INSPIRE: a proposal for its future development

Inspire is a project that has been established to support “libraries in working together to improve access to information and learning for all”. Participating libraries are committed to supporting learning in its widest sense and together they provide an open route to the information library users are seeking, wherever it may be found.

It was instituted in 2004 under the energetic leadership of Mary Heaney (formerly Director of Learning Centres at the University of Wolverhampton and now Director of Services at Manchester Metropolitan University) and Andrew Green (then Head of Libraries & Information Services, Coventry City Council and now Head of Library and Heritage Service, Wandsworth Council). Mary resigned her role with Inspire in 2006 and was replaced by Philip Payne, (Librarian, Birkbeck College). Sally Curry is its Inspire National Partnerships Manager.

Funding was provided by the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport, the Museums Libraries and Archives Council, the British Library, SCONUL and the Society of Chief Librarians.

Inspire is also supported by the Committee on Library Cooperation in Ireland (COLICO), the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals, and the Colleges of Further & Higher Education.