Apologies for cross posting

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced on Saturday that John
Eatwell has been appointed as the new Chairman of the British Library.
Please see the press release below from DCMS which provides more details.


LORD EATWELL APPOINTED AS NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD

Lord Eatwell has been appointed as the new Chairman of the British Library,
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced today.  He will take up office on
1 September 2001, taking over as Chair from Dr John Ashworth.

Lord Eatwell’s appointment will run for five years until the end of August
2006.

Announcing the appointment, Tessa Jowell said:

“I am today confirming the decision taken by my predecessor to appoint Lord
Eatwell as the next Chairman of the British Library.  I am very pleased
that he has accepted the invitation to take up this post.   He is
extremely  capable and brings a wealth of experience to this post.  I am
very confident that he will successfully lead the Library through the
challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to working
with him.

“He will take over as Chairman of the British Library from Dr Ashworth who
has led the Library with distinction for the last five years and I should
like to thank Dr Ashworth for all that he has done during that time.”

Notes to Editors

1.  The announcement of this appointment was withheld in accordance with
normal practice that such appointments should not be made before a General
Election and as the election is out of the way the Secretary of State is
now able to confirm this appointment.

2.  The British Library is the National Library of the United Kingdom and
is one of the leading resources in the world for scholarship, research and
innovation.  Its collection of books, journals, manuscripts and other
articles exceeds 150 million items and its users include academics,
independent researchers and people working in the library and information
science sector and in business and industry.


3.  The Library employs over 2,000 staff and operates from its Headquarters
at St. Pancras, the Newspaper Library at Colindale, and from its Document
Supply Centre at Boston Spa in Yorkshire.  It receives over £80 million per
annum in funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and
generates significant additional income through the services it provides.

4.  Appointments to the British Library Board are made by the Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport under the British Library Act 1972, with
the exception of one part-time appointment which is made by Her Majesty the
Queen.  Lord Eatwell’s appointment is for a five year term from 1 September
2001.  The post is part-time, requiring a commitment of 2 days per week,
and it is remunerated at £32,010 per annum.

5.  Lord Eatwell is a member of the Labour Party and was the opposition
spokesman on Trade and Industry (1992-93) and Treasury and Economic Affairs
(1993-97) in the House of Lords, and was a member of the Parliamentary
Joint Committee on the Financial Services and Markets Bill in 1999.

Biographical Notes

Lord Eatwell (56) is President of Queen’s College, Cambridge.  He has held
a number of academic and other appointments, and published a large number
of books and articles, during his academic career.  He was Economic Advisor
to the Rt. Hon. Neil Kinnock before becoming Principle Opposition Spokesman
on Treasury and Economic Affairs in the House of Lords (1993-97).  He holds
a number of senior posts including Trustee of the Institute of Public
Policy Research, a Director of the Securities and Futures Authority, Member
of the Board of Directors of the Royal Opera House, and Chairman of the
Commercial Radio Companies Association.  He is also a non executive
director of Cambridge Econometrics Ltd.