Between January and May 2008, Sir Elihu was interviewed seven times at his home in Herschel Road ... more Between January and May 2008, Sir Elihu was interviewed seven times at his home in Herschel Road Cambridge to record his reminiscences of seventy years of his own, and his father's associations with the Faculty. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the six interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle (questions and topics are in bold type) Sir Elihu's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 36. 1940-44. Sir Eli, this is the third interview. Last time, we followed the list of your notable achievements, which you kindly provided. I have listened to what you said very carefully and I found it fascinating. But there are three points, which I wondered if we could amplify. First of all, in the 1940s you spent four years in the States and when you came back to Britain, both countries were at war with Germany-one had been very badly affected, the other far less so. You were an impressionable boy then and I wonder if you can remember some of the comparisons that must have hit you quite forcibly when you returned? You say that I was an impressionable boy then. I suppose I was, but I am not sure that I was always conscious of the nature of the impressions that I was receiving. However, there were, of course, significant differences between my life in America and my life in Cambridge. In America, I had been very much on my own and I had become much more self-reliant; I organised my life as I thought best. When I came back to England, I fell immediately under the considerable sway of my father, who had certain views as to how I should behave and I think I mentioned that when I came back, I had an American accent and I had to get rid of it. I was told to sit in my room and listen to the wireless in English, which I did and in due course I learned to speak English. But as between the two countries, of course, there were massive differences. In America one, for example, was not exposed to rationing, there was plenty of food and so on. Coming back to England, one was in the middle of rationing, the war was still on. I came back just after the invasion of Europe-D Day, and so when I went back to school at Harrow, I went back for another year of the war in Europe. It was only in May '45, I think, that Germany collapsed and thereafter the Japanese war had also been brought to an end. So I came back to a wartime, war-oriented country and one was conscious of that. But the effect upon me personally was really, I think, quite limited. I just got on and did the things I was told to do.
Bob was interviewed three times at the Squire Law Library to record his reminiscences of over for... more Bob was interviewed three times at the Squire Law Library to record his reminiscences of over forty years of an eventful legal career, during the last thirty of which he has been involved with the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein.
The second interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. ... more The second interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features his position as Reader (1976-81) and the Whewell Professor of International Law (1981-91). The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholar's Archive
An interview with Judge Stephen M. Schwebel by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. The recor... more An interview with Judge Stephen M. Schwebel by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
The first interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. T... more The first interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features his published works, mainly his books (1963-97).The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
Professor Saunders is Laureate Professor Emeritus at Melbourne Law School, and Founding Director ... more Professor Saunders is Laureate Professor Emeritus at Melbourne Law School, and Founding Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, ... more Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, Cambridge, to record his reminiscences of nearly seventy years of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the very few remaining scholars whose experiences extend to pre-Second World War times, and at the time of writing, he is the oldest living ex-member of the Faculty. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
Professor Hepple is an internationally-famous labour lawyer and champion of human rights, whose c... more Professor Hepple is an internationally-famous labour lawyer and champion of human rights, whose career spans the historic struggle against Apartheid, the introduction of anti-racist legislation in the UK, and recent observations on the relationship between labour law and globalisation.Between August 2007 and June 2008 Professor Hepple was interviewed three times by Lesley Dingle, to record his reminiscences of his career, including his involvement with South Africa, and his long association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. This biography is written with reference to the three interviews and further research about Professor Hepple.The Eminent Scholars Archive (ESA) is an expanding archive documenting the careers and achievements of eminent scholars associated with the Squire Law Library and Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The archive contains extensive bibliographies, biographies, photographs and recorded interviews with some of the world's most renowned academic and and practising lawyers. The ESA can be found online at the Squire Law Library website.
The second interview with Mr R.W.M. Dias, Emeritus Fellow, Magdalene College by Lesley Dingle of ... more The second interview with Mr R.W.M. Dias, Emeritus Fellow, Magdalene College by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features the period of 1951-1981.The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
... It is an essential purchase for those interested in this particular subject area. Vanessa Bet... more ... It is an essential purchase for those interested in this particular subject area. Vanessa Bettinson Lecturer in Law De Montfort University and Joanna Till De Montfort University ... Lesley Dingle Foreign & International Law Librarian Squire Law Library Cambridge University ...
Peter Brophy published the first edition of his book in 2000, and in the preface conceded that he... more Peter Brophy published the first edition of his book in 2000, and in the preface conceded that he was fearful for the future of libraries, and for the fate of librarians: “... libraries are under threat. I fear for them... they have so much to offer, yet could so easily become backwaters”, concluding with “It is not obvious or inevitable that libraries, even if transformed from their present state, have a future.” That’s a fairly damning indictment, and he said he wrote his book to highlight their plight. But what a difference seven years in the digital age seems to have wrought, at least on Brophy’s outlook. Towards the end of this new edition (p. 212), Brophy says that “Libraries have actually been remarkably successful at forming collaborations locally, regionally nationally and internationally”, and that “They are there for the long term, not only in their duty to preserve humankind’s recorded memory, but as centres of expertise in accessing, using and, increasingly, creating information and knowledge. Doomsday scenarios have come and gone...” (Presumably he would include Brophy (20007 1 Ed.) in this latter category?) And there is more optimism throughout the new book, where he discusses the role libraries can and are playing across the spectrum of their manifestations (in the UK primarily). All in all, this new edition foretells a bright future for libraries in our society, whose citizens now need to embrace a culture of “lifelong” learning. Libraries should be the natural choice to fulfil a role as centres from which this goal can be achieved. And the author makes a good case for it all coming to pass. The book is divided into two equal parts. In the first (six chapters), Brophy examines the question of “What is a library?” while in the second (five chapters), he looks at “Future libraries”. The range of topics covered in Part 1 is full, but its presentation is pedestrian in places (for example Chapter 4 where the lists of aspirations of various professional organisations seem outdated, given that he is laying the foundations for his vision for the future). Part 2 is much more successful and enlivening, and tackles various themes with which librarians will have to grapple in the future (e.g. ‘Linking users to resources’ (Chapter. 7), ‘The library user’ (9), and ‘The information universe’ (10)). Chapter 10 is particularly interesting because here Brophy touches on a wide range of subjects that are of practical concern to librarians struggling to stay abreast of ICT developments: document formats, metadata, preservation, Open Access, and so on. The book concludes with an Envoi (Chapter 11), where the author surveys the field in what, in my opinion, is both a positive and realistic manner. In essence, the author believes that libraries will eventually transform themselves from being primarily “intermediary” centres into multi-functional information centres. While this may entail the ‘New Libraries’ (as I will call them) in continuing with some of their traditional roles, they will increasingly become holders of unique local information resources (created in-house and/or by acting as institutional repositories) and, at the same time, act as local centres of learning, particularly for “information literacy”. This may sound a rather grand transformation, but, where the remorseless advance of technology and deep changes in cultural attitudes are but two inevitable factors, Brophy’s vision makes good theoretical and, most importantly, practical sense. Brophy arrives at his vision after showing in Chapters 1-6 how libraries are currently struggling to come to terms with a wide range of challenges (of which technological change is but one), and then in Part 2 considers their options for development, in the light of their users’ aspirations and practical constraints. One of the critical factors the author identifies is the overall currently low level of “information literacy”, and it comes as a shock that this in not just where one might intuitively expect (e. g. within pockets of the general population), but across swathes of young people who are readying themselves to join undergraduate student communities. If one adds to this a relatively low level of literacy in many schoolchildren, and the fact that it is important that children “not only can read, but enjoy reading” in order to stay ahead in the ICT age (p. 40-44), then the potentially important role for both public and school libraries as centres for active education within local communities is obvious. It is reassuring therefore that in a recent survey cited by the author (p.39), the public overwhelmingly (84%) supports the use of public funds for local library services. Provided the necessary policies are followed, it seems therefore that tax payers would be behind any upgrading and maintenance of these public facilities to carry out this vital role. Clearly however, there is a need to instil an ethos of information literacy in young people as early as…
In addition to the 30 page glossary of technical terms and acronyms, there is a seven page index.... more In addition to the 30 page glossary of technical terms and acronyms, there is a seven page index. Although this book has several weaknesses it does have its strengths and in a positive spirit I shall deal with the latter first. They are found primarily in Chapters 8 and 10. For the bulk of LIM readers, Chapter 8 Impacts on academic librarians might seem the most relevant. It starts with the only citation I could find apropos law librarians, with a quote from the late Roy Mersky of the Tarlton Law Library at Austin made in 20041 “Technology has already radically changed the way librarians define themselves”, and that at the University of Texas Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, “many of its students pursue a master’s of information science degree in hopes of becoming ‘information specialists’ rather than librarians” (p.172).
... 44. Sir Derek that brings us to 1960 when you came to Cambridge. Why did you return? I‟d been... more ... 44. Sir Derek that brings us to 1960 when you came to Cambridge. Why did you return? I‟d been told by Manchester they wanted me for a readership. ... A number of them arrived with you. Dr Sealy? He was at Caius, but I didn‟t know him very well. He‟sa New Zealander. 49. ...
Michael Prichard was born before the Second World War and lived through the bombing and destructi... more Michael Prichard was born before the Second World War and lived through the bombing and destruction of much of London. When he entered university in 1945, King's College London had reoccupied its old quarters in the badly-damaged Somerset House, and along with LSE and UCL had pooled teaching resources to overcome staff shortages and accommodation damage. This inadvertently gave Michael a rich pool of mentors upon which to found his career, and who served him well in later years. He entered Queens’ College Cambridge in 1948 and experienced the unique post-war phenomena of the “returning warriors”, which continued, along with the “weekenders”, when he became a fellow at Gonville & Caius in 1950. Here he has remained, and is still a Fellow, seventy years later. His legacy is a fund of memories of a life-long journey through changing landscapes of legal research, teaching, and college and faculty administration. Lesley Dingle first interviewed Michael for the Eminent Scholars Archiv...
Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Postema's answers are in no... more Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Postema's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, [in italics]. Footnotes added by LD. 1. Professor Postema, this is the sixth year that we have interviewed the Goodhart Professor for the archive and you have been chair for the academic year 2013/14. So I hope that in this interview we can perhaps talk about your academic career, your professional career and there will be time as well for you to give us some of your observations about the Goodhart professorship during your tenure. So, could we start with your early life? You were born in Chicago in 1948. Right. I was born on the south side of Chicago into a close knit community of Dutch immigrants. It was a small, close knit community in a large city, so we found ourselves very much integrated and looking in towards each other. I went to a high school that was closely associated with the church that was in the centre of this community, a kind of Dutch Reformed Church, and then went on to college, again at a church-related school, Calvin College 3. Calvin 4 being the inspirer of that denomination of the Protestant tradition. 2. You began at in 1967 at the Calvin College in Grand Rapids. I wonder what subjects you studied at Calvin? My major was philosophy. I started out thinking I might actually go into the ministry but philosophy captured my heart and mind, and so by the end of two or three years, I was thoroughly committed to doing philosophy. Calvin was a small school, small liberal art college, but it had a stellar Philosophy Department, probably the best department in the whole school, and it was nationally known. So while I was at a small school, I got really a first grade philosophy education there. 3. You then went on to Cornell where you did an MA. And PhD, together, yes.
, Professor Allott was interviewed five times at his room off stairway F at Trinity College to re... more , Professor Allott was interviewed five times at his room off stairway F at Trinity College to record his reminiscences of almost sixty years of a varied career which was spent initially in various capacities at the FCO, and in later years in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Allott's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 75. Professor Allott this is our fourth interview and if we complete the chronology of your academic life perhaps we can then talk about your books and your general views on international law in one consolidated section at the end. Firstly, just to return to a comment you made at the end of the third interview when you said you'd like to talk about your meeting with Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger. Yes, I thought we'd go out of chronological order completely. Just to mention four people who I happened to meet. There was no substance at all in their meeting it was a symbolic thing for me. The first was Jean Monnet 3 the great instigator of the European Integration process. When I was in Brussels, it must have been 1973, the head of our mission, Sir Michael Palliser 4 , Head of the Mission in Brussels, asked me to deliver an invitation to Monsieur Monnet who was staying in a hotel in the centre of Brussels. I think he probably did it on purpose in order that I should physically meet the man, the great man, and that's really all it consisted of. I remember to this day, it was called the Hotel Metropole perhaps, in the middle of Brussels. In the big public rooms there, very dark, and out of the darkness he approached me and I approached him and all that really happened was that he said "Monnet"
Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Baker's answers are in norm... more Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Baker's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, [in italics]. Footnotes added by LD. 83. Professor Baker, last week we spoke about your early life and your career up to the point where you had been a university lecturer at Cambridge between 1973 and 1983. Today, can we continue from the stage where you were appointed Reader in English law in 1983. You were 39 years old and I wonder what the circumstances of your appointment to the readership were? Well, I don't really know, because in those days you didn't apply for readerships and professorships as you now do-they just came at you out of the blue. All I remember is that I was at the Huntington Library in California and in my little pigeonhole one day there was a letter from England (which I didn't often get) and I opened it and was absolutely flabbergasted to see I had been offered a readership. That's it-somebody must have compiled a case and put it forward. 84. At that point the accommodation was still in the Old Schools. Was it at that point becoming quite crowded? It was very crowded, and we had lectures on other sites as well. I can't remember exactly when, but we had some lectures in the Mill Lane lecture rooms and latterly, I think, at Lady Mitchell Hall as well, so it was all over Cambridge. In fact, a very strong case was made by Professor Milsom when he was Chairman-I think at the end of the 1980s-setting out the grievances of the Faculty and how it was absolutely impossible to continue as we were. It was that paper, I think, which led on eventually to a new building, which we will come on to in due course. 85. Was there a change in your duties, in your responsibilities? Not significantly. I think there was a limit on how much supervision one was supposed to do, but in practice you have to do what's necessary. I think I did cut down slightly, but not significantly. I was still Director of Studies; lecturing duties were the same. 86. You were given an LLD in 1984 and I wonder to what this honour was owed? Well, that you do apply for. I thought, having just got a readership, "Somebody must
, Professor Milsom was interviewed four times at his home in Newnham to record his reminiscences ... more , Professor Milsom was interviewed four times at his home in Newnham to record his reminiscences of over sixty years of an illustrious academic career, the majority of which was spent in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Milsom"s answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 73. There's so much to get through because you've had such a long and illustrious career. If we don't finish this time we can just stop and hopefully continue at some other point. Could I mention there"s one character from my undergraduate days I didn"t mention, and really should have. I don"t know whether you"ve ever come across the name Ziegler. Charlie Ziegler 3 , who, during the War when there was nobody much about, I think he probably taught every first year law student, and absolutely he worked from dusk to dawn. No, the other way round, dawn to dusk, every day. I think he was a lecturer in Pembroke, but he was never a Fellow. He was half Burmese. And he was a wonderful teacher, and it wasn"t just Trinity people the first years I think who were sent to him, I think the whole University sent their first years to him, yes. So there was certain mechanical nature to some of his tutorials, some of his supervisions, but he was deeply deaf and beasts that we were, he had a microphone in the middle of the table and he was an old man and occasionally he"d go off to sleep and we found that tapping the microphone with a pencil worked wonders. He was a very, very good teacher actually. They gave him rooms and I think he was a college lecturer and he taught from 8 in the morning until 8 at night every day of the week except Sunday. 74. Good Heavens-very commendable. And he was an extremely nice man. I think he was the only wartime teacher I had who actually asked me to his home for a meal.
This interview was recorded, and the audio version is available on this website. Questions in the... more This interview was recorded, and the audio version is available on this website. Questions in the interviews are sequentially numbered for use in a database of citations to personalities mentioned across the Eminent Scholars Archive. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Smith's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 96. Professor Smith, this is our second interview. The first was on 19 th January when we spoke of your life and your career and your first term in the Goodhart Chair. Today could we concentrate on your scholarly works? But before we do that, spend a short time rounding up some aspects of the Goodhart tenure, namely, your teaching and your research activities. So turning to these, I wonder if we could just summarise your teaching activities during Lent and Easter, the courses you did, and how things went? Yes. Well, I was involved in the public law course which is a seminar course and that meant in the first term the students selected what it was they were going to write about and then had a fair amount of instruction in how to go about writing a dissertation. And then in the second term they came and individually presented their papers and that was very interesting. All kinds of very different insights that were brought. Quite a number of students were Australian, but there was a Swiss person, and an Irish person and they brought various aspects of comparative public law to bear on what they were doing and it was all very interesting, yes. 97. In your first interview you mentioned that apropos the research that you hoped to conduct, you hopefully were going to look at Arthur Goodhart 3 himself. I wonder whether you managed to pursue this and, if so, whether you are able to share some of your findings with us? Up to a point. What I did discover was that there is quite a large archive in the Bodleian in Oxford of his papers, and I think if anybody were going to be doing any serious work on him then some time looking at those might be a way forward and, in fact, I hope to
Between January and May 2008, Sir Elihu was interviewed seven times at his home in Herschel Road ... more Between January and May 2008, Sir Elihu was interviewed seven times at his home in Herschel Road Cambridge to record his reminiscences of seventy years of his own, and his father's associations with the Faculty. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the six interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle (questions and topics are in bold type) Sir Elihu's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 36. 1940-44. Sir Eli, this is the third interview. Last time, we followed the list of your notable achievements, which you kindly provided. I have listened to what you said very carefully and I found it fascinating. But there are three points, which I wondered if we could amplify. First of all, in the 1940s you spent four years in the States and when you came back to Britain, both countries were at war with Germany-one had been very badly affected, the other far less so. You were an impressionable boy then and I wonder if you can remember some of the comparisons that must have hit you quite forcibly when you returned? You say that I was an impressionable boy then. I suppose I was, but I am not sure that I was always conscious of the nature of the impressions that I was receiving. However, there were, of course, significant differences between my life in America and my life in Cambridge. In America, I had been very much on my own and I had become much more self-reliant; I organised my life as I thought best. When I came back to England, I fell immediately under the considerable sway of my father, who had certain views as to how I should behave and I think I mentioned that when I came back, I had an American accent and I had to get rid of it. I was told to sit in my room and listen to the wireless in English, which I did and in due course I learned to speak English. But as between the two countries, of course, there were massive differences. In America one, for example, was not exposed to rationing, there was plenty of food and so on. Coming back to England, one was in the middle of rationing, the war was still on. I came back just after the invasion of Europe-D Day, and so when I went back to school at Harrow, I went back for another year of the war in Europe. It was only in May '45, I think, that Germany collapsed and thereafter the Japanese war had also been brought to an end. So I came back to a wartime, war-oriented country and one was conscious of that. But the effect upon me personally was really, I think, quite limited. I just got on and did the things I was told to do.
Bob was interviewed three times at the Squire Law Library to record his reminiscences of over for... more Bob was interviewed three times at the Squire Law Library to record his reminiscences of over forty years of an eventful legal career, during the last thirty of which he has been involved with the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein.
The second interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. ... more The second interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features his position as Reader (1976-81) and the Whewell Professor of International Law (1981-91). The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholar's Archive
An interview with Judge Stephen M. Schwebel by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. The recor... more An interview with Judge Stephen M. Schwebel by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
The first interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. T... more The first interview with Professor Sir Derek Bowett by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features his published works, mainly his books (1963-97).The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
Professor Saunders is Laureate Professor Emeritus at Melbourne Law School, and Founding Director ... more Professor Saunders is Laureate Professor Emeritus at Melbourne Law School, and Founding Director of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, ... more Between January and March 2007 Mr Dias was interviewed three times at his home in Babraham Road, Cambridge, to record his reminiscences of nearly seventy years of his association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. He is one of the very few remaining scholars whose experiences extend to pre-Second World War times, and at the time of writing, he is the oldest living ex-member of the Faculty. The interviewer is Lesley Dingle.
Professor Hepple is an internationally-famous labour lawyer and champion of human rights, whose c... more Professor Hepple is an internationally-famous labour lawyer and champion of human rights, whose career spans the historic struggle against Apartheid, the introduction of anti-racist legislation in the UK, and recent observations on the relationship between labour law and globalisation.Between August 2007 and June 2008 Professor Hepple was interviewed three times by Lesley Dingle, to record his reminiscences of his career, including his involvement with South Africa, and his long association with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. This biography is written with reference to the three interviews and further research about Professor Hepple.The Eminent Scholars Archive (ESA) is an expanding archive documenting the careers and achievements of eminent scholars associated with the Squire Law Library and Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The archive contains extensive bibliographies, biographies, photographs and recorded interviews with some of the world's most renowned academic and and practising lawyers. The ESA can be found online at the Squire Law Library website.
The second interview with Mr R.W.M. Dias, Emeritus Fellow, Magdalene College by Lesley Dingle of ... more The second interview with Mr R.W.M. Dias, Emeritus Fellow, Magdalene College by Lesley Dingle of the Squire Law Library. This interview features the period of 1951-1981.The recording was made as part of the Squire Library & Faculty of Law's ongoing Eminent Scholars Archive
... It is an essential purchase for those interested in this particular subject area. Vanessa Bet... more ... It is an essential purchase for those interested in this particular subject area. Vanessa Bettinson Lecturer in Law De Montfort University and Joanna Till De Montfort University ... Lesley Dingle Foreign & International Law Librarian Squire Law Library Cambridge University ...
Peter Brophy published the first edition of his book in 2000, and in the preface conceded that he... more Peter Brophy published the first edition of his book in 2000, and in the preface conceded that he was fearful for the future of libraries, and for the fate of librarians: “... libraries are under threat. I fear for them... they have so much to offer, yet could so easily become backwaters”, concluding with “It is not obvious or inevitable that libraries, even if transformed from their present state, have a future.” That’s a fairly damning indictment, and he said he wrote his book to highlight their plight. But what a difference seven years in the digital age seems to have wrought, at least on Brophy’s outlook. Towards the end of this new edition (p. 212), Brophy says that “Libraries have actually been remarkably successful at forming collaborations locally, regionally nationally and internationally”, and that “They are there for the long term, not only in their duty to preserve humankind’s recorded memory, but as centres of expertise in accessing, using and, increasingly, creating information and knowledge. Doomsday scenarios have come and gone...” (Presumably he would include Brophy (20007 1 Ed.) in this latter category?) And there is more optimism throughout the new book, where he discusses the role libraries can and are playing across the spectrum of their manifestations (in the UK primarily). All in all, this new edition foretells a bright future for libraries in our society, whose citizens now need to embrace a culture of “lifelong” learning. Libraries should be the natural choice to fulfil a role as centres from which this goal can be achieved. And the author makes a good case for it all coming to pass. The book is divided into two equal parts. In the first (six chapters), Brophy examines the question of “What is a library?” while in the second (five chapters), he looks at “Future libraries”. The range of topics covered in Part 1 is full, but its presentation is pedestrian in places (for example Chapter 4 where the lists of aspirations of various professional organisations seem outdated, given that he is laying the foundations for his vision for the future). Part 2 is much more successful and enlivening, and tackles various themes with which librarians will have to grapple in the future (e.g. ‘Linking users to resources’ (Chapter. 7), ‘The library user’ (9), and ‘The information universe’ (10)). Chapter 10 is particularly interesting because here Brophy touches on a wide range of subjects that are of practical concern to librarians struggling to stay abreast of ICT developments: document formats, metadata, preservation, Open Access, and so on. The book concludes with an Envoi (Chapter 11), where the author surveys the field in what, in my opinion, is both a positive and realistic manner. In essence, the author believes that libraries will eventually transform themselves from being primarily “intermediary” centres into multi-functional information centres. While this may entail the ‘New Libraries’ (as I will call them) in continuing with some of their traditional roles, they will increasingly become holders of unique local information resources (created in-house and/or by acting as institutional repositories) and, at the same time, act as local centres of learning, particularly for “information literacy”. This may sound a rather grand transformation, but, where the remorseless advance of technology and deep changes in cultural attitudes are but two inevitable factors, Brophy’s vision makes good theoretical and, most importantly, practical sense. Brophy arrives at his vision after showing in Chapters 1-6 how libraries are currently struggling to come to terms with a wide range of challenges (of which technological change is but one), and then in Part 2 considers their options for development, in the light of their users’ aspirations and practical constraints. One of the critical factors the author identifies is the overall currently low level of “information literacy”, and it comes as a shock that this in not just where one might intuitively expect (e. g. within pockets of the general population), but across swathes of young people who are readying themselves to join undergraduate student communities. If one adds to this a relatively low level of literacy in many schoolchildren, and the fact that it is important that children “not only can read, but enjoy reading” in order to stay ahead in the ICT age (p. 40-44), then the potentially important role for both public and school libraries as centres for active education within local communities is obvious. It is reassuring therefore that in a recent survey cited by the author (p.39), the public overwhelmingly (84%) supports the use of public funds for local library services. Provided the necessary policies are followed, it seems therefore that tax payers would be behind any upgrading and maintenance of these public facilities to carry out this vital role. Clearly however, there is a need to instil an ethos of information literacy in young people as early as…
In addition to the 30 page glossary of technical terms and acronyms, there is a seven page index.... more In addition to the 30 page glossary of technical terms and acronyms, there is a seven page index. Although this book has several weaknesses it does have its strengths and in a positive spirit I shall deal with the latter first. They are found primarily in Chapters 8 and 10. For the bulk of LIM readers, Chapter 8 Impacts on academic librarians might seem the most relevant. It starts with the only citation I could find apropos law librarians, with a quote from the late Roy Mersky of the Tarlton Law Library at Austin made in 20041 “Technology has already radically changed the way librarians define themselves”, and that at the University of Texas Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, “many of its students pursue a master’s of information science degree in hopes of becoming ‘information specialists’ rather than librarians” (p.172).
... 44. Sir Derek that brings us to 1960 when you came to Cambridge. Why did you return? I‟d been... more ... 44. Sir Derek that brings us to 1960 when you came to Cambridge. Why did you return? I‟d been told by Manchester they wanted me for a readership. ... A number of them arrived with you. Dr Sealy? He was at Caius, but I didn‟t know him very well. He‟sa New Zealander. 49. ...
Michael Prichard was born before the Second World War and lived through the bombing and destructi... more Michael Prichard was born before the Second World War and lived through the bombing and destruction of much of London. When he entered university in 1945, King's College London had reoccupied its old quarters in the badly-damaged Somerset House, and along with LSE and UCL had pooled teaching resources to overcome staff shortages and accommodation damage. This inadvertently gave Michael a rich pool of mentors upon which to found his career, and who served him well in later years. He entered Queens’ College Cambridge in 1948 and experienced the unique post-war phenomena of the “returning warriors”, which continued, along with the “weekenders”, when he became a fellow at Gonville & Caius in 1950. Here he has remained, and is still a Fellow, seventy years later. His legacy is a fund of memories of a life-long journey through changing landscapes of legal research, teaching, and college and faculty administration. Lesley Dingle first interviewed Michael for the Eminent Scholars Archiv...
Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Postema's answers are in no... more Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Postema's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, [in italics]. Footnotes added by LD. 1. Professor Postema, this is the sixth year that we have interviewed the Goodhart Professor for the archive and you have been chair for the academic year 2013/14. So I hope that in this interview we can perhaps talk about your academic career, your professional career and there will be time as well for you to give us some of your observations about the Goodhart professorship during your tenure. So, could we start with your early life? You were born in Chicago in 1948. Right. I was born on the south side of Chicago into a close knit community of Dutch immigrants. It was a small, close knit community in a large city, so we found ourselves very much integrated and looking in towards each other. I went to a high school that was closely associated with the church that was in the centre of this community, a kind of Dutch Reformed Church, and then went on to college, again at a church-related school, Calvin College 3. Calvin 4 being the inspirer of that denomination of the Protestant tradition. 2. You began at in 1967 at the Calvin College in Grand Rapids. I wonder what subjects you studied at Calvin? My major was philosophy. I started out thinking I might actually go into the ministry but philosophy captured my heart and mind, and so by the end of two or three years, I was thoroughly committed to doing philosophy. Calvin was a small school, small liberal art college, but it had a stellar Philosophy Department, probably the best department in the whole school, and it was nationally known. So while I was at a small school, I got really a first grade philosophy education there. 3. You then went on to Cornell where you did an MA. And PhD, together, yes.
, Professor Allott was interviewed five times at his room off stairway F at Trinity College to re... more , Professor Allott was interviewed five times at his room off stairway F at Trinity College to record his reminiscences of almost sixty years of a varied career which was spent initially in various capacities at the FCO, and in later years in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Allott's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 75. Professor Allott this is our fourth interview and if we complete the chronology of your academic life perhaps we can then talk about your books and your general views on international law in one consolidated section at the end. Firstly, just to return to a comment you made at the end of the third interview when you said you'd like to talk about your meeting with Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger. Yes, I thought we'd go out of chronological order completely. Just to mention four people who I happened to meet. There was no substance at all in their meeting it was a symbolic thing for me. The first was Jean Monnet 3 the great instigator of the European Integration process. When I was in Brussels, it must have been 1973, the head of our mission, Sir Michael Palliser 4 , Head of the Mission in Brussels, asked me to deliver an invitation to Monsieur Monnet who was staying in a hotel in the centre of Brussels. I think he probably did it on purpose in order that I should physically meet the man, the great man, and that's really all it consisted of. I remember to this day, it was called the Hotel Metropole perhaps, in the middle of Brussels. In the big public rooms there, very dark, and out of the darkness he approached me and I approached him and all that really happened was that he said "Monnet"
Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Baker's answers are in norm... more Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions are in bold type. Professor Baker's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, [in italics]. Footnotes added by LD. 83. Professor Baker, last week we spoke about your early life and your career up to the point where you had been a university lecturer at Cambridge between 1973 and 1983. Today, can we continue from the stage where you were appointed Reader in English law in 1983. You were 39 years old and I wonder what the circumstances of your appointment to the readership were? Well, I don't really know, because in those days you didn't apply for readerships and professorships as you now do-they just came at you out of the blue. All I remember is that I was at the Huntington Library in California and in my little pigeonhole one day there was a letter from England (which I didn't often get) and I opened it and was absolutely flabbergasted to see I had been offered a readership. That's it-somebody must have compiled a case and put it forward. 84. At that point the accommodation was still in the Old Schools. Was it at that point becoming quite crowded? It was very crowded, and we had lectures on other sites as well. I can't remember exactly when, but we had some lectures in the Mill Lane lecture rooms and latterly, I think, at Lady Mitchell Hall as well, so it was all over Cambridge. In fact, a very strong case was made by Professor Milsom when he was Chairman-I think at the end of the 1980s-setting out the grievances of the Faculty and how it was absolutely impossible to continue as we were. It was that paper, I think, which led on eventually to a new building, which we will come on to in due course. 85. Was there a change in your duties, in your responsibilities? Not significantly. I think there was a limit on how much supervision one was supposed to do, but in practice you have to do what's necessary. I think I did cut down slightly, but not significantly. I was still Director of Studies; lecturing duties were the same. 86. You were given an LLD in 1984 and I wonder to what this honour was owed? Well, that you do apply for. I thought, having just got a readership, "Somebody must
, Professor Milsom was interviewed four times at his home in Newnham to record his reminiscences ... more , Professor Milsom was interviewed four times at his home in Newnham to record his reminiscences of over sixty years of an illustrious academic career, the majority of which was spent in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. The interviews were recorded, and the audio version is available on this website with this transcript of those recordings. The questions and topics are sequentially numbered in the three interviews for use in a database of citations made across the Eminent Scholars Archive to personalities mentioned therein. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Milsom"s answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 73. There's so much to get through because you've had such a long and illustrious career. If we don't finish this time we can just stop and hopefully continue at some other point. Could I mention there"s one character from my undergraduate days I didn"t mention, and really should have. I don"t know whether you"ve ever come across the name Ziegler. Charlie Ziegler 3 , who, during the War when there was nobody much about, I think he probably taught every first year law student, and absolutely he worked from dusk to dawn. No, the other way round, dawn to dusk, every day. I think he was a lecturer in Pembroke, but he was never a Fellow. He was half Burmese. And he was a wonderful teacher, and it wasn"t just Trinity people the first years I think who were sent to him, I think the whole University sent their first years to him, yes. So there was certain mechanical nature to some of his tutorials, some of his supervisions, but he was deeply deaf and beasts that we were, he had a microphone in the middle of the table and he was an old man and occasionally he"d go off to sleep and we found that tapping the microphone with a pencil worked wonders. He was a very, very good teacher actually. They gave him rooms and I think he was a college lecturer and he taught from 8 in the morning until 8 at night every day of the week except Sunday. 74. Good Heavens-very commendable. And he was an extremely nice man. I think he was the only wartime teacher I had who actually asked me to his home for a meal.
This interview was recorded, and the audio version is available on this website. Questions in the... more This interview was recorded, and the audio version is available on this website. Questions in the interviews are sequentially numbered for use in a database of citations to personalities mentioned across the Eminent Scholars Archive. Interviewer: Lesley Dingle, her questions and topics are in bold type Professor Smith's answers are in normal type. Comments added by LD, in italics. All footnotes added by LD. 96. Professor Smith, this is our second interview. The first was on 19 th January when we spoke of your life and your career and your first term in the Goodhart Chair. Today could we concentrate on your scholarly works? But before we do that, spend a short time rounding up some aspects of the Goodhart tenure, namely, your teaching and your research activities. So turning to these, I wonder if we could just summarise your teaching activities during Lent and Easter, the courses you did, and how things went? Yes. Well, I was involved in the public law course which is a seminar course and that meant in the first term the students selected what it was they were going to write about and then had a fair amount of instruction in how to go about writing a dissertation. And then in the second term they came and individually presented their papers and that was very interesting. All kinds of very different insights that were brought. Quite a number of students were Australian, but there was a Swiss person, and an Irish person and they brought various aspects of comparative public law to bear on what they were doing and it was all very interesting, yes. 97. In your first interview you mentioned that apropos the research that you hoped to conduct, you hopefully were going to look at Arthur Goodhart 3 himself. I wonder whether you managed to pursue this and, if so, whether you are able to share some of your findings with us? Up to a point. What I did discover was that there is quite a large archive in the Bodleian in Oxford of his papers, and I think if anybody were going to be doing any serious work on him then some time looking at those might be a way forward and, in fact, I hope to
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