Nominees for BRISMES Treasurer (2023-2026)

Waseem Farooq

Since 2021, I am the Reference and Instructional Librarian, at the Aga Khan Library, London, specialising in resources related to Islam and the Middle East. Before that I was working as an Acquisitions’ Librarian, and in various other related roles at the Aga Khan University, since joining in 2005. Prior to that I was the Arabic cataloguer and Leading Library Assistant at the British Library from 2002-2005. Education wise, I graduated from the University of Durham in 2002 with a BA Honours in Arabic with Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and completed an MA in Library and Information studies at UCL in 2012, followed by an MA in Historical Research Methods (with reference to Islam in the Middle East, India and Africa) at SOAS, in 2014. In relation to the role advertised, I have been a treasurer for MELCOM UK (Middle East Libraries Committee) since around 2012 and more recently at CILIP’s (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professional’s) Library and Information History Group, since 2019. As a treasurer for the CILIP group, I administer their Unity Bank account, paying invoices, bursaries, awards and expenses, preparing the year end returns and the annual budget plan. My primary aim is to become actively involved in BRISMES, to contribute to its growth, and to use it as an opportunity to get to know academics and their Middle East related research around the UK. Also, I would like to gain further experience and improve my financial skills in managing budgets.