Sarah McNicol is a research fellow at evidence base, a research and evaluation unit at the University of Central England, Birmingham, UK. She has worked at UCE since 2000 and during that time has been the lead researcher on numerous research and evaluation projects. She has published extensively in both the academic and professional press. As well as carrying out research into joint use libraries, she has established a ‘community of practice’ for those working in this area and, in 2006, edited a special edition of the journal Library Trends devoted to joint use libraries. In 2007, she is organizing an international conference to bring together researchers and practitioners in joint use libraries from around the world.