Congratulations to Rachel Underwood, immediate past president of the Friends of the Turnbull Library (FoTL), who has been awarded a Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Rachel has served on the FoTL committee since 1987, and led the organisation as president from 1996 to 2018. She has been an inspirational leader, notably developing and maintaining a broad national membership in support of the Library; and initiating and organising the highly effective advocacy that successfully achieved changes to the National Library Act 2002.

Her energy and drive has also led to the successful establishment of the Friends of the Turnbull Library Research Grant that has now provided funding of almost $120,000 to assist seventeen separate research projects since 2004.