INTERVIEW ‘‘
Rob Mackinlay is a journalist for Information Professional.
A challenging but rewarding partnership for library leaders
Whether it’s a big building project or just keeping the lights on, librarians need to understand facilities management. In their book Privileged Spaces, Regina and Neil Everitt – one a library director, the other a facilities management professional body leader, and a married couple – have found authors to explore the issues.
CHALLENGING times inspired Regina Everitt, Assistant Chief Operating Officer and Director of Library, Archives and Learning Services at the University of East London, to write Privileged Spaces. The book, published by Facet, takes a close look at the sometimes-tricky relationship between libraries and facilities management (FM).
Regina said motivation for the book came from her own experience: “There was a need to expand student spaces at UEL and the only available spaces were within Stratford Library. It was a very challenging period, and I spent time having conversations with col- leagues within the sector about how they navigated it.” During the process she identified a knowledge gap: “Because in library schools, few people will get train- ing on how to manage major building projects and the challenges you face when you’re advocating for your service. The book shares experiences that people can use when they’re faced with something similar. You get library directors who are asked to lead on major building projects, and they’ve had no context for where to begin. This book is something they can look to for a bit of guidance and experience.”
Close to home
There was another important factor in the decision to write this book. Her co-editor, Neil Everitt, is her husband, and he also happens to be Director of Strategic Engagement at the Institute of Workplace Facilities Management (IWFM). “We don’t talk about it every second of every day,” Regina says, “but we do bounce ideas off one another.”
26 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Over the last few years their conversations have become less academic and more pragmatic as finan- cial circumstances have driven universities to seek efficiencies, sometimes at the expense of longstanding conventions about the sanctity of the library space.
Privileged Spaces “We called the book Privileged Spaces,” Regina said, “because often, and certainly in my experienc- es in leading libraries, the library sat as a separate entity, and usually, if there were any needs for space changes, the libraries weren’t approached. We didn’t have to think in those ways. I don’t think it’s true anymore but there were a number of us who had our own little protected buildings.
“It’s less so now, because of all of the financial constraints within the sector. Now, unless there’s an endowment that says you can only have a library in this space, library spaces can be repurposed just like any university office space.”
Thorny
Even before the ‘privileged’ status of library space ’faded’, if the status ever existed, the relationship between libraries and FM could be challenging. In the second chapter of the book, Academic Libraries and Estates Strategy: A Library Leadership Perspective, Tim Wales, University Librarian at Cranfield University opens with the words: “In my 20 years’ professional experience of leading UK academic or research libraries, the most difficult, frustrating yet essential institutional relationship has been with the estates or facilities department”.
Summer 2025
Libraries, just like any of the other entities in a university, will have to make the case for its funding. Which means advocacy is vital.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68