Josh Sendall promotes open knowledge, freely accessible libraries, talent development and empowerment, and equity, diversity, and inclusion as essential elements of healthy, resilient cultures and communities. He holds several national and regional leadership roles, including with Jisc (the UK’s digital, data, and technology agency for HE and FE), Academic Libraries North (ALN), and UKSG, where he serves as a Trustee and Conference Planning Chair. UKSG connects the knowledge community across academic librarians, publishers, intermediaries, and technology vendors.
Josh also serves on advisory boards for select publishers, intermediaries, and technology providers. His career in academic libraries began at Lancaster University, where he held roles including Library Aide, Learning Zone Student Advisor, Information Assistant, Research Data Manager, and Head of Open Research. He later joined the University of Nottingham as Associate Director for Research, before moving to the University of Leeds as Director of Library Services.
Between September 2025 and August 2026 Josh will work with the Kula Academy to strengthen connections and ongoing collaborations and learning between the two organizations. He will lead a series of themed Zoom discussions between October 2025 and April 2026 in collaboration with UVic and ULeeds colleagues. UVic will then host Josh for a site visit to Victoria in late April/May 2026. The themes of his Visiting Fellowship will include EDIA (equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility); decolonizing the library; the role of special collections in EDIA; libraries and student well-being; library spaces; and library staff culture.