IN DEPTH ‘‘


Joanne Fitzpatrick, is co-chair of NLISN and on the Open Research team at Lancaster University Library. Currently seconded to the Open Book Futures/Copim project on the accessibility work package.


Andy Walsh, is co-chair of NLISN and a freelance trainer on creative teaching, playful leadership, and neurodivergence in the workplace (www.playbrarian.uk).


www.NLISN.org


General understanding and acceptance of­neurodiversity­is­increasing,­however,­ support­within­our­sector­tends­to­focus­ on library users, or library collections on the­subject.


Learning from experience: supporting users builds a network of support for staff


The winners of the inaugural CILIP Disability Network Accessibility Award (in memory of Lynne Mackie) explain how their project is helping to take lessons learned from helping neurodiver- gent users, and transferring them to staff. Joanne Fitzpatrick and Andy Walsh are co-chairs of the Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network, and here they explain more about how the network is supporting library and information workers.


WE are Joanne Fitzpatrick and Andy Walsh, co-chairs of the Neurodivergent Library and Informati­


on­Staff­Network­(NLISN­–­pronounced­


‘enlisten’), founded in 2023 after receiving some funding­from­Academic­Libraries­North­(ALN)­to­ create­the­network.


We provide peer support for neurodivergent library and information staff in the UK, whether you are formally diagnosed or suspected, and whether you are current, aspiring or retired professionals. We achieve this through providing buddying, online and in person networking events and an online presence that includes a mailing list, forum, social media, newsletter and website. Our committee is currently 12 strong and the whole network much larger: we estimate more than 200 members.


Awareness and acceptance


General understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity is increasing, however, support within our sector tends to focus on library users, or library collections on the subject. Many staff report that they learned they had a neurodivergency by endeavouring to support users through making accommodations and being open to requests for adjustments, and realising they would benefit from these adjustments too as they were experiencing some of the same things. This is a difficult position to be in – attempting to provide the support to others that you need yourself – and so this is one way of evidencing the need.


56 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


We are fortunate to have partners in Australia as well; we are beginning to collaborate with the Alliance for Neurodiversity and Disability in GLAMR Professions Inc. (ANDPA.org), and they have shared with us some Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) data that shows around 18 per cent of respondents to a survey identified as neurodivergent, giving us an estimated figure of representation in our sector. This shows neurodivergency is well represented, and we believe there is potential for the sector to be equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) leaders in this area because of this. We could also examine what the sector has got right in order to achieve this representation, and potentially learn how we could improve representation in other areas that the sector is notoriously bad at. Finally, as neurodivergent professionals looking for support, we found none aimed at people like ourselves, already thriving in professional level employment but at a large personal cost in terms of additional effort, time and suffering spent managing our disabilities. We are looking for ways to alleviate that, did not find it and so created it ourselves, for ourselves.


First steps


ALN provided us with a small grant through their EDI innovation fund, which we planned to use to host and cater a planning event to create the network. In the year prior to this meeting, we worked to identify the need through surveying our colleagues. Initially we asked about whether our colleagues were neurodivergent and, if so,


Autumn 2025


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