Lorcan Dempsey

Lorcan Dempsey

Hi ... I am a librarian, writer, and adviser. I enjoy working with groups of libraries to develop shared services, products and directions. I have guided national and international cooperative and R&D programs. I have been very lucky to work for library, educational, and non-profit organizations in Ireland, the UK, the EU and the US.

I am currently Professor of Practice and Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Information School, University of Washington. Explore my reflections about the evolution of libraries in their social and cultural contexts in these pages.

Please get in touch if we can work together. And sign up to follow along!

Latest posts
So-called soft skills are hard
Institutions

So-called soft skills are hard

So-called soft skills are important across a range of library activities. Existing trends will further amplify this importance. Describing these skills as soft may be misleading, or even damaging. They should be recognized as learnable and teachable, and should be explicitly supported and rewarded.
Lorcan 12 min read
AI, OpenAI and the evolving AI environment
AI

AI, OpenAI and the evolving AI environment

For a few days recently, the news was dominated by reports of organizational upheaval at OpenAI. Here are some reflections on what happened, with some connections to library topics.
Lorcan 12 min read
Celebrating Ohio
Meta

Celebrating Ohio

A temporary relocation makes me realize how much there is to like and to say about Ohio, where we have lived for the last 22 years. We moved to Ohio from the UK (and lived in Ireland before that). Here are some observations based on our travels around the State over the years.
Lorcan 29 min read
The narrative website: from signposting to storytelling
UX

The narrative website: from signposting to storytelling

As we move from a collections-based to a relational library, storytelling becomes very important. One trend is the emergence of a stronger narrative or storytelling emphasis on websites, which helps position the library, promote its services, and address specific interests.
Lorcan 16 min read
Generative AI and large language models: background and contexts
AI

Generative AI and large language models: background and contexts

The promise and challenge of Generative AI is now central. This is a summary overview of some of the major directions and issues, acknowledging that things are moving very quickly. I intend it as background to later posts about library implications and developments.
Lorcan 49 min read
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The social, cultural and technological contexts of libraries, services and networks

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