ALISTAIR BLACK

Biography: Alistair Black read history at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Having qualified as a librarian he occupied professional posts in both academic and public libraries in the 1980s. In 1990 he became a lecturer in information studies at Leeds Metropolitan University where he is currently Professor of Library and Information History. His current teaching includes critical and historical perspectives on the information society and the sociology and governance of the public library. In addition, he teaches research methods and undertakes extensive supervision for his School's taught masters programme. Alistair is author of numerous articles and has written three books: A New History of the English Public Library: Social and Intellectual Contexts 1850-1914 (Leicester University Press, 1996); Understanding Community Librarianship (Avebury, 1997 – with Dave Muddiman); and The Public Library in Britain 1914-2000 (The British Library, 2000). He is editor of Volume 3 (1850-2000) of the forthcoming Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland . He was chair of the Library History Group of the Library Association, 1992-99. Having served as Secretary of the IFLA Round Table on Library History, 2001-3, since 2003 he has been Chair of the IFLA Section on Library History. He is the recipient of a number of research grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is a member of the Council's Peer Review College, which assesses applications for student bursaries and research grants.

Title: Early public library buildings in Britain: past, present and future roles

Summary: Although modern, flagship public libraries have recently attracted considerable publicity, relatively little attention has been given to the historic buildings that still form a significant part of Britain 's public library system. A three-year research project aims to remedy this oversight. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and under the joint direction of Professor Simon Pepper (School of Architecture, University of Liverpool) and Professor Alistair Black (School of Information Management, Leeds Metropolitan University), and supported by Kaye Bagshaw (Research Officer), the project will provide a socio-architectural history of pre-1939 British public library buildings, as well as an evaluation of their potential for modernisation. An initial survey, partly formed by a questionnaire to departments of local studies throughout Britain , will identify and classify surviving buildings. This will form the basis for a social and architectural history of what were socially ambitious civic institutions supported by a rich iconography. The third and final phase of the project will concentrate on case studies of schemes to upgrade historic buildings, focusing on issues of public image and best practice.