In Conversation with... Lorcan Dempsey

Ever wonder how other knowledge and information (K&IM) professionals work? How did they get into K&IM and to their current position? You will get a glimpse in this interview series with K&IM professionals “In Conversation with...”, and perhaps even discover potential candidates for your career mentor.

To top it all, you can have a guess at the “two truths and a lie” question (answers will be shared in the following issue) and get to know the interviewee better.

June Huang, K&IM professional, CILIP K&IM group committee member, London, UK

Last time: Saju Sadasivan's two truths and a lie - answer is "I am allergic to chocolate."

In Conversation with Lorcan Dempsey

Lorcan Dempsey is someone who has made an outstanding contribution to library and information services (LIS) and the 2023 winner of the CILIP Knowledge and Information Management Walford Award. Started out as Library Assistant with the Dublin City Council in 1983, his current job title is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the iSchool, University of Washington; almost back to where he started, at least in England, in a university capacity as the UKOLN Research Officer with the University of Bath. And the other two LIS giants Lorcan worked for are Jisc and OCLC.

He is as wise as his bio sounded and I finished the interview with him feeling he can make anyone feel comfortable and have deep and meaningful conversations with them. We talked about artificial intelligence and libraries, library as part of the information systems, library catalogue scripting and merging of records, social roles of archives and public libraries, relational aspects and contexts of libraries, and the fact that there are still lots of discussions to be had in the core curriculum for LIS education.

Also, I have been intrigued to visit Ohio, USA, as Lorcan shared that he grew up in Dublin, Ireland, moved to the UK, where he lived for a long time, and then moved to Ohio where he was amused to find himself working in another Dublin for over 20 years.?

What do you think? Let me know via [email protected]. You can contact Lorcan at [email protected].

Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself.

• I developed an interest in fonts and typography during the pandemic.
• I grew up in Dublin.
• I am ready to retire.

What is your current role?

I am the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the iSchool in the University of Washington. The DPiR position is a Professor of Practice who is brought in to share the experiences of a working life. This is an exciting place to be, characterised by a sociotechnical perspective that considers technology, people and organizations in a richly multidisciplinary setting. It is a special two-year position, and I am teaching two courses and doing some research into patterns of library collaboration. I took the position because I wanted to be challenged by the perspectives of the students who will fashion the libraries of the future. I am half-way through, and I have learned so much - about myself and about libraries.?

From where and how did you get here?

I have worked in several countries in different roles. I began my career in public libraries in Ireland and went to England in the late 80s, as so many Irish people did. I worked for many years at the University of Bath, latterly overseeing UKOLN, a pioneering library research and policy unit. I then moved to oversee the informational investments of Jisc including a range of data, content, digital library, preservation, and other initiatives.?

I was recruited to OCLC to oversee their Research capacity, and subsequently acquired responsibilities for strategic planning, and for governance and membership.?

In this way, I have had a very varied career - overseeing major R&D units, developing new network information services, working with all types of libraries, leading strategic evolution of library infrastructure services. I have been especially pleased to work across countries. I consulted extensively with the European Union when it had a libraries program, and I engaged with libraries all over the world with OCLC.

What is your current most significant challenge and project?

I am now climbing a steep?learning curve as a teacher! An unreflective view might see this role as an expert communicating knowledge and expertise. However, the goal is quite different; it is to facilitate learning. I have learned just how difficult and skilled a job effective teachers do.

What do you think the most significant element of your role will be in the next three years?

It is a very exciting time for libraries as they shift from being transactional and collection-centred to being more relational and community-centred. However, it is also a challenging time as both library and library values are being questioned. The public library closures in the UK and the book bans in the US are signals of this. Libraries are important social, research and learning infrastructure, which build communities, and help people be creative, fulfilled and productive. They need to tell a compelling library story, in ways that resonate with those that are responsible for making decisions about their futures.?

What is the one piece of experience you would like to share with us?

Trust. It has always been important to me to feel that I am trusted in a work environment. Last year, while preparing one of my courses, I was very struck by the slightly formal way in which Linda Hill, Harvard business professor, characterised trust. It is about competence and character, she suggested. Competence refers to the technical knowledge, operational knowledge, and political knowledge required to get things done. However, character refers to the belief in others that you want to do the right thing, what you believe is best in the circumstances. The 'right thing' may not be obvious or clear, but it is so important to focus on it. Not only because?it creates better work environments, but because, in our tightly knit community, you are often making relationships that can outlive a particular work context and last throughout your career.