Linda Tomos CBE (néeWilliams; born 1 April 1952), [1] is a Welsh librarian. She was the first woman to be appointed Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales, [2] a post she held until 2019. She worked for more than forty years in the field of librarianship and information science. [3]
Tomos was born in Llanelli; her parents were Arthur Horatio Williams and Mary Eileen Williams. [1] She was brought up in the Oxford area, and attended Didcot Girls' Grammar School. She graduated from Aberystwyth University with a degree in History and Librarianship, and [3] In 1974 she married Merfyn Wyn Tomos. [1]
Prior to her appointment at the NLW, Tomos worked for the Welsh Government, where she was responsible for library, archive and museum policy and was involved in the implementation of the UK People's Network [4] and the first Library Strategy for Wales in 2005. She has been Chair of the Library and Information Services Council for Wales (LISC Wales) which advised Ministers prior to 2004, Chair of the BBC Educational Broadcasting Council Wales, [3] and Chair of the National Trust Advisory Council for Wales.
In 2019 Tomos was nominated by the Women's Equality Network as one of the year's "100 Welsh Women". [5] Shortly afterwards, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. [6] In 2020 she was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. [7]
R. Merfyn Jones CBE is a Welsh historian and broadcaster, was vice-chancellor of Bangor University and a governor of the BBC.
Dame Linda Jane Colley is an expert on British, imperial and global history from 1700. She is currently Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University and a long-term fellow in history at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Uppsala. She previously held chairs at Yale University and at the London School of Economics. Her work frequently approaches the past from inter-disciplinary perspectives.
Victoria Kirstyn Williams is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from December 2008 to May 2016 and subsequently from June 2017 to November 2017 in an acting capacity.
Sir Deian Rhys Hopkin is an academic and historian, former vice chancellor and former President of the National Library of Wales. From 2013 to 2020, he served as Chair of Wales Remembers 1914-1918 and was expert adviser to the First Minister of Wales for the Centenary of the First World War. Hopkin was from 2001 until 2009 vice-chancellor and chief executive of London South Bank University, England. From 2011 to 2015, he was president of the National Library of Wales. He is a historian, originally from Wales and a fluent Welsh speaker.
James G. Neal is an American librarian, library administrator, and a prominent figure in American and international library associations. In 2022 President Joe Biden appointed him to the National Museum and Library Services Board which advises the agency on general policies with respect to the duties, powers, and authority of the Institute of Museum and Library Services relating to museum, library, and information services, as well as the annual selection of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
Peggy Sullivan was an American librarian and educator. She was elected president of the American Library Association and was a scholar of the history of librarianship.
Sir John Ballinger CBE was a Welsh librarian, the first librarian at the National Library of Wales. He was described by a later librarian at the National Library, Andrew Green, as "one of the most distinguished professional librarians of his time".
Andrew M. Green MCLIP, FLSW is a published author. From 1998 to 2013, he was the Librarian of the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, a position which was inaugurated on 1 January 1909, when the Library came into existence. Green was the 9th holder of the position.
Peter Havard-Williams was a Welsh librarian and library educator. In the mid-1980s, he served as Chief Librarian to the Council of Europe.
Guy Berthiaume is Librarian and Archivist of Canada Emeritus. A Canadian historian specialized in the study of Classical Antiquity, he served as chair and chief executive officer of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec from June 22, 2009, to June 21, 2014, and, from June 23, 2014, to August 29, 2019, he served as Librarian and Archivist of Canada.
Dame Elan Closs Stephens is a Welsh academic who has been a non-executive director of the BBC Board since 2017, and Chair of the BBC between 27 June 2023 and 4 March 2024. She is Electoral Commissioner for Wales and Pro-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University. She chairs the UNESCO International Prize for the Creative Economy panel.
Professor Laura McAllister is a Welsh academic, former international footballer and senior sports administrator. As a Wales women's national football team player, McAllister won 24 caps and served as team captain. She is currently Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales at the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University. She was formerly Professor of Governance at Liverpool University. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to sport. She was a board member of Stonewall from 2012 to 2015, and is currently a board member of the Institute of Welsh Affairs. She is Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and a Non-executive Director of Goodson Thomas boutique executive search agency. She was honoured as one of the BBC 100 Women in December 2022. Since April 2023, she has also been a vice-president of UEFA.
Elizabeth W. Stone was an American librarian and educator and president of the American Library Association from 1981 to 1982. In 1988 she was awarded Honorary Membership in the American Library Association. In 1998 she was honored with the Beta Phi Mu Award for distinguished service to education for librarianship.
Manon Bonner Antoniazzi is a Welsh senior civil servant. Since April 2017 she has occupied the position of Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd. Previously she held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Visit Wales within the Welsh Government.
Caroline Brazier, is a Scottish librarian. From 2013 to 2018, she was Chief Librarian of the British Library, the United Kingdom's national library.
Uzoamaka Linda Iwobi FLSW is a British-Nigerian solicitor and equalities practitioner. She is the former Specialist Policy Adviser on Equalities to the Welsh Government, an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wales Trinity St David and founder, secretary and former chief executive officer at Race Council Cymru. She is also Vice President of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
The College of Librarianship Wales was a monotechnic college specializing in library and information science in Aberystwyth, Wales, between its foundation in 1964 and August 1989, when it was merged with University College of Wales to become the Department of Information & Library Studies of that institution. During its twenty-five years of independent existence the college grew to be the largest library school in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. It also gained an international reputation for library education,
Maria Musoke, sometimes referred to as Maria G.N. Musoke is a Ugandan information scientist and academician. She is the first Ugandan woman to obtain a PhD in Information Science. She is a professor of Information Science and a Deputy Vice Chancellor at Kyambogo University in Uganda. She also serves as a council member (2019–2022) of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences.
Janice Lillian Fullerton is an Australian librarian. She was the first woman to be appointed Director General of the National Library of Australia (NLA) and first internal appointment to the role.
Professor Wilfred Leonard SaundersCBE was a British librarian and the founding director of what became the University of Sheffield Information School.