Our Team

Alex Kittow

Chief Executive

Alex is Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited. Previously, he has worked as Chief Executive of Bristol-based charity Southmead Development Trust where he played a pivotal role in increasing the traded income, securing and delivering a number of contracts and grant-funded projects. Through his leadership the charity was able to significantly increase its positive impact on beneficiaries, as well as growing its financial reserves and improving the governance structure. Alex has also worked for organisations such as Partner Aid International, based in East Africa, and for the Ministry of Defence.

In his role as Chief Executive, Alex is responsible for the day to day running of the organisation, ensuring Devon and Torbay’s libraries are delivering life changing library services to the county’s population. He is also responsible for ensuring a sustainable and vibrant future for the organisation and driving the charity’s next phase of growth and development.

Alex is on the Board of trustees for a number of charities and organisations, including Locality, a national charity promoting the work of community anchor organisations across the UK.

Steve Turner

Chief Operating Officer

Steve is Head of Commercial & Innovation for Libraries Unlimited. He has over 20 years’ experience of working in the public and private sectors in a wide range of areas including property and programme management, business support and development, and raising funds from local, national and EU grant schemes.

Most recently Steve was Economy & Enterprise Team Manager at Devon County Council and prior to this he worked at a senior level in a number of local authorities and the private sector in Nottinghamshire.

As a member of the executive team Steve is responsible for the overall management of property, marketing and communications, new income generation and fundraising activities. He also works with a small, dedicated team to develop new innovative services which currently include Fab Lab Devon and the Business & IP Centre.

Steve is a big believer in the role that libraries can play in supporting the economic and social well-being of local communities and is keen to use his experience to further develop this role.

Tom Glanville

Chief Finance Officer

Tom is the Chief Finance Officer of Libraries Unlimited. He is a Chartered Certified Accountant who started his career at Bush & Co Chartered Accountants in Exeter. Tom has a broad range of experience working with clients ranging from large groups to small charities. He specialized in audit and was eventually appointed Senior Audit Manager. Having worked in practice for eight years Tom wanted a new challenge and moved into industry, becoming a Financial Controller at Continental Tyres.

As a member of the executive team, Tom is responsible for the financial reporting and compliance of Libraries Unlimited. He leads the finance team to help support the day-to-day functions of the Charity and provide accurate financial information to help the executive and the trustees make informed decisions to steer the future of the Charity.

Reading has always been one of Tom’s passions and he was a regular user of Libraries in Devon as a child. He pursued this passion all the way to a degree in English Literature at Leicester University. He believes strongly in the role of libraries in their communities and before becoming Chief Finance Officer, Tom spent five years as Trustee of Libraries Unlimited.

Beth Reynolds

Chief People Officer

Beth came to Libraries Unlimited as HR Manager in 2016, joining Exec as Chief People Officer in 2023. She has a wide range of cross-sector HR experience in the private, not for profit, and public sector through voluntary and paid roles, and she is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). Beth manages the HR and Volunteering teams, and works with the rest of Exec to ensure that our people remain at the heart of what we do.

Prior to Libraries Unlimited, Beth worked at a large law firm in Bristol, but primarily supporting the healthcare arm of the business. She has also worked in the charity sector, for Alzheimer’s Society and on project work for Hospiscare. She has been a trustee for various different organisations, a school governor, and an Independent Custody Visitor for the police service. Currently, she is a member of the HR Committee for Atlantic College United World College, and treasurer of her local Millennium Green Committee.

Beth has always been an enthusiastic reader and a big user of libraries, and loves being part of an organisation which has such a positive, wide reaching impact on communities.

Kate Turner

Head of Library Service & Customer Experience

Kate joined Libraries Unlimited in December 2023. She is a Chartered Librarian with more than 25 years experience of working in public libraries in Somerset, Dorset, Cheshire and London in a wide variety of roles. Most recently she led the Libraries West Consortium team at Somerset Council and worked as Library Strategy Manager at Dorset Council.

Kate is passionate about public libraries and their power to transform lives. She has a wealth of knowledge about library services and constantly seeks to improve her practice through collaboration and innovation.

As a member of our Executive team, Kate is responsible for delivering outstanding customer experience and aims to enable and facilitate a thriving library service that is embedded within its communities and meets local needs. Her team have operational and strategic responsibility for library services across Devon and Torbay, for Creative Communities (our Arts Council funded cultural programme) and for our Business and Intellectual Property (IP) Centre.