Three New Appointments to the Board of Trustees of The National Library

Fri, 21 Nov 08 10:42:00

 

It is with pleasure that Dafydd Wigley, President of The National Library of Wales and Alun Ffred Jones, Minister for Heritage, Welsh Assembly Government, announce the appointment of three Trustees to serve on the Library’s Board. The three are Professor Roy Evans, Professor Aled Gruffydd Jones and Mr Roy Roberts. They were formally appointed at the Library’s Board meeting on Friday 14 November 2008 and begin their terms of office in December 2008.

 

Professor Roy Evans was the former Vice Chancellor of Bangor University until retirement in 2004. Previously a lecturer, he was Head of the Engineering School and Pro Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University. Educated at Llandysul Grammar School he was honoured with a CBE in 2002 and named North Wales Business Personality of the Year in the same year. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he currently chairs the Ceredigion Economic Regeneration Partnership and serves as a member of the governing bodies of UWIC and Cardiff University.

 

Professor Aled Gruffydd Jones is the Pro Vice Chancellor of Aberystwyth University. He was formerly Dean of the faculty of arts and Head and founder of the combined History and Welsh History Department at Aberystwyth University. He is also Sir John Williams Professor of Welsh History at Aberystwyth University. A prolific writer, a first class historian and a scholar of international importance, he was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, and at York and Warwick Universities. He is a fellow and former Literary Director of the Royal Historical Society.

 

Mr Roy Roberts was formerly the Deputy Controller of Regional Broadcasting at the BBC, Head of Regional and Local Programming for the Corporation in the South West of England and Industrial Correspondant for BBC Wales. Educated at Ardwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth, Swansea University and Bradford University’s Business School, he is the chair of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Advisory Group on Fuel Poverty. A native of Aberystwyth, he chose to return to his hometown following his recent retirement.

 

Dafydd Wigley, President of the Library said:

 

“It was wonderful to see so many excellent candidates wishing to be Trustees of this important institution, and it is a pleasure to be able to appoint three individuals such as these who have a broad knowledge and experience that will be invaluable to the Library. The Library faces a number of challenges in the coming years and I can say with confidence that we have an able and talented Board of Trustees who possess the required competencies to undertake these challenges with confidence.”

 

Alun Ffred Jones, the Minister for Heritage said:

 

“I’m sure that the valuable experience these exceptional individuals will bring to the Board of Trustees of the National Library will be of great use to the institution and I’m certain that they will make a significant contribution to the work of the Library over the course of their terms of appointment.”

 

The three new members will begin work on 1 December 2008 and their appointments are for four years. Trustees are currently not remunerated.

 

Neither Professor Roy Evans or Professor Aled Gruffydd Jones currently hold any other Ministerial Appointments. Mr Roy Roberts is the chair of the Assembly Government’s Advisory Group on Fuel Poverty for which he receives remuneration of £106 per day for 2-3 days per month.

 

 

Additional information

 

Background

 

The Board of the Library is the independent Board of Trustees, which keeps the Library’s collections in trust for the people of Wales and gives strategic direction to the Library’s work. The Library’s President, who chairs the Board, is the Right Honourable Dafydd Wigley PC. Other appointed officials on the Board include the Vice-President, Mr Arwel Ellis Owen, and the Treasurer, Mr Conrad Bryant, whose term of service ends in July 2009.

 

Trustees are asked to undertake the responsibilities of a trustee of a charity, as defined by the rules of the Charity Commission.

 

Trustees should also know about the commitments required of them that arise as a result of the Library’s standing as an Assembly Government Sponsored Body. These are set out in the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum, which explain the Terms and Conditions through which the Library receive Funding from the Assembly, and which is currently the subject of a review by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Library.

 

 

The Library

 

The National Library of Wales is one of Wales’ main cultural institutions, and the main source of information recorded in the country. It is a body of world renown, and it contributes to a world-wide network of information providers. The Library is unusual, if not unique, among national libraries in the sense that it collects and gives access to information recorded in almost every medium – books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts and archives, maps, paintings, pictures and prints, photographs, moving images and sound, and electronic mediums. The Library is an AGSB (Assembly Government Sponsored Body) and also a registered charity which must follow Charity rules.

 

The Library’s strategy was recently launched at the Senedd building in Cardiff, and it guides the development of the Library over the next three years (2008-2009 to 2010-2011). It seeks to safeguard the Library’s vital current work, and also opens its enormous potential to enrich the people of Wales, for the benefit of broader audiences and new users.

 

The Library depends mainly on the Welsh Assembly Government for its funding, although it also attracts money from a number of sources including grants from other bodies, support from individuals, income from its marketing activities and its own charitable funding.

 

 

Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments

 

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published. None of the appointees have declared any political activity. These appointments have been made in accordance with the OCPA Code of Practice.

 

 

For more information:

Medi Jones, NLW Press Office: 01970 632 534 medi.jones-jackson@llgc.org.uk