The British Library has appointed its first e-Director as part of a wider restructuring of its top tier of management.
The appointment of Dr Herbert Van de Sompel as Director of e-Strategy and Programmes was announced today and he will join the Library on 1 September 2001 completing the BLs new streamlined senior management team. Charged with extending access to resources, both for customers and members of the public, the team will implement strategy across a broad range of activities of the UKs national library. The post of e-Director in particular will be central in taking forward the British Librarys vision of a digital future for its collections and services. Our e-Strategy will be at the core of the Librarys work and will underpin many of our priority developments, said the British Librarys Chief Executive, Lynne Brindley. As Director of e-Strategy and programmes, Herbert will be the driving force behind the development of the British Librarys e-strategy, pushing forward the role of electronic media and services in providing public access, opening up collections, creating productive partnerships with the library and scholarly network and developing new enterprises. Lynne Brindley continued, Herbert Van de Sompel brings an international reputation in the digital library field, a deep understanding of what is technically possible, combined with a real sense of service mission. With his European and North American links he will ensure that the British Library plays a leading role internationally in creating our digital future. Dr Van de Sompel joins the Library having spent the past year as Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University. For 17 years he was head of the library automation department at the University of Ghent, Belgium where he led an ambitious programme to create an outstanding electronic library and planned and implemented a range of innovative services. More recently he worked at the renowned Research Library at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, on a PhD focusing on open reference linking (OpenURL and SFX) and the Open Archives Initiative. The PhD was awarded in Spring 2000, following examination by two key figures in digital library developments: William Y. Arms (Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University) and Clifford Lynch (Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, USA). Dr Van de Sompels work has received much recognition in both the digital library community and in the academic world. He has also acted as a consultant to many key information industry companies on strategy and on the conceptualisation or evaluation of new digital services. As e-Director he will lead the BLs transformation to an e-centric organisation, pulling together historically discrete and disparate programmes, acting as champion and advocate for e-strategy and leading an integrated Digital Library development programme. Major transformational developments to be supervised and driven forward by the e-Director include the digitisation of many of the Librarys collections as well as the archiving of materials that are born digital. Working in close collaboration with the rest of the executive team, Dr Van de Sompel will ensure the implementation of a fully integrated e-programme across all Directorates adding the essential e-ingredient to the British Librarys strategies for progress. Commenting on his appointment, Dr Van de Sompel said: Research libraries around the world are trying to define their identity in the digital domain. With its recently released New Strategic Directions document, the British Library has made a clear statement regarding the e-position it wants to be in; I am very excited about being able to play a role in the genuinely challenging process of getting there. Currently, www.bl.uk welcomes users to the website of the British Library. A few years from now, the same URL should welcome them to the whole British Library. Offering Dr Van de Sompel warm congratulations on his appointment, Lynne Brindley added, This new role represents a more coherent and strategic approach towards the various strands of activity that comprise the British Librarys programme of digitisation. It will also lead the way in the development of the Librarys wider e-strategy. The e-Director will oversee the transformational changes to the Librarys culture and working practices that are necessary in order for us to fully embrace the digital and wider e- revolution adapting our collections and services to remain at the leading edge of research and reference worldwide. For further information, please contact Ben Sanderson at the British Library Press Office on 01937 546126, or email ben.sander...@bl.uk