Dame Lynne Janie Brindley (born 2 July 1950) is the former Master of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, a post she held until June 2020. Prior to this appointment she was a professional librarian, and served as the first female chief executive of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, the United Kingdom's

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

, from 2000 to 2012.

Early life and education

Brindley gained a first class degree in music at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

around 1975 and then began her professional career as a library trainee at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She studied librarianship at the School of Librarianship,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she was awarded the Sir John MacAlister Medal as top student on her course.

Career

Brindley first worked for the British Library in 1979, in the Bibliographic Services Division and by 1983 she led the chief executive's office. She moved on to be director of library services at the

University of Aston Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first college of ...

, and spent some time as a consultant for

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

. She was librarian of the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE), before moving to the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

as Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection, and later as Pro Vice-Chancellor. She became the first female chief executive of the

, the United Kingdom's

, in July 2000 and was founding chair of the

Digital Preservation Coalition ThDigital Preservation Coalition (DPC)is a UK-based charity that works with global partners to 'a welcoming and inclusive global community, working together to bring about a sustainable future for our digital assets'. Background The origins o ...

. She was also a member of the

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

board. On 17 November 2011, Brindley announced that she would be stepping down from her post as Chief Executive at the British Library at the end of July 2012. Brindley became the Master of

, from 1 August 2013 until June 2020. In 2021–2022, Brindley served as Prime Warden of the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (commonly known as ''The Goldsmiths' Company'' and formally styled ''The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London''), is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City ...

Context of change

A switch from print to digital publishing by the year 2020 is anticipated; which implies that readers will have diminishing physical contact with books, the primary experience and foundation of civilisation for the last 500 years. In this context of change, Brindley is committed to ensuring that the Library does not become little more than "a book museum". Brindley's explained:

"Most people are aware that a national switch to digital broadcasting is expected by the end of this decade. Less well known is the fact that a similar trend is underway in the world of publishing: by the year 2020, 40% of UK research monographs will be available in electronic format only, while a further 50% will be produced in both print and digital. A mere 10% of new titles will be available in print alone by 2020."

Book preservation

Brindley's British Library has long been the conservator of historic print collections and regarded as a place of quiet study; but with the explosion of the internet and electronic publishing, users are increasingly turning their backs on libraries as a physical space, using them as virtual, digital environments instead. In this context, the British Library's role in warehousing large book collections is at risk.

Research

Brindley accords special priority to the needs of researchers and believes that libraries should also play a key role in helping to teach information literacy skills. In this context, Brindley observed:

" hat te younger generation is technologically more literate but not more information literate is a challenge that must be tackled by libraries and education more widely. Students who simply want to use
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
and take what it says as gospel do a real disservice to the skills people will increasingly need to survive in the digital economy. Libraries add a degree of sophistication, support and richness of content, all of which will encourage creativity, quality research and participation of the citizen in the global digital world that we are in."

Academic awards

Brindley has received honorary degrees of

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

on 11 July 2002, the

in 2004 and the

on 14 July 2006. In April 2006 she was awarded an honorary degree from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

as Doctor of the University for "Public services and exceptional contribution to the educational or cultural well-being of society". A full list follows: * UCL – Hon. Fellow 2002 * Nottingham Trent – Hon. D.Litt. 2001 * Oxford – Hon. D.Litt. 2002 * Leicester – Hon. D.Litt. 2002 * London Guildhall – Hon. D.Litt. 2002 * Reading – 2004 * Sheffield – 2004 * City – Hon. D.Sc. 2005 * Leeds – Hon. D.Litt. 2006 * Open University – Hon. D.Litt. 2006 * University of Wales, Aberystwyth – Hon. Fellow 2007 * Aston University – Hon. D.Litt. 2008 * University of Manchester – Hon. D.Litt. 2011

Honours

She is a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA). She was appointed a

Dame Commander ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...

of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the 2008 New Year's Honours List for services to education. On 16 July 2015, she was elected an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

(FBA). In 2009 she won the

National Information Standards Organization The National Information Standards Organization (NISO; ) is a United States non-profit standards organization that develops, maintains and publishes technical standards related to publishing, bibliographic and library applications. It was found ...

(NISO)'s Miles Conrad Award.

References

Sources

*Brindley, Lynne
"Comment: All this for the price of a latte and a muffin...; We cannot allow the British Library's peerless collection to be put at risk by potential funding"
''The Guardian.'' 23 September 2007 *Christiansen, Rupert

''Telegraph'' (London). 30 August 2006 *Curtis, Polly

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 9 July 2002 *Davies, Gareth Huw.
"Bringing Bill Gates to book: A week in the life of Lynne Brindley"
timesonline.co.uk, 4 March 2007 *Day, Julia
"British Library seeks marketing head"
Guardian.co.uk, 16 February 2001. *Deeble, Sandra

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 14 August 2004 *English, Shirley. ttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1035438.ece "Library's archive fund gets £6.5m"''The Times'' (London). 3 March 2004 *Ezard, John
"Anger grows after British Library junks rare books"
''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 12 August 2000. *Ezard, John

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 24 November 2000 *Brindley, Lynne. ''Response'' �

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 27 November 2000 *McKie, David

''Guardian'' (Manchester). 14 August 2000 *Hunt, Tristram. ttp://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1785250,00.html "Comment: Scholarly squeeze; Allowing undergraduates into the British Library's reading rooms has led to exclusion, not inclusion"''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 29 May 2006 *Brindley, Lynne. ''Response'' �
"Letters: The 'undergraduate masses' have not squeezed out our readers; The British Library has turned its back on elitism and can cope with its new influx, says Lynne Brindley"
''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 1 June 2006 *McLeod, Donald

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 16 April 2004 *McLeod, Donald

''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 4 November 2003 *Reynolds, Nigel
"Library to halt sale of historic journals"
''The Telegraph'' (London). 6 December 2000 *Reynolds, Nigel
"Staff culled as the British Library goes digital"
''The Telegraph'' (London). 24 November 2000 *Secher, Benjamin

''The Telegraph'' (London). 27 September 2004 *Tran, Mark. ttp://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1627870,00.html "Microsoft teams up with British Library to digitise books"''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 4 November 2005
"Woman to head British Library"
''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 9 February 2000 *Young, Ken
"Reading between the lines: The British Library is working fast to upgrade its research services in the midst of a worldwide debate over open source publishing"
''The Guardian'' (Manchester). 16 December 2004

External links

British Library profile of Brindley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brindley, Lynne 1950 births Living people Alumni of the University of Reading Alumni of University College London English librarians British women librarians British librarians Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Aston University People associated with the London School of Economics People associated with the University of Leeds Place of birth missing (living people) Employees of the British Library Masters of Pembroke College, Oxford Honorary Fellows of the British Academy Women academic administrators Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics British academic administrators