Here you can learn more about the staff, Board, Honorary Presidents and the Poets Advisory Group of the Scottish Poetry Library.
Our people
Our staff
Asif Khan
Director. Contact Asif about strategic partnerships, sector advocacy or becoming a patron.Aly Barr
Deputy Director/Head of Operations. Contact Aly about matters related to the running of the Library building or staffing.Maria Carnegie
Head Librarian. Contact Maria about the library’s physical and digital collections and archive resources; delivery of library customer services; cataloguing and indexing of new acquisitions and special items; the SPL’s Library Management System and associated borrower services.Colin Waters
Communications Manager. Contact Colin about the SPL's social media, web site, press enquiries, and the Scots Makar Jackie Kay.Beth Cochrane
Events and Volunteers Manager. Contact Beth about event proposals, venue hire, the Fringe Festival and volunteering at the Scottish Poetry Library.Hannah Lavery
Learning & Engagement Co-ordinator. Contact Hannah about supporting schools and community groups engaging with the SPL.Toni Velikova
Assistant Librarian. Contact Toni about collections management, periodicals selection, acquisitions, reference enquiries, cataloguing and indexing, and the archive and cuttings collection.Samuel Tongue
Projects Co-ordinator. Contact Sam about National Poetry Day, Tools of the Trade, publications or new project ideas.Matthew Fellion
Library Assistant. Contact Matthew if you have an inquiry about the collection, events or online shop.Ross Jamieson
Administrator. Contact Ross about the Library's shop, both within the building and online.Our Board
Below you can learn more about the members of the SPL Board. Members of the SPL Board are elected by Friends of the SPL, having been nominated by a Friend with a Friend as seconder. These nominations are put to the vote at the Annual General Meeting in November. The SPL Board includes a wide range of expertise, from writing, librarianship, publishing and digital to legal, financial and human resources. The Members are committed to ensuring that the Library remains financially sustainable and fulfils its mission to bring people and poems together. You can read our company governing documents, plans and accounts via this link https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/Company papers/
Jane Ryder, OBE (Chair)
Appointed 2017. Chair of Historic Environment Scotland and Board member of other public bodies. Former Chief Executive of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and former Chair of Arts and Business Scotland.Dr James Ripley (Company Secretary)
Appointed 2018. Academic Librarian.Rory Anderson QC
Appointed 2017. Lawyer.Dr Fiona Forbes
Appointed 2018. Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.Dr John Gillies, OBE
Appointed 2016. Honorary Professor, Department of General Practice, Population Health Sciences; Senior Adviser, Global Health Academy; Co-Director, GHA Compassion initiative; Deputy Director, Scottish School of Primary Care.Marcas Mac an Tuairneir
Appointed 2017. Poet.Gordon Munro
Appointed 2017. Councillor, City of Edinburgh Council.Stuart A. Paterson
Appointed 2017. Poet.Nuala Watt
Appointed 2017. Writer and lecturer.Join
Become a Borrower or support our work by becoming a Friend of SPL.Online Shop
Browse our range of poetry books, cards and gifts in our online shop.Podcasts
Our audio programme of poets, poems and news for you to listen to.Our Honorary Presidents
From time to time, the Board of the SPL asks distinguished poets to become Honorary Presidents of the Library.
The current Honorary Presidents are Douglas Dunn, Liz Lochhead, Michael Longley and Aonghas MacNeacail.
Previous Presidents have been George Bruce, Seamus Heaney, Norman MacCaig, Sorley MacLean, Naomi Mitchison, Edwin Morgan, Iain Crichton Smith, Derick Thomson, and Tessa Ransford
Poets Advisory Group
The SPL Poets Advisory Group was established in December 2017 as a means for poets to share their ideas on how the library engages and works with poets across Scotland. Participants contribute topics for discussion in the meetings, and SPL staff may ask for the Group’s feedback on projects. Following the Group’s meetings, detailed notes from the discussion are shared with SPL staff to be taken into account when determining and implementing SPL activities in line with the business plan ambitions for 2018 to 2021. For more information on PAG, click here.
Poetry Groups at the SPL
Several poetry groups meet at the SPL, where the comfortable surroundings and access to volumes of poetry make for a rich writing experience. You can discover more about each of the groups that meet at the SPL here.
We also have a page where you can find out more information about poetry groups that meet outside of the SPL here.