I turn library systems
into data systems.
Systems Librarian▍
Sixteen years administering Alma, Primo, and their predecessors across Germany, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Now building the pipelines, dashboards, and AI tools that run on top of them.
A good discovery layer and a good data pipeline solve the same problem — getting the right information to the right person, fast.
Live systems
Systems I've built or currently administer, in front of real students, faculty, and researchers today.
LAIRA
Library AI Research Assistant for RCSI Bahrain — built end to end, deployed to production.
laira.rcsi-mub.comHS Mittweida Primo NDE
Discovery layer I currently configure and maintain at Hochschule Mittweida.
hs-mittweida.primo.exlibrisgroup.comRCSI Bahrain Primo NDE
Led the migration to Primo New Discovery Experience during my time at RCSI Bahrain.
rcsibahrain.primo.exlibrisgroup.comRCSI Bahrain LibGuides
Springshare LibApps suite (LibGuides, LibAnswers, LibCal) I managed and restructured.
library.rcsi-mub.com/libguidesEZproxy access server
Self-hosted EZproxy for off-campus access to e-resources, set up in-house without external support or training. 11+ years of EZproxy administration at KFUPM and RCSI Bahrain.
Project detailsStudy room booking app
Web app for booking study rooms, Library of Things items and librarian appointments, with check-in on entrance tablets. Built on Alma booking and APIs, hosted on the university's own servers.
Project detailsHSB Chatbot
AI assistant for Hochschulbibliothek Mittweida. Answers questions about the library and the university.
Project detailsBibliothek der Dinge
Library of Things lending collection, rebuilt in Alma and shown in Primo NDE. Tested in the Alma Sandbox, rollout to Production next.
Project detailsSkills
Library systems administration and applied data work draw on the same underlying skills — structured data, APIs, automation, and reading what usage actually means.
Library systems
- Alma
- Primo VE / NDE
- SUSHI / COUNTER
- MARC21 / RDA
- DSpace
- EZproxy / Shibboleth
- Azure AD
- Alma APIs
Data & AI
- Python
- LangChain
- GPT / OpenAI APIs
- ChromaDB
- Streamlit
- GitHub Actions / GitLab CI
- Cloudflare Workers
- Next.js / React
- Supabase
- Google Charts
Path
Four countries, one continuous line from technical services to systems and now data.
Hochschule Mittweida-University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Systems Librarian — Alma, Primo NDE, Analytics, EU AI Act compliance review. Building a library AI chatbot, a room booking app and a Library of Things.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Bahrain
Manager, Library Digital Initiatives, Services & Systems. Built LAIRA; led Heritage → Alma/Primo VE and Primo VE → NDE migrations. Built a self-hosted EZproxy server from scratch.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia
Librarian, Systems & E-Resources. Symphony → Sierra migration, RFID, e-resources. Self-hosted EZproxy for off-campus access, set up in-house.
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan
Technical Services, then Serials, Social Media & Law Librarian. MARC21 cataloging, early social-media library services.
Selected projects
Seven projects built and maintained end to end. Click one to see the detail.
LAIRA — Library AI Research Assistant
A retrieval-augmented chatbot for RCSI Bahrain Library, integrated with Primo, Springshare LibApps (LibGuides, LibAnswers, LibCal), and the institutional repository. Includes an admin logging panel, user feedback collection, and analytics.
HSM Research Dashboard
A self-updating publications dashboard for Hochschule Mittweida built on the OpenAlex API, with an automated pipeline and interactive, filterable charts by topic and year.
Alma Analytics usage-trend visualizations
Interactive charts built on SUSHI/COUNTER usage data pulled from Alma Analytics across all e-resource vendors, with a priority-coalesce formula reconciling overlapping report types (PR, TR, DR, IR).
Study room booking app
A web app in development for booking study rooms, Library of Things items and librarian appointments, with check-in on tablets at the entrance. It uses Alma's booking functionality, extends it through the Alma APIs, and runs on a university-hosted server.
EZproxy access server
Set up and ran self-hosted EZproxy servers for off-campus access to subscribed e-resources, at KFUPM (2015 to 2022) and RCSI Bahrain (2022 to 2026), making full use of EZproxy's features. Each was configured in-house, without external support or formal training. At RCSI the server was built from scratch with Shibboleth and Azure AD sign-in and group-based access for alumni.
HSB Chatbot
An AI assistant for Hochschulbibliothek Mittweida, modelled on LAIRA and extended. It answers questions about the library and general university information, and is currently in a pilot stage with usage analytics.
Bibliothek der Dinge (Library of Things)
A lending collection of equipment such as headsets, webcams, microphones and chargers. Rebuilt in Alma with its own location, item types and three loan policies (short, medium, long), and shown in Primo NDE. Tested in the Alma Sandbox before rollout to Production.
Credentials
Publications
Selected journal articles, newest first. 18 in total on Google Scholar.
Transforming Access and Discovery: Digital Enhancements at the RCSI Bahrain Library
The International Information & Library Review, 58(3), 393-398Read →Automating e-resource usage statistics: a practical guide to implementing SUSHI protocol
Journal of Electronic Resources LibrarianshipRead →Supporting undergraduate success in professional programs: a user-centered assessment of library services
College & Undergraduate Libraries, 33(2), 114-138Read →Exploring Information Literacy Skills, Attitudes, and Barriers Among Medical and Nursing Students in Bahrain
Communications in Information Literacy, 20(1), 47-78Read →Mapping the Evolution of Human-in-the-Loop Artificial Intelligence: A Bibliometric Analysis
Journal of Scholarly Research and Metrics, 1(1), 27-44On Scholar →Exploring the Role of Iranian Public Library Professionals in Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals: A National Survey
Public Library QuarterlyOn Scholar →Work Design Impact on the Performance of Pakistani Academic Librarians
The International Information & Library Review, 56(4), 352-365Read →Perceived misinformation, disinformation and malinformation experience and the relationship with information overload
Record and Library Journal, 10(2), 212-234Read →Making Sense of Work Engagement: A Qualitative Inquiry with Pakistani Librarians
Library Philosophy and Practice — open accessFull text →Research Productivity of Pakistani Female LIS Authors, 1977 to 2020: A Bibliometric Analysis
Sage Open, 13(4)Read →Library and information science research in Pakistan: A bibliometric analysis, 1957–2018
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science · most cited, 131 citations on Google Scholar (Oct 2026)Read →Plus 6 earlier articles (2017 to 2021), a conference paper and a 2012 book, on social media in libraries, COVID-19 bibliometrics and e-resource use. Full list on Google Scholar.