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
Teaching: one year in
Research ∕ Learning

Teaching: one year in

I reflect on my first year of teaching at the iSchool in the University of Washington. A little about teaching. A little about Canvas, the library, and some software tools. A little about me and my learnings.
Lorcan 13 min read
Libraries, AI and the messy middle
AI

Libraries, AI and the messy middle

Introduces an annotated presentation about AI, libraries and a range of related issues. It is influenced by the consequences of considering AI as a new 'cultural technology.'
Lorcan 3 min read
Smile: let's see your teeth
Books

Smile: let's see your teeth

I was excited to discover the graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier. The subject matter has strong personal resonances for me.
Lorcan 3 min read
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
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Deep dives and quick takes: libraries, society, culture and technology

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