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Richard Ovenden
OBE FSA FRSA
Richard Ovenden at Weston Library Opening in March 2015
Ovenden in 2015
Born (1964-03-25) 25 March 1964 (age 60)
EducationDeal Parochial and Sir Roger Manwood's School, Kent
Alma materSt Chad's College
University College London
Occupation(s)Librarian and author

Richard Ovenden OBE FSA FRSA (/ˈʌvəndən/; born 25 March 1964) is a British librarian and author. He currently serves as the 25th Bodley's Librarian in the University of Oxford, having been appointed in 2014.[1][2] Ovenden also serves as the Director of the Bodleian Library's Centre for the Study of the Book and holds a Professorial Fellowship at Balliol College.[3] Ovenden is a trustee of the Chawton House Library[4] and vice-chair of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation.[5] In 2009, he was elected third chair of the Digital Preservation Coalition, succeeding Ronald Milne and Dame Lynne Brindley in a post he held until 2013.[6][7] and returning in 2015 to the honorary position of President of the DPC.[8] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2015.[9] He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, having been elected in 2008.[10]

Early life

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Richard Ovenden was educated at Deal Parochial and Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent, St Chad's College, Durham University, culminating in studying library science to qualify as a librarian at UCL in 1987.[11]

Career

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Ovenden has worked at Durham University Library, the House of Lords Library, the National Library of Scotland and at the University of Edinburgh, where he was responsible for Collection Management within the Library, for Special Collections and Archives, and for the University Museums and Art Gallery.

In 2003 he became Keeper of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries[12][13] and in 2011 was appointed Deputy Librarian.

Ovenden is the author of John Thomson (1837–1921): photographer (1997), a study of the Scottish photographer, and has also written Burning the Books (John Murray),[14] which was shortlisted for the 2021 Wolfson History Prize.[15]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to libraries and archives.[16]

Works

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Books edited
  • Ovenden, Richard; McIlwaine, Catherine, eds. (2022). The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien. Bodleian Library Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8512-4565-9.

References

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  1. ^ "Bodley's Librarian". University of Oxford Gazette. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  2. ^ Godfrey, Lisa (21 March 2023). "The fight for libraries, 'the heart' of democratic freedom". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023.
  3. ^ Meet Bodley's Librarian
  4. ^ "Trustees, Staff and Patrons", chawtonhouse.org Accessed 16 February 2016
  5. ^ "People" kraszna-krausz.org.uk Accessed 16 February 2016
  6. ^ "New Year - and New Chair for DPC: Richard Ovenden" Digital Preservation Coalition Accessed 16 February 2016
  7. ^ "Richard Ovenden" Archived 2016-01-11 at the Wayback Machine Balliol College, Oxford. Accessed 16 February 2016
  8. ^ "Richard Ovenden returns to DPC as President - Digital Preservation Coalition". www.dpconline.org. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Richard Ovenden" bodleian.ox.ac.uk Oxford University. Accessed 16 February 2016
  10. ^ "Fellows Directory" sal.org.uk Accessed 16 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Ovenden, Richard, (born 25 March 1964), Bodley's Librarian, University of Oxford, since 2014; Fellow, Balliol College, Oxford, since 2014", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2014, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u281278, ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4, retrieved 16 June 2024
  12. ^ Radford, Tim (11 December 2003). "£3m gift that could help save Frankenstein for the nation". The Guardian.
  13. ^ "Priceless Bible goes on display". BBC News. 3 March 2004.
  14. ^ Cooke, Rachel (31 August 2020). "Burning the Books by Richard Ovenden review – the libraries we have lost". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Shortlist announced for £40k Wolfson History Prize". Books+Publishing. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  16. ^ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B13.
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Further reading

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  • Oxford Online. First Author. 24 August 2007. Interview with Ovenden about the Bodleian Library's digitisation programs and its partnerships with Google
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