Board members

All Board members are appointed by the Scottish Ministers, and follow the Nolan procedures on public appointment. Any vacancies are advertised by the Scottish Government.

Professor Christopher Smith

Chair

Professor Christopher Smith has led national and international scholarship and science diplomacy in Scotland and across the world. He is deeply committed to the value of libraries as a fundamental infrastructure of knowledge, and their role as trusted partners in community.

As Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, as International Champion for UKRI and a member of the governing bodies of Science Europe and the Global Research Council, Christopher will bring an international perspective.

With over thirty years' experience at the University of St Andrews, Christopher remains deeply and profoundly committed to the heritage and the future of Scotland.

Lesley McPherson

Vice Chair

Lesley is a communications director with experience in a number of major organisations, most recently Royal London group, and from 2016 to 2021 she was Director of Communications at The Co-operative Bank where she re-established the bank's ethical and corporate responsibility agenda. From 2013 to 2016 she led communications on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, driving media campaigns to improve public engagement and promoting cultural venues, museums and galleries. Previously, she held leadership roles at AEGON UK and the Association of British Insurers.

Emily Drayson

Emily is a Highlands-based research consultant and experienced not-for-profit board member. She has more than 15 years' experience in the charitable sector, providing research and analysis for not-for-profit organisations across the UK. Since 2014 Emily has served on the boards of UK charities, as a Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (2014 to 2020) and then as a Director and Trustee of Bliss Scotland since 2020, a leading charity for babies born premature or sick. She also served on the Finance and Risk Committee of both organisations. Emily is a longstanding user of the National Library of Scotland.

Alan Horn

Alan is the Director of Development at the Glasgow School of Art, where since 2010 he has been responsible for securing support for the capital and revenue priorities of the school. Previously, he held similar roles at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Action for Children Scotland and at Glasgow Life, where he led the award-winning Kelvingrove refurbishment campaign. His early career was in retail and economic development. Alan is a Board member of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Trustees of the Glasgow Art Club.

Alison Kidd

Alison has worked extensively in human resources, holding senior positions in various financial services organisations. Throughout her career, Alison has led human resources integrations and cultural transformations. She has significant experience in regulated roles and extensive stakeholder management experience and a particular interest in people strategy, especially the future world of work post COVID-19.

Robert Kilpatrick

Robert is an experienced estates professional and qualified building services engineer. He has 25 years of experience within the higher education sector, with 17 of those being at senior management level. As head of Estates Operations and Maintenance teams, he was responsible for the delivery of facilities management services, estates compliance and carbon reduction. He has extensive experience of managing large capital projects. While working at University of Glasgow, he led a major fabric improvement and infrastructure project within the main library. Robert is currently the Assistant Director of Estates at University of Strathclyde.

Kirsty Lingstadt

Kirsty is the Director of Library, Archives and Learning Services at the University of York. Her focus is on digital learning, teaching and research with a specific focus on online collections, digital making, scholarship and preservation. She has over 25 years of experience in the library and cultural heritage sector working with a diverse range of collections. Previously, she was Deputy Director and Head of Digital Library at the University of Edinburgh and has worked at the senior level at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and within the public sector. She is Co-Chair of the Digital Scholarship Network, RLUK and of the LIBER Digital Scholarship and Collections Working Group.

Justin McKenzie Smith

Justin is a senior diplomat with more than 30 years' experience of working in UK and Scottish Government roles at home and internationally. Justin is passionately committed to Scotland's cultural heritage. He was British Ambassador to Georgia from 2016 to 2020 and his earlier roles included postings to Russia, Mexico and the United Nations in New York. Having first got to know the National Library of Scotland's collections as a student, Justin is committed to the goals of widening accessibility and ensuring that the Library has an inspirational impact on life in Scotland in the years ahead.

Michael Muir

Michael has worked in a wide range of publishing and communication roles across Scotland's public, private and third sectors, as well as outside the country. He has nearly 25 years' experience of leading projects and programmes or work related to publishing, organisational strategy, internal and external communications, and information management.

Robert Wallen

Robert has taught in secondary, further and higher education in Scotland, England, Egypt and China. He previously worked in local authority libraries and has also managed and developed libraries in educational institutions. He has 25 years' experience in management in further education, including as Principal of one of Scotland's largest colleges. Robert also has been a member of Boards of several public and third-sector bodies.

There are 12 members plus an appointed Chair on the Library's Board. All Board members are appointed by the Scottish Ministers, and follow the Nolan procedures on public appointment. Any vacancies are advertised by the Scottish Government.

Donald Davidson KC

Donald has been a practising Advocate for over 30 years. Prior to his legal training, Donald studied Modern History. As a lawyer Donald generally concentrates on civil cases but, during the last couple of years, he has also been prosecuting in the High Court. He took Silk in 2023. Donald lives in central Edinburgh not far from where he was born and raised. Donald has strong connections with Kintyre. Donald is a Curator of the Faculty of Advocates Library.