Who we are

Kirsten Elliott

I’m Kirsten and I've worked at the University of Nottingham as a Research Intelligence Librarian since August 2023. Before that I was an NHS support librarian in London. I started working in libraries as a library helper and library assistant in two University of Cambridge college libraries, and gained a diploma in Library Studies from Aberystwyth University whilst working part-time. 

Having a significant amount of personal experience applying for library jobs, I’m really aware of how difficult, time-consuming and stressful that process can be. Due to the discrepancy of power between candidates and employers I was never able to push back on the unfair recruitment practices I experienced as an individual. I’ve also become increasingly aware of the problems with inequity and lack of diversity in the profession.

A few years ago I started seeing Fair Museum Jobs calling out unfair employment and recruitment practices in museums and really admired their work. Eventually I saw enough people ask about an equivalent for libraries that I decided to get it started and put a call out for other people to get involved. To quote the comedian and co-founder of Arts Emergency Josie Long: “Sometimes if you want something to exist you have to make it yourself.” 

Darren Flynn

I’m Darren and I’m an Academic Liaison Manager at the University of Northampton. I’m also a PhD student at the Department of Information Studies at UCL doing research into how folks who work in academic libraries experience social class. I’ve worked in the library sector since 2011 working mostly in academic libraries starting as a graduate trainee and then working in primarily teaching-related roles until I moved into management in 2021. I’m also active in my local trade union (UCU) branch as an academic-related professional services member.

I joined FLJ when Kirsten first suggested setting up the group. I’ve done quite a few different jobs in my career (and applied for a lot more) and I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to recruitment practices. FLJ looked like a good way to try and improve things for other library workers. The equity aspect of our work particularly interests me. While I’m pleased that the library sector is trying to do more to be inclusive and diverse, I feel like a lot of our recruitment practices (which are often based on ingrained habits and assumptions) can really undermine this. I want to see us be more critical about recruitment and think about how the policies, practices and procedures we use really affect who we welcome into and allow to progress through the sector.

My Twitter

Harriet Notman

I’m Harriet and I work at Jisc as a Data Manager. My current role focuses on collecting, managing, and maintaining a wide range of data relating to Learning & Teaching (L&T). A current project I'm involved in requires working as part of a team to develop a robust methodology for the identification, collection, verification, and storage of data including book publishing, learning content, open access, and funding data.

I’ve worked in libraries for a number of years, mainly HE and some FE and specialist libraries. I’ve worked in most areas you can from front desk, user facing roles, to acquisitions, subscriptions, scholarly communications, open access and did a brief stint in publishing and worked in editorial.

Previous to my library life I worked in museums, galleries, and archives. I seem to have a trend of working in all the different areas so I did everything from working on information desks, to gift shops, to working as part of installation teams hanging exhibitions, to working in education and family learning departments.

I joined FLJ when Kirsten suggested setting this group up. As you can see my career has been a bit all over the place! I feel passionately that we need to do better as a sector, with better pay for our staff, transparent job descriptions and removing barriers that are in place, which include everything from credentialism (having to have library degrees to be librarians!) to not stating clear hours, locations, salaries, job roles. I know we can do better.

My LinkedIn.