Ronald Milne
Encyclopedia
Ronald Milne is a British librarian and administrator whose work has been particularly associated with the development of library research collections and with issues of digitisation of library materials.
, in the Scottish Borders, and studied German at the University of Edinburgh; he gained professional library qualifications at University College London. After holding library posts at the University of Glasgow, Trinity College Cambridge and King's College London, in 1998 he was appointed Director of the Research Support Libraries Programme which aimed to promote access and collaboration among research libraries in the UK. In 2002 he became Deputy Director of Oxford University Library Services and two years later its Acting Director. In 2007 he moved to the British Library
as Director of Scholarship and Collections. Since September 2009 he has been Associate Chief Librarian (Research Collections) at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.
of collections so as to enable web access to their content became a major preoccupation of libraries from the late 1990s onwards, and numerous projects to provide digital versions of prestigious manuscripts and early books were undertaken by individual libraries. One of the most notable large-scale projects was the Google Library Project
, and while in Oxford Ronald Milne played a significant role in making the Bodleian Library
the first UK contributor of material. The Google project provoked much controversy internationally, particularly in relation to issues of copyright, but the Bodleian minimised criticism by restricting its contribution to 19th century publications which were out of copyright. In his advocacy of the project, Ronald Milne stressed that its primary purpose was to improve access to research materials through their electronic availability rather than to create an alternative format for their preservation: "digitisation on such a scale represents a revolution in the dissemination of information that parallels the impact of the invention of printing from moveable type in the 15th century". The need for libraries to preserve their printed and digital materials was a theme that informed his work both at the Bodleian Library and at the British Library; these concerns were also reflected in his chairmanship of the National Preservation Office
Board and the Digital Preservation Coalition
.
Career
Ronald Milne was born in DunsDuns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, in the Scottish Borders, and studied German at the University of Edinburgh; he gained professional library qualifications at University College London. After holding library posts at the University of Glasgow, Trinity College Cambridge and King's College London, in 1998 he was appointed Director of the Research Support Libraries Programme which aimed to promote access and collaboration among research libraries in the UK. In 2002 he became Deputy Director of Oxford University Library Services and two years later its Acting Director. In 2007 he moved to the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
as Director of Scholarship and Collections. Since September 2009 he has been Associate Chief Librarian (Research Collections) at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.
Research libraries
The Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP) was a three-year government-funded initiative, running from 1999 to 2002, which sought to enhance the value of research collections in British libraries in three main directions: to improve the arrangements for access to collections by researchers; to provide support for humanities and social science research collections; to support collaborative activities among research libraries across different sectors - national, academic, public and independent libraries. As director of the programme, Ronald Milne had a central role in promoting its principles and coordinating its participants in a series of projects whose budgets amounted in total to around £30 million. Underpinning these initiatives was the concept of a "Distributed National Collection", in recognition of the inability of even the best-funded research libraries to continue collecting comprehensively in their areas of interest. The RSLP projects sought to create a foundation for collaborative work in subject collection descriptions and catalogues to facilitate access for researchers.Digitisation
The digitisationBook scanning
Book scanning is the process of converting physical books and magazines into digital media such as images, electronic text, or electronic books by using an image scanner....
of collections so as to enable web access to their content became a major preoccupation of libraries from the late 1990s onwards, and numerous projects to provide digital versions of prestigious manuscripts and early books were undertaken by individual libraries. One of the most notable large-scale projects was the Google Library Project
Google Books Library Project
The Google Books Library Project is an effort by Google to scan and make searchable the collections of several major research libraries. The project, along with Google's Partner Program, comprise Google Books . Along with bibliographic information, snippets of text from a book are often viewable...
, and while in Oxford Ronald Milne played a significant role in making the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
the first UK contributor of material. The Google project provoked much controversy internationally, particularly in relation to issues of copyright, but the Bodleian minimised criticism by restricting its contribution to 19th century publications which were out of copyright. In his advocacy of the project, Ronald Milne stressed that its primary purpose was to improve access to research materials through their electronic availability rather than to create an alternative format for their preservation: "digitisation on such a scale represents a revolution in the dissemination of information that parallels the impact of the invention of printing from moveable type in the 15th century". The need for libraries to preserve their printed and digital materials was a theme that informed his work both at the Bodleian Library and at the British Library; these concerns were also reflected in his chairmanship of the National Preservation Office
National Preservation Office
The National Preservation Office was established by the British Library Board in 1984. In 2009 it was renamed the British Library Preservation Advisory Centre...
Board and the Digital Preservation Coalition
Digital Preservation Coalition
The Digital Preservation Coalition is a UK-based non-profit limited company which seeks to secure the preservation of digital resources in the UK and internationally to secure the global digital memory and knowledge base.-History:...
.