Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year is…
Category: News
Laragh Quinney!
Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year Award, generously sponsored by Bolinda Digital, is given to an individual for outstanding work in libraries or information during the past twelve months.
We are delighted to announce that Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of the Year 2025 is Laragh Quinney!
Laragh received her award at the CILIPS Annual Conference, presented by our award sponsors Bolinda Digital. Our judging panel noted that they particularly admired Laragh’s timely work in leading the CILIPS Research Fund project Carbon Literacy for Libraries and cascading this training across the sector, evidencing exceptional impact and demonstrating how library professionals can lead on key national and international priorities like environmental action. Congratulations to Laragh from all at CILIPS!
Laragh was selected as overall winner from a shortlist of three talented professionals:
- Tara Hepburn, Library Officer at East Dunbartonshire Libraries
- Gavin Johnstone, Digital Services Librarian at Falkirk Libraries
- Laragh Quinney, Maps Reading Room Manager at the National Library of Scotland
Learn more about their achievements.
Award Sponsors
Bolinda Digital is an industry leading audiobook publisher, supplying libraries with audiobook content for over 30 years. Bolinda’s innovative lending platform BorrowBox, is the number one solution in the UK and offers a complete end-to-end service to libraries, with the best and most exclusive range of eAudiobooks and eBooks, since digital lending began. BorrowBox allows users to browse, download and borrow eContent in one easy to use app. It is the library that never closes.
The Ian McCracken Awards
Two additional awards for professional practice have been made possible thanks to a generous donation by former CILIPS Trustee Ian McCracken. Ian served on the CILIPS Board for a number of years, in addition to several sub-groups, and he is an Honorary Member of CILIP Scotland.
The Ian McCracken Innovator Award
This is a £500 prize for an individual who has carried out innovative work in their role and created change. For 2025, the Ian McCracken Innovator Award was awarded to Sally Bell for her investigations into uses of AI to help translate the catalogue records of rare foreign language material at the University of Glasgow Library.
The Ian McCracken Outstanding Achievement Award
This is a £350 prize for an individual who has achieved something outstanding within the past 12 months. For 2025, the Ian McCracken Outstanding Achievement Award was awarded to Gavin Johnstone for his exceptional work in supporting minoritized community members, specifically young travellers in Falkirk, to develop digital literacy skills and confidence through their local libraries.