About us

Algirdas (Al) 

Librarian, London

Al has been working as a library assistant at QA since 2016. Initially, he came to the UK to complete his undergraduate and master's degree in music composition. With a stroke of luck, he discovered his passion for working in libraries and has pursued this career ever since. Al’s experience in academic environments proved useful in giving support to students. In his spare time, he still enjoys practicing music and will appreciate suggestions for his to-read pile.

Al is based at the London campus and specialises in supporting Degree Apprenticeship learners.

The QA Higher Education Library is here to support you with:

Depending on the programme you study, some or most of your learning and research resources (eg, ebooks, databases etc) are provided to you via your partner university, as well as the QA Higher Education Library. 

If your classes normally take place at the QA Higher Education campuses in Birmingham, Manchester or London (Rosebery Avenue), you are welcome to borrow textbooks from campus libraries and use their facilities.

If your classes would normally take place remotely, please utilise the digital resources of the QA Higher Education Library.

For support (anything related to sources of your knowledge and learning, and the skills needed to utilise information effectively), please see the Contact page. 

Benedict (Ben)

Library Assistant, London

Ben is an enthusiastic library assistant who joined QA in mid-2021. He started his further education career in IT and moved onto working as a customer service apprentice in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Library. Ben loves to talk and help people, so he continued his library career to do just that. He also loves using computers, reading novels and non-fiction, and learning useful things.

Ben is based at the London campus.

Dan

Librarian, Birmingham

Dan has been working with QA since 2019.  Dan has an interest in computing technologies and contributes to learning resources that include the library portal. He has a BA in philosophy and English and an MA in digital cultures. He has worked in academic and public libraries in both Ireland and the UK. He enjoys reading Irish poetry,  writing music,  and working on digital projects.

Danielle (Dani)

Library Assistant, Birmingham

Dani joined QA in February 2023. Before working at QA she completed a Classics degree at Kings College London. The focus of her dissertation was the impact of ancient literature on story telling – specifically Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dani enjoys arts and crafts and spends a lot of her spare time doing crochet. 

Gilbert

Library Assistant, Birmingham

Gilbert joined QA in late 2021. Before working at QA he completed an MA in ethnomusicology, where he specialised in video game music. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his spare time is primarily taken up by both playing video games and appreciating music, but he is partial to the odd obscure art film or anime from time to time.

Ihar

Head of Library Services, London

Ihar manages the QA library services for traditional degrees and degree apprenticeships. His main work focus is ensuring students and staff have the learning and research resources, facilities and support to achieve their best in learning and teaching. He also develops multimedia support materials. He is a chartered librarian and Fellow of the HEA. Ihar is a strong believer in the power of social knowledge creation; this has led him to get involved with Wikipedia authoring in several languages.

Karen

Librarian, Manchester

Karen has been an academic librarian in university libraries ever since she’s got her MA Librarianship. She specialises in reference and research services, faculty liaison, information skills development, as well as collection management. Outside work, she enjoys art and craft activities such as origami, sewing, and quilting.

Kelly 

Librarian, London

Kelly delivers library sessions to students in groups and one-to-one. She has a BA in Literature and Linguistics and an MSc (Dist) in Library Science. She has worked in academic libraries and been teaching for 16 years. She enjoys reading, watching films, cooking, visiting museums, seeing exhibitions at galleries and dining out.

Kelly is based at the London campus and specialises in supporting Solent University and Middlesex University students.

Theo

Library and Student Services Assistant, Manchester

Theo joined QA in 2022. They have been interested in a library career since their days as a student librarian in high school and is excited to have joined the QA team. They are a keen reader and music fan. Most of their time is spent taking photos of their cat, being sat on by said cat, listening to Taylor Swift and reading queer novels.

Thi 

Library Assistant

Thi's passion for working in the library began when she started volunteering as a library assistant at the Design Museum, and she has chosen this path ever since. She has a background in art and design and enjoys watching drama and movies, listening to music and reading Anime/Manga. 

Thi is based at the London campus.