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![TWA: The new Director visits
Visit of Stephen Town, the new Director of the
Library & Archives
“Last week Stephen Town visited us for a day
and a half. He had intended to come on Monday
and spend three days with us, but, having lost
his car in the floods at Shrivenham, he did not
arrive until Tuesday lunchtime. He managed to
meet and speak to almost everyone who was in
the Library and Borthwick that afternoon…”
Elizabeth [Heaps]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/townvaledictv5final-150917150924-lva1-app6892/85/Valedictory-23-320.jpg)
![TWA: From the same edition
...overall we felt it was a reasonably successful
visit. I think the Vice Chancellor will wish to
continue having a joint meeting of Library &
Archives and Computing Service. While it makes
it more difficult for either service to showcase
what we are developing, it has the advantage of
demonstrating to the VC, DVC and Registrar how
we are working together, and might even help
us to forge closer links.”
Elizabeth [Heaps]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/townvaledictv5final-150917150924-lva1-app6892/85/Valedictory-25-320.jpg)
Uploaded byStephen Town
Valedictory
Stephen Town served as Director of Information at the University of York from 2007 to 2015. During his tenure, he oversaw numerous strategic projects that modernized the university's information systems and services. This included expanding digital collections, upgrading technology infrastructure, and renovating library spaces. Student and faculty satisfaction with the university's libraries and IT services increased substantially over this period. An external consultant noted that the Directorate's excellence and achievements served as a model for other universities. Town helped guide the transition to more digital information services while maintaining the highest quality resources and user support.
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Valedictory
- 1. Valedictory Stephen Town Director ofInformation University of York
- 2. WHAT WERE THINGSLIKE?
- 3. 1975-2015: forty yearsof employment Pre-professional • Industrial research • Service industry • University Libraries – Cambridge – Leeds – Salford Professional • NHS • Cranfield • York • Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona),
- 4. Enduring paradoxes • Changeand continuity • Documental and digital communication • Devices, dependency and freedom • People and technology networks • Optimism and doom-mongering
- 5. First major ITproject (1980)
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- 7. The end ofcoherence: 1984- … or the beginning Lynne Brindley (The wired campus) • A ubiquitous and capacious network • Comprehensive data and information • Transformed teaching & learning
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- 9. The quality revolution1994- • TQM • Benchmarking • Statistics • User surveys • Information literacy
- 10. 2000s: E-Learning transformation? •E-learning • Distance learning • Blended learning • Pedagogy • Instructional design • Multimedia – Development – Design
- 11.
- 12. 2007: Farewell toArms?
- 13. 2007: York Ranking •Sunday Times UK Ranking: 8th • THE/QS World Ranking: 74th
- 14. 2007: Heslington EastPlanning Approved
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- 17. 2007: Library &Archives Website
- 18. 2007: Computing ServiceWebsite
- 19. 2007: University Librarybuilding
- 20. 2007: University Librarybuilding
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- 22. WHAT WAS THEOFFER?
- 23. TWA: The newDirector visits Visit of Stephen Town, the new Director of the Library & Archives “Last week Stephen Town visited us for a day and a half. He had intended to come on Monday and spend three days with us, but, having lost his car in the floods at Shrivenham, he did not arrive until Tuesday lunchtime. He managed to meet and speak to almost everyone who was in the Library and Borthwick that afternoon…” Elizabeth [Heaps]
- 24. TWA: From thesame edition Summer visit of the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Registrar “The Vice Chancellor paid his annual Summer visit to the Library & Archives…along with the incoming Deputy Vice Chancellor, Trevor Sheldon, and the Registrar, Sally Neocosmos. This year, at very short notice, we were asked to share our meeting with the Computing Service, and given just an hour and a half between us, which rather constrained what we could do and limited our ability to include any other staff. We decided on a joint theme of information services for the world class university, which Information Strategy Group is working on…
- 25. TWA: From thesame edition ...overall we felt it was a reasonably successful visit. I think the Vice Chancellor will wish to continue having a joint meeting of Library & Archives and Computing Service. While it makes it more difficult for either service to showcase what we are developing, it has the advantage of demonstrating to the VC, DVC and Registrar how we are working together, and might even help us to forge closer links.” Elizabeth [Heaps]
- 26. TWA: From thesame edition Electronic diaries Planning Group members and the Office Team have just started piloting the use of Sun Calendar for diaries. This allows people, if given the appropriate permissions, to view other people's diaries to see when they are available for meetings, and also to book/change delete diary commitments.
- 27. TWA: First “Fromthe Director” From the Director “Thank you to everyone for making me so welcome this week. I look forward to getting to know you all better in due course. I have started to amend some of the text on the Library & Archives web site to recognise my arrival, and I would be pleased to have any comments on the changes as I would like everyone to be comfortable with how we present ourselves. I had a helpful induction meeting with the Vice Chancellor on Wednesday, and he stressed what a good time this was to join the University given the various new developments in progress. I will want to listen to any ideas you have for how we respond to these opportunities, although I recognise that much thought has already been given to this by many of you. On Thursday and Friday this week I will be attending a Symposium in Edinburgh on 'Sustaining the Digital Library'. I hope this will provide some useful thoughts to add to the various projects we are undertaking in this area.” Stephen (jst504)
- 28. Vision from interviews •“Competitive” • “Engaging” • “Integrating” • “Fitting” • Competing on quality not size • In leading sector groups • A sector leading digital library • Information literacy • Archives exploitation • Unique space • Staff demonstrating their class in the wider world
- 29. Information Strategy Vision2008 “The overall aim of the information systems and services in the University of York is to create an information environment that supports, facilitates and enhances the teaching, research, business and community activities of a world class University.”
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- 39. Information Directorate SMT:2011 Deputy Director of Information (IT Services) Deputy Director of Information (Information Services) Director of Information Assistant Director (Infrastructure) Assistant Director (Systems) Assistant Director (Services) Assistant Director (Content) Assistant Director (Borthwick)
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- 41. WHAT HAS BEENACHIEVED?
- 42. Strategic projects • 286projects (and counting) on our 2013-2018 Information Strategy list • Over 220 projects completed as part of 2008- 2013 Information Strategy
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- 48. Departmental Library NSS2009-15 Green: 90%+ Yellow: 80-90% Red: Below 80% 2009 2015 Archaeology 71 93 Biochemistry (UBIOCHE) 80 90 Biology (UBIOBIO) 83 92 Chemistry 87 93 Computer Science 88 97 Economics & Related Studies 81 92 Education 75 92 Electronics 95 91 English & Related Literature 72 92 Environment (UENVENV) 83 95 Health Sciences (UHEANUR) 95 91 History 72 88 History of Art 78 86 HYMS 86 94 Language & Linguistic Science 79 85 Mathematics 85 89 Music 71 88 PEP 79 95 Philosophy 83 90 Physics 91 90 Politics 71 90 Psychology 79 80 Social Policy 79 97 Social Work 100 55 Sociology 78 92 Theatre, Film & Television (Drama) - 92 York Law School - 90 York Management School 88 94
- 49. Departmental IT NSS2009-15 Green: 90%+ Yellow: 80-90% Red: Below 80% 2009 2015 Archaeology 93 96 Biochemistry (UBIOCHE) 96 100 Biology (UBIOBIO) 93 98 Chemistry 96 98 Computer Science 93 95 Economics & Related Studies 95 92 Education 88 84 Electronics 98 97 English & Related Literature 87 95 Environment (UENVENV) 86 97 Health Sciences (UHEANUR) 91 92 History 86 93 History of Art 89 HYMS 97 Language & Linguistic Science 92 96 Mathematics 91 96 Music 89 90 PEP 96 Philosophy 94 92 Physics 95 96 Politics 91 92 Psychology 89 95 Social Policy 100 97 Social Work 90 Sociology 91 95 Theatre, Film & Television (Drama) 88 81 York Law School 97 York Management School 97
- 50. York NSS: 2009-2015 IT:Blue Library: Pink Overall University: Green
- 51. CLP Consultant’s View “…embedded excellence marks this Directorate out from other parts of the University, and from other Universities, and this achievement is unusual. The University has much to learn from what has been done here, and it provides what should be a model …”
- 52. WHAT HAVE WELEARNT?
- 53. Suggestions for thefuture • Find out what people want and deliver it • Work together • Don’t wait for permission • Read, write and share broadly
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Editor's Notes
- #2 Valedictory means a farewell oration Maybe not much done here, but important to say goodbye formally and as a rite of passage, and also to register my thanks to all of you for your support in helping me to do my job of leading this enterprise
- #3 As I am retiring I thought it might be at least amusing to reflect a little, not just on the eight years I have been here, but across the forty years off and on I have been employed in academic information services
- #4 Even before I began in libraries I had worked in industry and commerce sufficiently to know that I preferred public service in a value-based organisation, and being both at least an eighth generation Yorkshireman and with three generations of my family in Yorkshire education across a century and a combined contribution even before I came to York of forty years-odd of Yorkshire University employment in the family, maybe this career was preordained, even after thirty years in the South of England
- #5 There are some themes here to muse upon … Some paradoxes have accompanied my professional life …
- #9 Cray T3 MPP
- #12 Bush President Brown becomes PM Northern Rock collapses, starting financial crisis
- #13 The first iPhone is released
- #14 Heslington East Planning Permission granted in 2007
- #15 Heslington East Planning Permission granted in 2007
- #16 Heslington East Planning Permission granted in 2007
- #24 An auspicious start!
- #25 An interesting start to joined up thinking…
- #26 …and a prophecy for the future?
- #27 and on the more trivial side of things!
- #28 Your first post to TWA. May need to split or edit this to read it on the screen.
- #33 Google Apps Alma Student and Staff portals
- #36 Opening of HF building Joining up of 3 library buildings
- #37 Refurbishment and reopening of the library
- #38 Refurbishment and reopening of the library
- #39 Refurbishment and reopening of the library