Appointments to the Board of Trustees of The National Library of Wales

Mon, 20 Dec 10 11:49:00

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 reappointment of two Trustees and the appointment of a new Trustee to serve on the Library’s Board. The two Trustees who have been reappointed are Mrs Elspeth Mitcheson and David Barker, and Mrs Tricia Carter has been appointed for her first term on the Board.

 

Mrs Elspeth Mitcheson was Director of Leisure and Heritage at Isle of Anglesey County Council until retirement in 2000, with managerial, financial and strategic responsibly for all areas of the leisure and heritage sector. She has undertaken extensive voluntary and community work since retirement, including for the National Eisteddfod of Wales [2005] and for local schools. Elspeth has been appointed an independent assessor by the Commissioner for Public Appointments since 2003. She is also an independent member of the Honours Committee [Community, Voluntary and Local Services] of the Cabinet Office, which is a non-remunerated post.  

 

Mr David Barker was Manager of the North East Wales Schools Library Services until his retirement, providing a library service to 320 schools across four local education authorities. He has been a National Committee member of the Youth and Schools Library Groups of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), and is currently Treasurer of CILIP Cymru. David is also Chair of the Welsh Books Council’s Children’s Books Panel, and a member of the Council’s Executive Committee. He was a member of the Library and Information Services Council (Wales) for six years, during which he was chair of its working party on school libraries. He holds no other Ministerial public appointments.

 

Mrs Tricia Carter comes from a commercial business background, as a senior business manager and main board director in the IT industry. Her particular experience is in the development of new business, strategic planning and marketing. She was responsible for launching new business sectors, developing new products for both small organisations (SMEs) and major IT businesses, which entailed projects in the UK, Europe and the USA.

 

Mrs Carter has served as Vice-President and Chair of the Council of the University of Wales Lampeter and as Chair of the Ethical Standards Committee for the Dyfed Powys Police Authority, and is currently a Director of Fair Trade Wales. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Member of the Institute of Welsh Affairs. She holds no other Ministerial public appointments.

 

Dafydd Wigley, President of the Library, said: “The reappointment of Elsbeth Mitcheson and David Barker, together with the appointment of Tricia Carter completes a strong team of Trustees for the The National Library of Wales. Their wise advice will be invaluable in steering the Library through this very challenging period. I would like to thank all the trustees for their untiring work for one of Wales’ most important cultural institutions, which also promotes Wales and its culture on a worldwide level.”

 

Alun Ffred Jones, Minister for Heritage, said: "I am delighted that Mrs Elspeth Mitcheson and David Barker have been reappointed to the Board of Trustees and very much welcome the appointment of Mrs Tricia Carter as a new member of the Board of Trustees of the National Library of Wales. Their wide-ranging experience and skills will be an invaluable addition to the Board's present skills and I look forward very much to their contributions to the work of the Board."

 

The two members’ second term will begin on 1 January 2011 and their appointments are for four years. Mrs Carter’s first term will also begin on 1 January 2011 and will also last four years. Trustees are currently not remunerated.

Additional information

Background

The Board of the Library is the independent Board of Trustees, and it 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 Colin John.

 

Trustees are asked to undertake the responsibilities of a trustee of a charity, as defined and presented by the Charities Commission.

 

Trustees should also know about the commitments required of them which arise as a result of the Library’s standing as an Assembly Government Sponsored Body. These are presented in the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum, which explain the Terms and Conditions through which the Library receives 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 Laws.

 

The Library’s strategy guides the development of the Library over the three years 2008-2009 to 2010-2011. It offers a strategy which safeguards the Library’s vital present work, and also opens the Library’s enormous potential to enrich the lives of 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 other sources including grants from other bodies, support from individuals, income from its marketing activities and its own charitable funding.

Board 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 Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.