Minutes Board of Trustees Meeting 15 May 2026

Present:

Board Members:

• Ashok Ahir (President and Chair)
• Andrew Evans
• Gronw Percy
• Heledd Bebb
• Jo Williams
• Andrew Prescott
• Susan Davies
• Janet Wademan
• Michael Gibbon
• Hannah Lindsay
• David Hay
• John Allen

Executive Team:

• Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Chief Executive
• Mererid Boswell, Director of Corporate Services
• Owain Roberts, Director of Collections

Also present:

• Annwen Isaac, Human Resources Manager
• Sion England and Ellie King, Partnership Council
• Nicky Guy, Welsh Government
• Llinos Williams, Executive Officer to the CEO

Minutes:

• Annwen Isaac

Apologies:

• Andrew Cusworth
• Phil Roberts
• Quentin Howard
• Mohini Gupta

• Rhian Gibson, Director of Communications and Engagement

 

Section 1 1. 

General Matters 1.1 Chair’s welcome, opening remarks and apologies 

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

Nicky Guy and Helen Pridham from Welsh Government and Sion England and Sara Weale, representing the Library’s Unions, were welcomed. 

2. Declarations of Interest relevant to the agenda 

Declarations of interest were made by Rhodri Llwyd Morgan in relation to point 4.2 as a former member of Aberystwyth University staff, and by Mererid Boswell as her spouse is a current member of the University’s staff. 

All staff present declared an interest in relation to point 4.6, the update on the Pension Consultation. 

2.1 Minutes of the meeting held 6 March 2026 and matters arising not covered in the agenda 

The minutes were approved as an accurate record of the matters discussed, with minor amendments to the English version. 

Matters arising from the minutes 

• The Library will circulate the Trustees’ Questionnaire to Trustees which refer to issues with Teams, a better way of providing information, training, skills matrix etc.
• Pension Report – it was agreed that a summary of the 2010 situation is shared with Trustees so that there is a record on file.
• The Library will recirculate the link to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training module. 

Section 2 

2.1 Chief Executive’s Report 

Following the election we now know who has been elected as First Minister and who are the Cabinet members. Heledd Fychan has been appointed as Trefnydd, Chief Whip as well as Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport. The Library has already written to her inviting her to visit. 

There is a promise to create a new culture strategy, and the Library will play a part in that new strategy. Having listened to interviews with the Minister there is an emphasis on setting aside funding from the portfolios of other areas for the benefit of the arts, culture and heritage, especially health from the preventative perspective, enterprise and the economy and also education and the Welsh language. 

The Head of Communications Marketing and Media has been in post a fortnight and is settling into her duties well.

The Library has already shared with you by e-mail that the Director of Communications and Engagement will be leaving the employment of the Library during July. We will be seeking to appoint a successor in a timely manner, once we have revised the job description. 

We continue to work hard behind the scenes on Legal Deposit which is a joint enterprise with the 6 libraries to maintain the system for published and electronic Legal Deposit. We will open talks with the Government at Westminster on sustainability and financing the legal deposit system for the future, especially from the perspective of the research, science and DSIT portfolio. Meetings are in place to discuss this further. 

It was noted that the Legal Deposit User Group meets regularly, and there is room to push harder on the interfaces. It was also noted that a lot of the content of the Chief Executive’s Report merits publicity and the information and achievements should be shared further via social media. It was agreed that it should be ensured that we have a record of the work and successes at the end of the Strategy. 

Section 3 

3.1 Corporate Risk Register 

It was reported that the Executive Team had reviewed the Risk Register. The main changes are: 

Risk number 2: Cyber Attacks – the risk has increased because the Library’s cyber-resilience strategy does not give end-to-end protection against cyber threats and data loss. It was noted that a strict timetable for joining the VPN was needed. Some of the Library’s staff will attend the Scenario Planning/ cyber simulation training on 18 May 2026. 

Risk number 1: The Consultation on the pension scheme has now come to an end. The Unions have expressed their position and the results of their indicative ballot 

The situation in the Middle East was also noted. The Head of Estates is closely monitoring energy prices and how the Library would respond should staff be unable to attend work. This is also being monitored by the Business Continuity group. It was agreed that the Executive Team will present a paper on this at the next Board meeting should the situation continue. 

It was also agreed that the number of risks would be reviewed, with the aim of combining those that are similar. 

The Corporate Risk Register was approved. 

Section 4: Strategic Matters 

4.1 Collections Strategy 2030 – Delivery Framework 

The Delivery Framework was presented by the Director of Collections. The 2030 Collections Strategy was approved at the last meeting. 

The purpose of the document is to focus on delivery. A model based on change theory presented on page 3 will track progress on activities, outputs, outcomes and impact. The three main themes and main elements- Linked Collections, Inclusive Collections and Sustainable Collections- were broadly explained. 

The way in which we will measure success regards the performance indicators is outlined in the final page and a half. These indicators will illustrate what is to be achieved in the Strategy period. Key milestones will be monitored via the Operational Plan. 

It was agreed that an explanatory note on the letters and numbers, is added at the top of page 3. 

The Delivery Framework was approved. 

4.2 Second-site update 

An update was given by the Director of Corporate Resources. The end vision is a centre for information, learning and digitisation, feeding into the priorities of Welsh Government and Local Authorities. It was noted that a cautious approach is necessary, and that the information needs to be considered in detail prior to making any decisions. 

4.3 Operational Plan 2026-2027

 The Operational Plan was approved at the March 2026 meeting. Since then, the Library has received comments from Welsh Government, and the Executive Team is currently in the process of revising the plan. The revised version will be presented to the Performance, Quality and Governance Committee on 26 May 2026. 

4.4 Swansea Workshop Report – 5 March 2026

 Heledd Bebb was thanked for facilitating the session in Swansea. We have already shared the session notes from the day. From the discussions in Swansea, one of the Library’s ambitions for the coming period will be the consideration of a National Archive for Wales. We have discussed this with Welsh Government, who have given permission to begin initial discussions with some key stakeholders. It was agreed that the Feasibility Study on the National Archive for Wales dated 2019 would be shared with the Trustees for information purposes. 

4.5 Board Work Programme 2026-2027 

The Board Work Programme for 2026-2027 was approved. There will be a clear focus for every meeting. It was noted that the Management Accounts needed to be included as a standing item on the agenda. The Board Work Programme was approved. 

4.6 Pension Scheme Update

It was reported that the necessary documentation with the changes agreed in March 2026 had been shared with Welsh Government.

We have also received official correspondence from the Trade Unions following their indicative ballots which note that over 90% had voted in favour of strike action. The next step will be the formal vote and notifying the Library of the outcome. The Trade Unions have nonetheless noted that they are prepared to have a meaningful discussion with the Library. 

Section 5 

5.1.1 March 2026 Management Accounts

It was reported that the final accounts for the year ending 31 March 2026 showed a deficit of £300K. It was noted that the trading income targets has been achieved. £5M had been spent on capital projects, but this money had been received from Welsh Government. 

The year-end situation shows that the organisation is in a financially sound position, is in a good position to support continuous sustainability, whilst recognising the pressures relating to staffing numbers, delivery of the capital timetables and the pension commitments.

The Director of Corporate Resources was thanked for their work and the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2026 were approved. 

5.1.2 Grants Update 

The report gave an overview of the Library’s grants activity for the September 2025 – February 2026. The report was provided for information. 

5.1.3 Use of Private Funds 

Following a request at the last meeting, a paper explaining how the Library will administer the Development Fund worth £250,000 in Private Funding. It was noted that around 5 projects per year could be considered. 

The projects/schemes that benefit the Library in the long-term and contribute to the Strategy are those that should be considered. 

It was agreed that a report on use of the fund would be presented to the Finance and Resources Committee twice per year. 

Establishing a Development Fund of £250,000 annually from private funds, with governance arrangements and application process as described in the paper, was approved.

Section 6 

6.1 Draft minutes of Performance, Quality and Governance Committee – 24 February 2026 

The draft minutes were shared for information. 

Trustees were reminded to present their list of skills to the Library as soon as possible, for inclusion in a paper which will be presented to the Performance, Quality and Governance meeting on 26 May 2026. 

6.2 Next Meeting 

The next meeting will be held on July 2026. Everyone was asked to try to be in Aberystwyth for the next meeting.