First ever Library Innovation Champion revealed
And the winner is…
On 3 March 2026, staff and students from across the Library and University gathered at HELIX for the first ever Library Innovation Competition final. The evening was a fantastic celebration of the five finalists and their ideas, each bringing something different and innovative to the table.
Rachel Brealey, Chief Operating Officer at the University, opened the evening by remarking on the students’ enormous achievement in making the final shortlist – a sentiment we echo in the Library.
After listening to each presentation and understanding how the finalists developed their ideas with the insightful impact of the competition mentors, the judges had a difficult decision to make.
Every idea was well articulated and every finalist gave an incredible presentation – congratulations to the students for making it to the final.
The inaugural winner of the Library Innovation Competition was revealed as Anastu Regita Nareswara, a first year PhD student from the School of Food Science and Nutrition, with her idea: Library Tour and Book Club. As well as the title of Library Innovation Champion, the chance to help implement her idea at the Library and an incredible £1,000 prize, the publicly voted Students’ Choice Award was also achieved by Anastu for her idea.
Anastu’s passion for libraries, books and films shone through, with judges commending her use of methods like surveys to scope out student needs as well as her genuine love and appreciation for the libraries. According to Anastu’s research, 77% of students were interested in and willing to participate in tours of the libraries and in a potential book club. Students’ interest in film screenings was also high, leading to the incorporation of films to the book club. Her idea of library tours was inspired by the experience of new students, such as herself, who wanted to know about the Library’s services but may have felt overwhelmed once the semester started.
Through these ideas, the Library hopes to increase student engagement and build a strong community. Spanning across disciplines, language and experiences, Library Tours and Book Clubs will help connect you to your Library in simple but effective ways.
Finalists shared their thoughts on the competition process, highlighting their favourite parts as being the ability to meet people they wouldn’t have met otherwise and hearing their ideas, having support from staff and mentors throughout the process and being able to have friends at the event to support them.
A big well done to every finalist for their participation and congratulations to those who went home with prizes. A special thanks also to our judges, mentors, the competition planning committee and those who supported on the night including student interns, HELIX staff and event compere, Alexander Leece (Customer Service team member at the Library).
Read more about each idea and see the full ranking of winners below:
- First place: Library Tour and Book Club (Anastu Regita Nareswara)
- Second place: Study with a View (Qianxiu Li)
- Third place: Leeds Library Life App (Nitya Laxmikant Bhattad)
- Highly commended (alphabetical order): Re-imagining Laidlaw (Haniyyah Asam) and Leeds Library Linc App (Marek Klodnicki)
(Photo: Justin Slee Photography. Image credit University of Leeds.)
