Tony Durcan 

Biography:Tony Durcan is Head of Culture, Libraries and Lifelong Learning for Newcastle City Council. He joined Newcastle as Head of Libraries and Information in 2002, and took over responsibility for Lifelong Learning in 2004, and for Culture in 2006. Before moving to Newcastle he worked for Gateshead Library and Arts Service, as Assistant Director, then Deputy Director and latterly as Head of Libraries, Arts and Information. And before that he had a variety of roles with Derbyshire Library Service, from Trainee to District Librarian. His priorities in Newcastle have been to work with colleagues to modernise services, to gain acknowledgement for the quality services which were being delivered, and to create a positive profile for the Library Service within the Council. He believes one of Newcastle's major projects is the development of the new city library through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) route. He is the Director of this really exciting project, which he has just successfully moved through the final procurement and demolition stages. Tony became President of the Society of Chief Librarians in May 2007, and is really looking forward to his two years in post. The role and the workload are both challenging, but it is such an opportunity (and a privilege) to represent public libraries at the national level.

Abstract: Remember to celebrate the large public library

Complementing Lynne Brindley's British Library presentation, Tony Durcan will highlight and remind us of a range of issues common to the large public library. Some of these are challenges, some opportunities. All provide the context for the large library.

Tony's starting point will be the special characteristics shared by large libraries, and why he has a positive, optimistic and enthusiastic view for their future.