Thursday 28 July 2011

Library saved!: The Official Press Release


(Source: IMarEST)

PRESS RELEASE

Gift doubles the size of the existing library and historical archives open to the public in the City of London


Lloyd's Register has taken delivery of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology's (IMarEST) library giving the collection a secure new home and assuring its preservation for the future.

The historically important IMarEST collection – which consists of more than 390 linear metres of material – now resides at Lloyd's Register's offices on Fenchurch Street in London.

"Like our own collection, the IMarEST library is one the great resources still available for current and historic information concerning maritime history, marine engineering, naval architecture, offshore engineering and ocean technology. It was absolutely vital that this collection be preserved to continue to provide the public with a rich sense of one of our traditional industries," said Richard Sadler, Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd's Register. "Part of our mission as a UK-registered charity is to advance public education within the engineering and technological disciplines. It is through acts like this that we continue to fulfill that mission."

The IMarEST was established in 1889 and is the largest international membership body and learned society for marine professionals with over 15,000 members worldwide. The move was made necessary by IMarEST's relocation this summer to smaller premises, which would not have had room to house the collection. By offering the library a new home at the Lloyd’s Register Information Centre, the organisation is ensuring that this important resource remains available to the public and to the institute's members.

Against a backdrop of widespread library closures in London and with many specialist collections under threat, hosting such an important resource ensures that this unique part of IMarEST's heritage remains available to provide researchers with marine engineering, technical and scientific knowledge.

“The Institute is delighted that our incomparable collection will be housed in such ideal surroundings, remaining in the City of London, and open to all our members and to a wider audience interested in marine affairs,” says IMarEST’s Interim CEO, Fiona Morris.

“In addition to thanking Lloyd’s Register on behalf of the Institute, I would like to pay particular tribute to the hard work of James McRae, the Institute’s Information and Knowledge Manager. He has worked with Lloyd’s Register to ensure the smooth transfer of our vast collection from Coleman Street to Fenchurch Street, harnessing online tools to ensure all members are kept fully informed, and is now driving forward Institute plans for future online services. He has done a magnificent and highly professional job.

“We are extremely proud of our collection in its new and very permanent home and look forward to making use of it on a regular basis and meeting many of our Members when they visit the Lloyd’s Register Library.”

The IMarEST will continue to provide its members with information and knowledge services and a virtual library online providing e-books. It will also continue to hold the institute’s publications and some current specialist books.

Lloyd's Register’s own historic archive and library was founded in 1852 at the bequest of Principal Shipwright Surveyor Augustin Francis Bullock Creuze, FRS, and a founder member of the first Royal School of Naval Architecture. Nestled in the heart of the City of London, the organisations Information Centre provides access to its historic archive, plus a full collection of the Lloyd's Register of Ships, dating back to 1764, and associated publications and material.

"This is a great opportunity to combine our collections, each complementing the other, and to build upon the good work undertaken by the information staff of both IMarEST and Lloyd’s Register," Information Centre Manager Barbara Jones said. “There is a significant amount of work involved in maintaining an active archive and library, so we are ensuring that further resources are made available to assure a successful amalgamation of our two collections.”

The collections are open to the public Monday to Friday between 09:30-12:00 and 13:00-16:30. Further information can be found here

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Library saved!

Part of the library at IMarEST HQ
When it became apparent the library I've been solely managing for the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) for the past three years would no longer be accommodated in our new office building, it began a long and desperate search for a suitable and willing recipient of a collection that was 121 years in the making.

For 18 months I feared, that should no one come forward, the library would be broken up and sent to the four corners of the country or, worse still, pillaged by our Members only for the remnants to end up in the bottom of a skip.

Thankfully, after a number of false dawns, an organisation called Lloyd's Register have, at the 11th hour, agreed to house the entire collection as well as allowing our Members continued access. It's the best possible result in the circumstances and, as well as feeling euphoric at maintaining the collection as an important piece of maritime history, I'm selfishly grateful not to be the man 'on watch' when the death knell tolls.

Of course both organisations see it as a potential opportunity for some positive press and as such I'm going to record it here over the next few blogs for posterity. Although my counterparts at Lloyd's Register deserve the greater credit, I'm really proud that I was able to play my own little part in a positive piece of library related news.

Sunday 10 July 2011

Film Review: Senna


*****
Ayrton Senna was always seen as the enemy in my house when I was growing up.

As huge Nigel Mansell fans, we were constantly aggrieved to see our hero thwarted by the mercurial Brazilian, yet it wasn't just his occasional rivalry with the Brummy that poisoned our view.

For the main part, this documentary focuses firmly on Senna's intense rivalry with the other great driver of his era, the Frenchman and 4-time World Champion Alain Prost.

Prost's diametrically opposed approach of cold calculation - giving rise to the nickname 'The Professor' - resulted in great friction between the drivers, not only manifesting itself in the paddock but also on the track and resulting in two of the most infamous incidents in Grand Prix history at Japan's Suzuka circuit in 1989 and 1990.

The British media at the time portrayed Senna as very much the guilty party, arrogant and reckless to the point of dangerous liability. Director Asif Kapadia's portrayal however, paints Senna as the victim of politics and, in particular, Prost's close relationship with head of the FIA, Jean-Marie Balestre, also a French national.

Certainly Prost shows his true colours when instantly heading to the stewards office following the 1989 collision, ultimately resulting in the latters disqualification and thus handing the title to Prost.



Senna found F1's politics abhorrent, deeming its prevalence contrary to the very spirit of the sport that he engendered to so many of his adoring Brazilian fans. He comes across as the most staunch purist, always quick to defend his actions - "the racer who sees a gap and doesn't go for it can no longer call himself a racer".

Throughout we are treated to insider footage of driver meetings, team discussions and interviews from the time, much of which fans will not have seen previously. Not only does it shed new light on events but it adds a humanity which was never apparent through the prism of the media.

On the race weekend of his death in 1994, just 24hrs after Roland Ratzenberger's fatal crash in qualifying, we see Senna visibly upset at the passing of his colleague, shaking his head and close to tears in the car on the grid. The audience, knowing a similar fate awaits him, can't fail to be affected by the tragic irony.

As we ride on board with Senna in his very final moments - horrific, upsetting but never exploitative - the tension is palpable. With no narration nor talking heads to dissect the original footage, we are left simply with the whine of the engine. A somehow fitting accompaniement as the life of a remarkable sporting competitor comes to an all too premature end.