This year’s National Acquisitions Group (NAG) Award for Excellence has been won by Canterbury Christ Church University Library in recognition of the outstanding work of its Resources and Digital Discovery Team in transforming library acquisitions, discovery, and reading list services. Through the successful implementation of a new ERM system and a fully embedded Reading List platform, the team has delivered significant improvements in efficiency, financial oversight, and students’ access to learning
resources.
Through this work the Canterbury Christ Church University team have consistently exceeded expectations by not only embracing change but actively leading it. They have taken ownership of complex service redesigns, championed new technologies, and worked collaboratively to ensure that every improvement genuinely enhances the experience of students, academics, and colleagues.
The Executive Committee were impressed by the team’s strong collaboration with academic and professional colleagues, clear focus on value for money, and commitment to sharing best practice across the sector, making Canterbury Christ Church University a deserving winner of this year’s Award.
Theresa Thurston, University Librarian said “I am absolutely thrilled that the Library Services team at Canterbury Christ Church University has received this year’s NAG Award for Excellence. This award reflects the team’s hard work to deliver significant, lasting improvements during a period of major institutional change. Through continuous improvement, workflow optimisation, and the implementation of new systems— including a transformative Electronic Resource Management system, a university-wide reading list platform, and user-informed enhancements to LibrarySearch—the team has improved the student experience while increasing efficiency across services. I am immensely proud of the team’s professionalism, resilience, and ambition, and delighted to see their work recognised at a national level.
The team will share their project with the wider NAG membership through a webinar or paper at a NAG event in 2026-7.