15 Library Leaders Across Australia and New Zealand

Libraries are easy to underestimate. They hold books, records, data and places to learn, but the best library leaders also build trust, access and belonging around those resources. In 2026, the work spans national institutions, state libraries, universities, public library networks and professional bodies. This list highlights 15 current leaders whose roles show different ways to make a library useful in a changing world. It sits alongside other leadership lists on Consult Clarity and nursing leadership.

Why library leadership matters

Library leadership matters because the work is both practical and deeply human. A library must care for knowledge, make it discoverable, support learning, serve communities and adapt to new technology without losing public trust. The people below work in different settings, but each has a current role with a clear connection to collections, access, learning, culture or the library profession. Together, they show that library leadership is not one job title. It is a set of choices about who gets access, how knowledge is cared for and how institutions stay useful.

1. Alison Dellit

Director-General, National Library of Australia

Alison Dellit leads the National Library of Australia as Director-General, a role that brings national collecting, access and public trust into one leadership brief. Her appointment followed a long career inside the Library, so she brings both institutional memory and a clear view of what needs to change. The Library describes her work across digital innovation, collections and national collaboration, which makes her a useful person to follow if you care about how heritage organisations stay relevant while protecting the value of what they hold.

A distinctive part of Dellit’s story is her role in the early development of Trove and the National eDeposit program. Those are practical examples of library leadership moving beyond shelves and reading rooms into national digital infrastructure. Her National Library profile and LinkedIn profile are good places to follow the next stage of that work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

2. Rachel Esson

National Librarian Te Pouhuaki, National Library of New Zealand

Rachel Esson is National Librarian Te Pouhuaki at the National Library of New Zealand. The role sits at the centre of a library that must serve readers, researchers, communities and the wider public record at the same time. Esson is worth watching because the work is not only about managing a collection. It is also about helping a national institution make knowledge easier to find, more meaningful to communities and more connected to the country’s changing identity. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

One useful way to understand Esson’s leadership is through the National Library conversation about her role. It gives people outside the sector a direct entry point into the work of a National Librarian, while her LinkedIn profile provides a place to follow her current professional activity and the issues shaping libraries in Aotearoa. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

3. Vicki McDonald AM

State Librarian and CEO, State Library of Queensland

Vicki McDonald is State Librarian and CEO at the State Library of Queensland. She has led the organisation since 2016, giving her a long view of how a public cultural institution can remain useful, open and connected to the communities it serves. Her work is especially relevant to leaders who need to balance public purpose with practical delivery. The role spans policy, client services and collections, so the leadership challenge is broad rather than limited to one programme or audience.

McDonald’s distinctive professional marker is her 2020 appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to librarianship and professional associations. She is also due to become Chief Executive Officer at State Library Victoria in September 2026, so her State Library Queensland profile and LinkedIn profile are useful places to follow a major leadership transition. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

4. Caroline Butler-Bowdon

State Librarian, State Library of New South Wales

Caroline Butler-Bowdon is State Librarian at the State Library of New South Wales. Her background crosses cultural institutions, public policy and the built environment, which gives her a wide lens on the way libraries sit inside civic life. That matters because a state library is not only a place to store material. It is also a public space, a research service and a trusted way for people to connect with the history and ideas of their place. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Butler-Bowdon’s distinctive fact is that she previously served as Deputy Secretary for Cities and Active Transport in the NSW public service, after building a career across public institutions and publishing in architecture and urban history. Her official bio and LinkedIn profile show how civic leadership experience can strengthen a library brief. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

5. Megan Berghuis

Director, State Library of South Australia

Megan Berghuis is Director at the State Library of South Australia. She brings a local government leadership background into a role built around collections, exhibitions, public learning and the wider library network. That combination makes her worth following for leaders who want to see how cultural organisations connect strategy with community service. Her appointment also shows that senior library leadership can draw on experience outside a traditional library career path when the person understands people, systems and public value. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Before joining the State Library, Berghuis was General Manager Community and Organisational Development at the City of Unley. She also sits on the Libraries Board of South Australia and chairs its Public Libraries Committee, according to the appointment announcement. Her LinkedIn profile is the best place to follow her current work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

6. Roxanne Missingham OAM

Director Collections and Chief Librarian, State Library Victoria

Roxanne Missingham OAM is Director Collections and Chief Librarian at State Library Victoria. Her brief connects the care of collections with the ways people discover and use them, which is a central leadership question for libraries in a digital age. She brings experience across research libraries, metadata, digitisation and professional bodies. That mix makes her a strong example of a leader who treats collections as active public infrastructure rather than as material that simply sits in storage. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Missingham previously served as University Librarian and Chief Scholarly Information Officer at the Australian National University. The State Library announcement also notes her more than 200 book chapters, journal articles, conference papers and presentations. Follow her LinkedIn profile for current thinking about access, scholarship and library transformation. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

7. Cathie Warburton

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Library and Information Association

Cathie Warburton is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Library and Information Association. Her work sits one level above any single library, helping shape the professional environment in which public, academic, school, special and vocational libraries operate. That makes her a useful person to follow if you want to understand the sector’s shared questions about capability, advocacy, education and change. Association leadership is often quiet work, but it influences what thousands of library professionals can learn and do next. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Warburton became ALIA CEO in 2022, following senior roles across library and information settings. The ALIA team page confirms her current position, while the appointment announcement gives useful background. Her LinkedIn profile is a practical way to follow current sector advocacy and professional learning work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

8. Nicole Clark

University Librarian, QUT Library

Nicole Clark is University Librarian at QUT Library. Her role is a good reminder that academic library leadership is closely tied to the university’s wider strategy. The work reaches into teaching, research, student experience, digital discovery and the systems that help people use knowledge well. Clark is worth following for leaders who want to see how a library can make a clear contribution to institutional priorities while keeping professional expertise and service quality at the centre. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

QUT describes Clark as responsible for strategic leadership and identifies her links with university committees, the Council of Australian University Librarians and the Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation. That network is the distinctive part of her current brief. Read her QUT profile and follow her LinkedIn profile for current academic library leadership signals. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

9. Bruce Munro

Associate Director Library, QUT Library

Bruce Munro is Associate Director Library at QUT Library. His work covers strategic direction, service delivery, workforce and resource allocation, so he represents the leadership layer where priorities become day to day practice. That is often where library strategy succeeds or fails. Munro is worth following because his role sits close to the practical systems, people and choices that shape how researchers, students and staff experience a modern academic library. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

A distinctive part of Munro’s work is his leadership of QUT’s Research Right! open educational resource. It helps researchers understand open access and publishing choices in a usable way. His QUT profile sets out his current remit, and his LinkedIn profile gives a direct view of his professional activity. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

10. Mark Crookston

Director Digital, National Library of New Zealand

Mark Crookston is Director Digital at the National Library of New Zealand. Digital leadership in a national library is not just an information technology job. It includes how people discover collections, how material is preserved, how services remain usable and how a public institution earns trust online. Crookston is worth watching because the role connects library practice with archives, recordkeeping and the long term challenge of keeping knowledge available as tools and expectations change. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Crookston’s distinctive background crosses the library and archives worlds. His LinkedIn profile describes that mix and shows current activity connected with both the National Library and Archives New Zealand. The National Library’s leadership page confirms his current Director Digital role. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

11. Ruki Tobin

Director Mātauranga Māori, National Library of New Zealand

Ruki Tobin is Director Mātauranga Māori at the National Library of New Zealand. The role gives Māori knowledge a named place in the organisation’s leadership structure, which matters for how collections, services and relationships are shaped. Tobin is worth following because library leadership is not only about the information an institution holds. It is also about whose knowledge is recognised, how it is cared for and how communities experience the institution’s work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

The distinctive fact here is the role itself. The National Library’s current leadership group places Tobin alongside the directors responsible for digital, collections, community engagement and strategy. Her LinkedIn profile shows current professional activity and gives a useful place to keep learning from the work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

12. Alison McIntyre

Director Community Engagement and Learning, National Library of New Zealand

Alison McIntyre is Director Community Engagement and Learning at the National Library of New Zealand. It is a role built around the part of library leadership that people feel most directly: whether the institution is welcoming, useful and able to help people learn. McIntyre is worth following because community engagement is not an extra layer added after strategy. It is one of the ways a library understands its public purpose and turns collections into experiences that people can use. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

McIntyre’s distinctive fact is the combination of community engagement and learning in her current title. That pairing makes the public connection explicit in the National Library leadership structure. Her LinkedIn profile also shows current activity across library and archives work. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

13. Tiffany Rawlings

Library and Archive Manager, Masterton District Council

Tiffany Rawlings is Library and Archive Manager at Masterton District Council and Chair of Public Libraries New Zealand. Her work shows how local library leadership can have both a community and a sector wide reach. The local role is close to the people, collections and places that libraries serve. The national association role creates a chance to share those lessons, advocate for public libraries and help the profession learn across regions. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Rawlings’ distinctive current responsibility is the combination of local library and archive leadership with the chair role at Public Libraries New Zealand, which began in March 2026. Masterton’s public material also highlights a Wairarapa Archive collection with more than two million photographs. Read the council story and follow her LinkedIn profile. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use.

14. Lisa Bateman

Manager Cultural Services, City of Moreton Bay

Lisa Bateman is Manager Cultural Services at City of Moreton Bay and President of the Australian Library and Information Association for the 2026 AGM to 2029 AGM term. Her current work sits at the intersection of public libraries, cultural services and professional leadership. She is worth following because that mix shows how libraries can be part of a wider civic offer, while still needing clear leadership about access, learning, belonging and the practical work of serving communities. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

Bateman’s distinctive next step is the move from library leadership into a broader cultural services remit while taking on the ALIA presidency. Her public appointment post describes the new role, and the ALIA board page confirms her current professional leadership. Follow her LinkedIn profile for updates. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

15. Hero Macdonald

University Librarian, Deakin University

Hero Macdonald is University Librarian at Deakin University. Her role connects the library’s services and resources with the University’s wider direction, while her sector work reaches across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Macdonald is worth following because academic library leadership increasingly depends on collaboration beyond one campus. Shared negotiation, open access and collective purchasing can shape what researchers and students are able to use, not just how one library delivers its local services. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service.

In 2026, Macdonald received the Council of Australian University Librarians Distinguished Service Award. The award recognition also identifies her as a current CAUL Board Director and Chair of its Content Procurement Committee. Deakin’s leadership page and her LinkedIn profile are useful follow points. This is a useful example of leadership that turns public purpose into everyday service. It also shows how clear choices can make an organisation easier to trust and easier to use. That is a lesson leaders can carry into work well beyond libraries.

What these leaders show us

The first pattern is stewardship. National and state library leaders are responsible for collections that belong to the public, so their decisions reach beyond one organisation. The second pattern is connection. University and public library leaders have to link professional expertise with the needs of students, researchers, families, councils and communities. The third pattern is shared influence. Association leaders and sector chairs can change what the profession learns, advocates for and builds together. Strong library leadership therefore combines care, clarity and the courage to make knowledge easier for people to use.

How to use this list

Use this list as a starting point for better leadership conversations. Follow the people whose roles are closest to your work, then read their organisations’ current plans, appointment news and public updates. Notice the choices they make about access, people, technology, collections and community. If you lead outside the library sector, ask what your organisation could learn from them. Libraries are useful teachers because they turn abstract values such as trust, inclusion and learning into everyday systems that people can actually experience.

Frequently asked questions

Who is included in this library leadership list?

The list includes current leaders in national, state, university, public library and professional association roles across Australia and New Zealand.

What makes a library leadership role matter?

The strongest roles connect knowledge, people and public purpose. The title may sit in a national institution, university, council or professional body, but the work is measured by how useful, welcoming and trusted the library becomes.

Are these all chief librarians?

No. The list includes chief executives, directors, university librarians, an associate director, a public library leader and a professional association CEO.

What can other leaders learn from libraries?

They can learn how to build trust, make knowledge easier to access, serve different communities and keep useful systems alive through change.

Conclusion

Library leadership is leadership at the point where people, knowledge and public purpose meet. These 15 leaders show the range of that work across Australia and New Zealand. Follow their work, learn from the systems they are building and keep asking how your own organisation can make trust and learning easier to experience.

Related reading

For more leadership examples, read 34 Outstanding Emergency Services Leaders in ANZ and 46 Key Nursing Leaders in Australia and New Zealand.

Need help turning leadership ideas into practice?

Jonno White helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at. He facilitates practical leadership keynotes, Working Genius workshops and team conversations that help people understand how they work together.

If your leadership team is working through culture, communication or accountability questions, email jonno@consultclarity.org to ask about a written proposal.

About the author

Jonno White is a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, keynote speaker and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, and the author of Step Up or Step Out. He works with schools, organisations and leadership teams around the world. To enquire about a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.