Lorcan Dempsey

Lorcan Dempsey

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

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!

Featured posts
Libraries and library studies
Institutions

Libraries and library studies

I wrote this piece on libraries and possible educational responses as part of a longer contribution on the informational disciplines and the iSchool. A principal goal was to suggest that libraries present interesting and challenging research and educational questions, which cross disciplines.
Lorcan Dempsey 14 min read
Clifford A Lynch, RIP
Meta

Clifford A Lynch, RIP

Cliff Lynch sadly died on 10th April 2025. Responses show how much Cliff meant to so many, and to the library and related communities. Here are some personal reminiscences and an appreciation of his achievement and the loss.
Lorcan Dempsey 6 min read
Information: a brief schematic history
Meta

Information: a brief schematic history

In a piece on the informational disciplines and the iSchool, I sketched this very schematic and informal overview of information, broadly construed. My focus is pragmatic, related to library interests. I consider several current issues, including the 'apotheosis of the document' in an AI context.
Lorcan Dempsey 20 min read
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 Dempsey 13 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 Dempsey 12 min read
Latest posts
Libraries and library studies
Institutions

Libraries and library studies

I wrote this piece on libraries and possible educational responses as part of a longer contribution on the informational disciplines and the iSchool. A principal goal was to suggest that libraries present interesting and challenging research and educational questions, which cross disciplines.
Lorcan Dempsey 14 min read
Clifford A Lynch, RIP
Meta

Clifford A Lynch, RIP

Cliff Lynch sadly died on 10th April 2025. Responses show how much Cliff meant to so many, and to the library and related communities. Here are some personal reminiscences and an appreciation of his achievement and the loss.
Lorcan Dempsey 6 min read
Information: a brief schematic history
Meta

Information: a brief schematic history

In a piece on the informational disciplines and the iSchool, I sketched this very schematic and informal overview of information, broadly construed. My focus is pragmatic, related to library interests. I consider several current issues, including the 'apotheosis of the document' in an AI context.
Lorcan Dempsey 20 min read
Document chat: an early AI use case
AI

Document chat: an early AI use case

AI-assisted document query and summarization services are becoming more common. This post compares the 'ask a PDF' outputs of several services. Overall responses were good, with reasonable variation, and no significant hallucinations. It also touches on some characteristics of AI-based services.
Lorcan Dempsey 24 min read
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 Dempsey 13 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 Dempsey 12 min read
Explore topics
Systems

Systems

Doing things with software and data.

1058 posts
Institutions

Institutions

Libraries are social organizations, entangled in multiple histories, politics and value systems.

419 posts
UX

UX

Broadly construed .. how we experience systems, services and interfaces.

333 posts
Books

Books

Notes about books, movies and reading.

307 posts
Research ∕ Learning

Research ∕ Learning

Research and learning behaviors drive academic library change.

294 posts
Misc

Misc

Some things don't go elsewhere

183 posts
Social

Social

The network organization of personal, social and academic life.

171 posts
Collections

Collections

Collective, inside-out, facilitated, optimized, pluralized and computationally analyzed.

114 posts
Meta

Meta

Comments about the site, or more personal observations or topics.

33 posts
*Classics

*Classics

Posts which introduced concepts or vocabulary which have gained some currency.

25 posts
AI

AI

Posts about evolving AI story and its implications for libraries.

9 posts
Collaboration

Collaboration

Balancing common goals and institutional autonomy makes library collaboration difficult.

8 posts
Fonts

Fonts

Fonts make language visible, and can communicate a particular feeling. How are they used in libraries, cultural institutions, universities and related organizations?

2 posts
icon

Lorcan Dempsey dot Net

The social, cultural and technological contexts of libraries, services and networks

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