James Toner

Alongside PhD study, James is currently 'Head of Learning and Information Services’ for a multinational education provider based in China.

In addition to this, he has previously held a Visiting Lecturer position at University College London Qatar, delivering their Services to Children and Schools module as part of the MA Library and Information Studies Programme, as well as a current committee member for IFLA’s ‘Library Services to Multicultural Populations’ section.

Prior to moving to China, he has held a number of teaching and support positions within education and has been involved in information and library services development in the Middle East, South East Asia, but most notably within higher education within the UK.

As an active researcher, his main interests are predominantly rooted in library strategy and policy, information/knowledge exchange and application (particularly within culturally diverse environments), as well as leadership strategies, organisational learning and culture.

He has recently completed a research project investigating what factors influence knowledge sharing behaviour on collaborative, cross-cultural charity projects.

PhD project

Supervisors

• Ana Vasconcelos
• Pam McKinney

Research interests

• Information and knowledge management / sharing
• Organisational learning and culture

Publications

Toner, J. (2019). The Role of the University Library in Supporting International Students: A Survey of Practices Across UK Universities. Journal of Library Administration, 59(7), 812-829. DOI:10.1080/01930826.2019.1652045

Events and conference presentations

Toner, J. (2020, March). Improving life chances of young people. Paper presented at OCLC Library Futures Conference, Vienna, Austria.

Toner, J., Scott, D., Miller, W., & Bennett, L. (2019, April). Innovation through 5 steps to well-being. Poster presented at University Association of Lifelong Learning Conference, Telford, United Kingdom.

Toner, J. (2019, March). Internationalisation in the School Library. What is it and how do we support it? Lessons learnt from HE. Paper presented at Library and Information Association Qatar Fourth Forum, Doha, Qatar.

Toner, J., Scott, D., Miller, W., & Bennett, L. (2018, March). Empowering employees to become lifelong learners in changing world. Paper presented at University Association of Lifelong Learning Conference, Cambridge, United Kingdom.