NEWS
Library sector’s New Year Honours bonanza
THE 2020 New Years Honours list was longer than usual and more focused on library professionals than last year’s more literary list. In a blog post, the Department for Culture Media and Sport said: “From frontline staff to chief executives, their ideas, experience and enthusiasm have helped to improve libraries in their local area and nationally.”
OBE and MBE
Sue Wilkinson, retired Chief Executive of the Reading Agency, was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for strengthening the organisation’s profile within the sector.
Carol Bosworthack, Head of Barbican and Community Libraries for the City of London, was made Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for leading the council’s “Libraries First” approach and helping the authority achieve its aims for health, community and young people through the libraries.
In Northern Ireland, recently retired Philip McLaughlin was also awarded an OBE for services to the community.
British Empire Medal (BEM) Catherine Cooke, Application Support Officer in Westminster Libraries, was recognised for her expertise. She is a spe- cialist in library systems and has worked for Westminster Libraries for 40 years and also chairs the BIC (Book Industries Communication) Libraries Committee.
Jane Ellison, the Head of Creative Part- nerships at the BBC, who is also a Trustee of Libraries Connected, for innovative and inclusive ways to help more people access culture and knowledge – including Radio 4’s Book of the Week and collabo- rations with public libraries.
Angela Forster, Service Manager: Com- munity Hubs, Libraries and Parks for Newcastle City Council, was recognised for developing the new City Library and her strong relationship with the British Library which led to the first Business and Intellectual Property Centre (BIPC) outside London.
Subnum Hariff-Khan, Library and Information Manager, Oldham Libraries and Culture Lead for Greater Manchester Libraries, for her clear vision of library services based on people – users, poten- tial users, partners and staff. Amy Hearn, Digital Inclusion Coordi- nator, Leeds City Council, was recognised for starting and leading a programme to get micro:bits into libraries around the UK. She is one of the team working on a range of digital inclusion projects as part of Leeds Council’s 100% Digital initiative. Anthony Hopkins, Head of Library and Heritage Services for the London Borough of Merton, for leading the nationally-recognised library service, developing improved services and instigating London-wide initiatives such as the 2017 London Libraries Worlds of Possibilities Festival.
Elizabeth Hutchinson, Head of Learning and Development for Guille-Allès public library in Guernsey and Information Professional’s school libraries columnist, for services to libraries including her pro- motion of the value and impact of school library services on student attainment and progress.
Denise Jones, who has worked for Liverpool Libraries for over 30 years, for co-founding Liverpool Makefest – the biggest festival for ‘makers of all types’ in the UK – and for fostering entrepreneur- ial skills in young social innovators. Mark McCree, Head of Libraries, Black- pool Council, for leading projects that have encouraged widespread transforma- tion of library services and for serving as National Libraries Manager for RNIB for five years.
Isabel Oswell, Head of Business Audiences, The British Library, has been for her role in setting up the BL’s Busi- ness and Intellectual Property Centre to support budding entrepreneurs. Maria Reguera, Development Manager with Redbridge libraries is a national digital champion, has worked with the Society of Chief Librarians on a digital toolkit and established some of the first Code Clubs. Jacqui Thompson, ICT Learning Officer, Gateshead Council, was recognised for digital partnerships and activities in libraries to support the local community and young people’s digital skills.
AI health pilot to look at human interactions
THE potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform the way the NHS discovers and manages knowledge will be explored in a pilot scheme from Health Education England (HEE). HEE will work with Yewno technology to look at how AI and machine learning could be implemented across NHS knowledge services. The pilot is a direct result of the Topol Review, which was released last year, and focused on how to prepare the NHS workforce for new technology, including AI and big data. The new pilot will use Yenwo Discover, an AI tool that allows users to discover content by searching concepts in a visual knowl- edge graph. Users can then explore a subject in greater detail as they delve deeper into the content and data, allowing them to discover new resources that might otherwise be overlooked.
14 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
The pilot will be used to evaluate an AI approach to knowledge discoverability and assess how healthcare professionals interact with the service. This will include a project to look at user experi- ence and methodologies, which will be run by Ken Chad Consulting in partnership with the library and Knowledge Services team at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB). Patrick Mitchell, HEE’s Director of Innovation and Transfor- mation and SRO for NHS Library and Knowledge Services, said: “Healthcare is a knowledge industry and we need to harness emerging technologies that can help our staff and learners to access evidence, build know-how, continue to learn and drive innovation.”
January-February 2020
News
pp14-15.indd 2
23/01/2020 14:25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
