Articles
We still need libraries in the digital age | The Guardian
With the government axing public services, librarians are being forced to defend their existence against accusations of irrelevance in modern society. As one adviser on Newsnight put it during the BBC’s recent “mini-consultation” on the proposed cuts, why do we need libraries when everyone has broadband…[read more]
Love your librarian | ORG Zine
Libraries are facing an unprecedented assault from local councils up and down the country, and the government appears unwilling to intervene despite library cuts that may be in breach of the Public Libraries and Museums Act. Some 400 libraries are threatened with closure over the course of this year, with services in Doncaster, Gloucestershire and the Isle of Wight amongst many threatened with devastating cuts. Many councils seem to believe that volunteer run libraries are an adequate solution to funding issues. In the age of the digital library this is a gross error…[read more]
Shut-out | ORG Zine
Towards the end of last year, Ed Vaizey addressed a telecommunications conference in London organised by the Financial Times. In his address, he pointedly failed to give his support for ‘net neutrality’. In fact, although he has denied it, it would appear that he supports scrapping it altogether…[read more]
The danger of the Kindle lending library | ORG Zine
Amazon has recently announced that it would allow its ebooks to be available for lending via Overdrive and, consequently, Kindle owners would be able to borrow ebooks from their local libraries ebook service. Of course, for those of us that have been keen to support ebook availability in public libraries, this was good news…[read more]
Presentations/Speeches
Speak up for libraries
Full text of the speech I delivered on behalf of Voices for the Library at the 2012 Speak Up For Libraries rally (March 13th), available here.
An introduction to Voices for the Library
This presentation was delivered at a CPD25 event on the impact of the Browne report on academic libraries and focuses on how Voices for the Library came to be and why.
SFX, Metalib, Mobile Services and Social Networks
This presentation was delivered at the British Library as part of the 2011 Ex Libris Products User Group, UK and Ireland conference. It explores the ways in which social networking tools and mobile devices can be utilised in connecting users to online resources.
Interviews
I feature in an article on the future for academic libraries in the April 2012 edition of University Business Magazine (click the image to view the article pgs 10-12).
