Speakers biographies
Andrew Booth
Andrew Booth is an information professional/lecturer/researcher with experience of a wide range of
aspects of evidence based practice. His twenty years’ experience as a health information professional
has included the King’s Fund where he managed three national information services and, since November
1994, the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, where he is Director of
Information Resources and Senior Lecturer in Evidence Based Healthcare Information. His current brief
is to develop an information resource to support evidence-based health-care both within the University
of Sheffield and Trent Region.
Andrew co-ordinates a module on Systematic Reviews and Critical Appraisal for a Masters in Health
Services Research and Technology Assessment and he has recently developed a Masters in Health Informatics
in conjunction with the Department of Information Studies and the School of Nursing and Midwifery,
both at the University of Sheffield. Andrew is a leading contributor to the activities of the Centre
for Health Information Management Research which provides a focus for health information research within
the University.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/ir/andrew.htm
Peter Brophy
Peter Brophy is Director of the Centre for Research in Library & Information Management (CERLIM) at
the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and holds the Chair in Information Management at that
University. He is the author of The library in the twenty-first century (Facet, 2001) and The academic
library (Facet, 2nd ed., 2005) . Before moving to MMU in 1998, he was Head of Library and Learning
Resource Services, and of the Learning Technologies Centre, at the University of Central Lancashire.
His earlier career included posts at the Universities of Lancaster and Strathclyde and at the then
Teesside and Bristol Polytechnics. He is a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of CILIP, and was President of
the Institute of Information Scientists in 1998-99.
http://www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/infocomms/staff/profile.php?id=190
Professor David Eastwood
Professor David Eastwood became Chief Executive of HEFCE on 1 September 2006. He was previously
Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Before taking up his position at UEA, Professor Eastwood was Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities
Research Board. Previously he held a Chair in Modern History at the University of Wales Swansea,
where he was also head of department, dean and pro-vice-chancellor. While at Swansea he co-founded
the National Centre for Public Policy.
He was fellow and senior tutor of Pembroke College (1988-95), and is an Honorary Fellow of St Peter's
College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1980.
Professor Eastwood has served on many national bodies and committees. He is Chair of the QAA Steering
Group for Benchmarking and a member of the QAA Board. He is a Commissioner for the Marshall Aid
Commemoration Commission. Since 1991 Professor Eastwood has been a Fellow of the Royal Historical
Society, serving as its Literary Director from 1994-2000 and as chair of its Studies in History Board
from 2000-04.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/board/bio/eastwood.htm
Michael Gorman
Michael Gorman has been Dean of Library Services at the Henry Madden Library, California State University,
Fresno since 1988. From 1977 to 1988 he worked at the Library of the University of Illinois, Urbana
as, successively, Director of Technical Services, Director of General Services, and Acting University
Librarian. From 1966 to 1977 he was, successively, Head of Cataloguing at the British National
Bibliography, a member of the British Library Planning Secretariat, and Head of the Office of
Bibliographic Standards in the British Library. He has taught at library schools in Britain and in the
United States--most recently at the University of California, Los Angeles.
http://mg.csufresno.edu
Professor Niels Ole Por
Niels Ole Pors is Professor at the Department of Library and Information Management, The Royal School
of Library and Information Science. He has previously been Dean at the School with responsibilities
for both research and education. He has published several books and research reports on user studies
and information behaviour, research methods and statistical analysis, organisational theories and
leadership, quality management and educational questions concerning the profession. He has published
200 papers and articles in academic and professional journals. He is member of several editorial
boards of academic journals. He also has a comprehensive international experience. He has lectured in
many different countries and has participated in many library development projects.
www.db.dk/nop
J. Stephen Town
J. Stephen Town is Director of Knowledge Services for Cranfield University at the Defence College of
Management and Technology, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. This includes responsibility for
Library services, Design & E-Learning and for the content of a range of other information services
including the college Web site and Intranet. Stephen also holds the additional title of Deputy
University Librarian.
Stephen is active in teaching, research, consultancy and advice. He has been published widely in the
fields of quality and performance, library management, and information literacy. Stephen is the
Chairperson of the SCONUL Working Group on Performance Improvement. He is also a member of the
Editorial Board of the Performance Measurement & Metrics journal and the Board of the Northumbria
International Conferences on Performance Measurement. On behalf of the Working Group on Performance
Improvement Stephen has coordinated the SCONUL LibQUAL+ consortium since its introduction to the UK
in 2003.
http://diglib.shrivenham.cranfield.ac.uk/directorate/staff/towns