dyslexia support.
She is also Director of Edge Hill’s Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning in Supported Online Learning.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Information Technology), Professor Warwick Clegg, said Victoria had invested heavily in its library
services in recent years.
“We recognise that the library is at the heart of our teaching and research programmes. In the last five years we’ve
seismically strengthened the Rankine Brown Building, the home of the main library collection, and we’ve dramatically
increased the funds to buy additional books, journals and electronic resources.
“Further changes are on the horizon as new technology becomes available and we look to reorient our services and
facilities to meet new needs and growing customer expectations. Sue Robert’s experience in handling a diverse portfolio
of learning services will be invaluable in that process.”
Ms Robert said she was looking forward to the challenges of her new role.
“I am very much looking forward to working with staff and students across the University to further develop an excellent
library service and learning environment, both physically and virtually. I was impressed by the staff I met and their
commitment to supporting research and learning and teaching. Victoria’s explicit strategic aim to develop an ‘optimal
learning environment’ is particularly appealing to me and I am excited to be a part of creating such an environment. ”
Ms Roberts, who is completing a PhD at Sheffield University, holds a BA(Hons) in English from Leicester University, an
MA with Distinction in American Studies from Liverpool Hope University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and
Information Management from Liverpool John Moores University. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals and the Society for Research in Higher Education and a member of the Executive Board of the
Society of College, National and University Libraries.
The Victoria University Library employs more than 150 staff (including student assistants) and operates from five
full-service campus sites. These include, on the Pipitea Campus, the Law Library in the Government Buildings Historic
Reserve and the Commerce Library in the Railway West Wing; the Architecture & Design Library on the Te Aro Campus; the W J Scott Library on the Karori Campus; and the Central Library on the Kelburn
Campus. It also operates the Language Learning Centre on the Kelburn Campus. Its website can be viewed at:
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/library/
ENDS