PEOPLE Obituaries Bob Usherwood I
T is with great sadness that the University of Sheffield School of Information, Journalism and Communication announces the death of Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Usherwood.
Bob’s career in librarianship began when he started working in public libraries in Devon, before moving to the South East to work in the London boroughs of Havering and of Sutton and then of Lambeth, where he was one of the country’s youngest chief librarians. He also taught for a while at the Polytechnic of North London School of Librarianship before being appointed in 1976 to a lectureship at what was then the university’s Postgraduate School of Librarianship and Information Science.
Bob’s lectureship was to support the school’s teaching of public librarianship on its MA Librarianship programme. His research interests covered a broad range of topics includ- ing intellectual freedom, the political and policy dimensions of library and information services, and professional ethics, with a particular interest in the application to librarianship of techniques such as marketing, stress-level measurement, impact assessment, interpersonal skills training and quality management. External project funding for work in these areas came from a range of agencies, such as the Arts and Human- ities Research Council, the British Library and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. His leadership led to Sheffield becoming the country’s leading centre for research in librarian- ship with several of his many doctoral students and RAs going onto academic careers, both in the UK and elsewhere. An important feature of Bob’s research was what he referred to as GRIPP (for Getting Research Into Policy and Practice), the need to ensure that it would be of practical value to the public library community. To this end, he developed and maintained a very high professional profile, in particular in his work through- out his career for the Library Association (now CILIP). He was awarded an honorary Fellowship of the Association in 1992 and became its President in 1998, a notable recognition of his work since he was the first academic, rather than a professional, to be elected to this role.
When we lose a colleague and friend such as Bob, we all have our memories of time spent with him, and his impact on our lives. Each of us contributing to this obituary have quite differ-
ent experiences – as a colleague, a line manager, a collaborator on many fascinating projects. We also remember him as some- one who always enjoyed discussing and debating (often quite heatedly and enjoying his excellent hospitality) any aspect of reading, public libraries…and cricket. As his wife Margaret has said: “Cricket and librarianship were his twin religions!” – and we would certainly agree with that. The importance of Bob’s influence around public library research is impossible to fully articulate. His work exploring the sector championed the importance of public libraries as pivotal civic spaces that should be nurtured and promoted, in an era when the fashion of commercialism had seen public libraries lose sight of their purpose. Bob authored several books, but it is the three he wrote mapping the direction of travel for public libraries in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, beginning with The Public Library as Public Knowledge (1989) that are arguably his most influential and prescient. For an overview from each decade of where public libraries found themselves, to where they were going, and the dangers ahead for ethos and practice, the three works are unsurpassed. In the last of the three, 2007’s Equity and Excellence, Bob argued that “policy makers and profession- als responsible for the service, must agree on its purpose and be committed to it”. There is no greater tribute to Bob than the fact so many in the profession continue to champion his vision for a high-quality public library service.
Colleagues both past and present in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication – and his former students – will miss Bob greatly.
Bob Usherwood retired as Emeritus Professor in 2005, and passed away on 23 July 2026 at the age of 82. He is survived by his second wife Margaret, and his daughters Julie and Tania.
Emeritus Professor Peter Willett, School of Information, Journalism and Communication, University of Sheffield.
Professor Briony Birdi, School of Information, Journalism and Communication, University of Sheffield.
Professor David McMenemy, School of Humanities, University of Glasgow.
For obituary submissions and guidance please email
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk. 48 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL August-September 2026
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