https://librariesrewired.org.uk
heart of London’s Tech Quarter, Librar- ies Rewired will feature a Digital Solu- tions Lab. Conference organiser Louise Greener said: “Libraries Rewired is a convening of tech-curious colleagues to dream, innovate and explore the art of the possible, whilst also exploring practical, hands-on time with software, platforms and systems, which are driving forward
the sector and the services we provide. “Central to the event is our Digital Solu- tions Lab; a space where you can receive guided demos – and have tactile ‘play time’ with a range of digital platforms and solutions, and chat with experts and suppliers – all in one place. “This is a space for procurement and pre-procurement conversations and
explorations with the innovators servicing our needs – no and in the future.” Libraries Rewired takes place on 10 No- vember at CodeNode, a five-minute walk from Liverpool Street Station, London. Early Bird registration is open until 30 September and CILIP members enjoy a further discount. Book your place now at
https://librariesrewired.org.uk/.
INTERVIEW
DAVE ROWE will be appearing at Libraries Rewired, where he will be taking part in a session look- ing at how you can “Do more with data”. Find out more about Dave, data and what to expect from his session in this Q&A.
Information Professional (IP): Can you introduce yourself and give us a brief professional history?
Dave Rowe (DR): I’m a software engineer with a focus on geospatial data analysis and a background in the public sector. I’ve worked for several local councils in the UK, most recently as Development Technical Lead in the Digital Transformation team at Bristol City Council.
I’ve always loved libraries and first developed a library finder mobile app in 2012. I founded Libraries Hacked in 2014, a project to promote open data, and to showcase public library data. I lat- er joined the Systems Team at Libraries West, a public library consortium. I’ve also run library data training courses, and organised data ‘unconferences’ held in public libraries.
September 2023
I currently work for Ordnance Survey in the Geovation team – providing virtual Chief Technology Officer support to new tech start-ups in the property tech and geo- tech sectors.
IP: You have worked with open data in a number of settings – can you tell us about that in more detail?
DR: While working for Bath and North East Somerset Council I was technical lead in an open data programme. That was a collaboration with citizens to provide access to data for innovative projects. We’d provide anything the community were interested in analysing or using. Someone would see something like an ID number on a lamp post and ask us if we held data for all streetlights, so they could develop an app for safe walking routes. Public data would be used for long-term projects, and in hackathons where developers and data analysts would get together for a day or weekend to look at datasets in more detail. One particularly popular dataset was live car park occupancy for the car parks in Bath. Providing real-time access to this led to apps displaying the information to help people plan their journeys. The university
David Rowe.
machine learning group also used the historic data to predict when car parks would become full, given other variables like weather and local events. I’ve always thought the same could be done in public libraries to provide online information such as the availability of desks or PCs, and to gain more insight into library usage. Providing open data to citizens, who then went and did incredible things with that data, was a moment of revelation. It
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 17
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