Dr Leo Appleton

BA (Northumbria), PGCert (Edge Hill), MA (Liverpool), MA Edge Hill), PhD (Edinburgh Napier)

Information School

Senior University Teacher

l.appleton@sheffield.ac.uk

Room C226, The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Leo Appleton
Information School
Room C226
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH

Profile

After completing a degree in Information and Library Management at the University of Northumbria, I commenced a career in librarianship and have held management and leadership positions in several university libraries, as well as in Further Education colleges and NHS Hospital trusts. Since 2008 I have worked in senior library management posts at Liverpool John Moores University, University of the Arts, London and most recently was the Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths, University of London. I joined the Information School as a Senior University Teacher in June 2020.

I have continued to study whilst pursuing my library career, and gained Masters degrees in both music and education. I was awarded my PhD in Library and Information Science from Edinburgh Napier University in 2020. I am also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

University Responsibilities

Information School Director of Education
Deputy Programme co-ordinator MA Librarianship

Qualifications

FCLIP

SFHEA

Research interests

My research interests are in academic libraries and public libraries. Having worked in academic libraries for over twenty years I have published and presented on many different aspects of academic library management including: performance measurement; space planning and design; user experience; critical librarianship; information literacy; electronic resource development. I was awarded the 2016 Research Practitioner Excellence Award by the Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)

I am also very interested in public libraries and the role that they play in the information society. My PhD thesis was about the epistemic, community and political roles that public libraries in the United Kingdom play within the public sphere. The research involved an in depth, longitudinal, multi-location study of public library usage and user attitudes towards them.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Featured publications

Journal articles

Appleton L (2020) Academic libraries and student engagement: a literature review. New Review of Academic Librarianship.
Appleton L (2019) Viewpoint: Is critical art librarianship actually a thing?. Art Libraries Journal, 44(2), 92-95.
Appleton L (2018) Positioning the academic library within the institution: structures and challenges. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(3-4), 209-216.
Appleton L, Hall H, Duff AS & Raeside R (2018) UK public library roles and value: A focus group analysis. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(3), 275-283.
Appleton L (2018) Qualitative methods for engaging students in performance measurement. Information and Learning Science, 119(1/2), 64-76.
Appleton L, Grandal Montero G & Jones A (2017) Creative approaches to information literacy for creative arts students. Communications in Information Literacy, 11(1), 147-167.
Appleton L & Montero GG (2017) Editors' note. Art Libraries Journal, 42(2), 61-62.
Appleton L & Staddon E (2017) Strategic approaches to teaching and learning development for art and design librarians. Art Libraries Journal, 42(2), 107-115.
Appleton L (2016) User experience (UX) in libraries : let’s get physical (and digital). Insights: the UKSG Journal, 29(3), 224-227.
Appleton L & Abernethy P (2013) We Said … We Did!: A Partnership Approach to Developing Library and Student Support Services. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(2), 208-220.
Appleton L (2012) Assuring quality using “moments of truth” in super‐converged services. Library Management, 33(6/7), 414-420.
Appleton L, Stevenson V & Boden D (2011) Developing learning landscapes: academic libraries driving organisational change. Reference Services Review, 39(3), 343-361.
Appleton L (2011) LolliPop for learning resources: information literacy staff training within further education. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 25(1).
Appleton L (2010) LolliPop for learning resources: Information literacy staff training within further education. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 42(3), 191-198.
Appleton L (2006) Perceptions of electronic library resources in further education. The Electronic Library, 24(5), 619-634.
Appleton L (2005) Using electronic textbooks: promoting, placing and embedding. The Electronic Library, 23(1), 54-63.
Appleton L () Examination of the impact of information-skills training on the academic work of health-studies students: a single case study. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 22(3), 164-172.
Appleton L () The use of electronic books in midwifery education: the student perspective. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 21(4), 245-252.

Chapters

Appleton L (2020) Leading Liberation in the Library In Weaver M & Appleton L (Ed.), Bold Minds : Leading Libraries Into the Future (pp. 47-62). London: Facet Publishing.
Appleton L (2016) Measuring Quality in Super-Converged Services, Quality and the Academic Library (pp. 237-245). Elsevier
(2016) Sharing Space in University Libraries, University Libraries and Space in the Digital World (pp. 139-150). Routledge
Appleton L (2013) Sharing space in university libraries, University Libraries and Space in the Digital World (pp. 119-130).

All publications

Books

Appleton L (2017) Libraries and key performance indicators : a framework for practitioners. Kidlington: Chandos.

Edited books

Appleton L (Ed.) (2021) Positioning the academic library within the university : structures and challenges. London: Routledge.

Journal articles

Kither A & Appleton L (2024) Identifying Best Practice in Recording Copy-Specific Elements in Special Collections Cataloging. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 62(1), 7-55.
Smith T & Appleton L (2023) Addressing Classification System Bias in Higher Education Libraries in England. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 23(4), 819-841.
Appleton L & Woolley N (2023) The Role of Academic Libraries in Climate Action. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 29(2), 117-122.
Appleton L (2022) Editorial. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 28(4), 347-348.
Appleton L (2022) Trendspotting - looking to the future in a post-pandemic academic library environment. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 28(1), 1-6.
Appleton L & Hall H (2022) Using a multi-location, longitudinal focus group method to conduct qualitative research into the role of public libraries. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 11(1), 83-92.
Appleton L (2021) Accelerating the digital shift : how a global pandemic has created an environment for rapid change in academic libraries. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 27(3), 257-258.
Appleton L (2021) Editorial – academic librarians and engaging with scholarship. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 27(2), 145-148.
Walton G & Appleton L (2021) Editorial for New Review of Academic Librarianship (1) 2021. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 27(1), 1-3.
Appleton L (2020) Academic libraries and student engagement: a literature review. New Review of Academic Librarianship.
Appleton L (2019) Viewpoint: Is critical art librarianship actually a thing?. Art Libraries Journal, 44(2), 92-95.
Appleton L (2018) Positioning the academic library within the institution: structures and challenges. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(3-4), 209-216.
Appleton L, Hall H, Duff AS & Raeside R (2018) UK public library roles and value: A focus group analysis. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(3), 275-283.
Appleton L (2018) Qualitative methods for engaging students in performance measurement. Information and Learning Science, 119(1/2), 64-76.
Appleton L, Grandal Montero G & Jones A (2017) Creative approaches to information literacy for creative arts students. Communications in Information Literacy, 11(1), 147-167.
Appleton L & Montero GG (2017) Editors' note. Art Libraries Journal, 42(2), 61-62.
Appleton L & Staddon E (2017) Strategic approaches to teaching and learning development for art and design librarians. Art Libraries Journal, 42(2), 107-115.
Appleton L (2016) User experience (UX) in libraries : let’s get physical (and digital). Insights: the UKSG Journal, 29(3), 224-227.
Appleton L & Abernethy P (2013) We Said … We Did!: A Partnership Approach to Developing Library and Student Support Services. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(2), 208-220.
Appleton L (2012) Assuring quality using “moments of truth” in super‐converged services. Library Management, 33(6/7), 414-420.
Appleton L, Stevenson V & Boden D (2011) Developing learning landscapes: academic libraries driving organisational change. Reference Services Review, 39(3), 343-361.
Appleton L (2011) LolliPop for learning resources: information literacy staff training within further education. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 25(1).
Appleton L (2010) LolliPop for learning resources: Information literacy staff training within further education. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 42(3), 191-198.
Appleton L (2006) Perceptions of electronic library resources in further education. The Electronic Library, 24(5), 619-634.
Appleton L (2005) Using electronic textbooks: promoting, placing and embedding. The Electronic Library, 23(1), 54-63.
O’Reilly C & Appleton L () Teaching an Old Library New Tricks: An Analysis of the User Experience of Three Dublin Library Buildings. Public Library Quarterly, 1-29.
Devine J & Appleton L () Environmental education in public libraries. Library Management.
Appleton L & Hall H () The public library as public sphere: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Documentation.
Appleton L () Examination of the impact of information-skills training on the academic work of health-studies students: a single case study. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 22(3), 164-172.
Appleton L () The use of electronic books in midwifery education: the student perspective. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 21(4), 245-252.

Chapters

Appleton L (2021) Alternative data sources: using digital and social media to inform management decisions in your library. In Stubbing A (Ed.), Data-Driven Decisions A Practical Toolkit for Librarians and Information Professionals (pp. 127-140). London: Facet.
Appleton L (2020) Leading Liberation in the Library In Weaver M & Appleton L (Ed.), Bold Minds : Leading Libraries Into the Future (pp. 47-62). London: Facet Publishing.
Appleton L (2017) Metaliteracy in art education: implications for library instruction In Glassman P & Dyki J (Ed.), The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship (pp. 169-178). London: Facet Publishing.
Appleton L, Latimer K & Christie P (2017) New, renovated and repurposed library spaces: responding to demands In Glassman P & Dyki J (Ed.), The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship (pp. 263-276). Facet Publishing
Appleton L (2016) Measuring Quality in Super-Converged Services, Quality and the Academic Library (pp. 237-245). Elsevier
(2016) Sharing Space in University Libraries, University Libraries and Space in the Digital World (pp. 139-150). Routledge
Appleton L (2013) Sharing space in university libraries, University Libraries and Space in the Digital World (pp. 119-130).

Conference proceedings papers

Appleton L & Hall H () Using a multi-location, longitudinal focus group method to conduct qualitative research into the role of public libraries. 13th Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference (QQML) 25-28 May 2021, in press

Teaching activities

Module co-ordinator for:

INF6005 - Management for Library and Information Services
INF6513 - Leadership, Strategy and Change (Distance Learning)

I also teach on:

INF6002 - Academic and Workplace Knowledge, Library and Information Services
INF6502 - Academic and Workplace Knowledge, Library and Information Services (Distance Learning)
INF6103 - Information Organisation
INF6503 - Information Organisation (Distance Learning)
INF6501 - Personal and Professional Development (Distance Learning)
INF6180 - Libraries, Information and Society
INF6580 - Libraries, Information and Society

Professional activities and memberships

Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)
Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy
Events Co-ordinator and committee member of Library and Information Research Group (CILIP Special Interest Group) (2017 - 2020)
Chair of Library and Information Research Group (CILIP Special Interest Group) (2020 - )
Honorary Chair of Multimedia, Information and Technology (CILIP Special Interest Group) (2010 – 2017)
Honorary Secretary of Multimedia and Information Technology (2005 – 2010)
Active member Academic and Research Libraries Group (CILIP Special Interest Group) (2000 – 2014)
Member of ARLIS Council (Art Libraries’ Society of UK and Ireland) (2018 - 2022)
Active member of SCONUL Strategy Group on Performance Measurement and Quality (2011 – 2015)
Active member of SCONUL Transformation Group (2015 - 2020)
Chair of SCONUL Design Awards 2019
Regular peer reviewer for Emerald and Taylor & Francis ‘Library and Information’ titles
Editor of UKSG eNews publication (2014 - 2020)
Member of UKSG Insights editorial board (2014 - 2018)
Associate editor of New Review of Academic Librarianship (2015 - 2020)
Editor-in-chief of New Review of Academic Librarianship (2020 - )
Guest editor of 2018 themed issue of New Review of Academic Librarianship: “Positioning the academic library within the university”
Chair of the 50^th Anniversary ARLIS (Art Libraries’ Society) Conference, University of Glasgow, 15^th – 17^th July 2019