Please be aware of the American Trust for the British Library’s 13th Breslauer Lecture. This will be held on Monday, April 8, at 6:00 pm ET at the Grolier Club, featuring Grolier member Richard Ovenden – Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries since 2014 – speaking on “What Is a Library.” A Q&A session and reception will follow Richard’s talk. This year the lecture – which is open to ATBL and Grolier members, as well as the general public – will be hybrid, but in-person attendance is almost full, so if you want to attend in person, register as soon as possible, through ATBL, NOT the Grolier Club, at https://conta.cc/3ubDrk0. You may also register there for virtual attendance. No charge.
In the 21st century, with the rise of mass digitization, all-pervasive social media, and AI as well as the culture wars, the role of the library in society is being challenged as never before. Richard’s talk will attempt to answer the fundamental question about what a library is, looking at past and present philosophical bases for libraries, and outlining the ways in which libraries are responding to the question today. A Grolier member since 2004, Richard – in addition to his role as Bodley’s Librarian – has since been 2022 Head of Gardens, Libraries and Museums. He also serves as President of the Digital Preservation Coalition and a board member of the Council on Library and Information Resources in Washington, DC.
