Information Science

Profile

Congratulations to Professor Paul Sturges, Emeritus Professor of Library Studies, Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, on the award of OBE for services to Libraries in the UK and Overseas in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2010.

Prof Sturges was also awarded the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)'s Medal at the closing ceremony of the annual congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 18th 2011, for 'Significant contributions to IFLA, and international leadership in upholding IFLA's core values of freedom of access to information and freedom of expression'.

Chair of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)’s Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) core activity (2003-2009).

Has also worked on African library and information-related issues since 1984. Book available on-line, The Quiet Struggle: information and libraries for the people of Africa, 1998.

Research

Exploring and discussing aspects of intellectual freedom, through a series of conference papers and journal articles on topics including the rationale for intellectual freedom, tolerance and freedom of expression, the role of transparency in combating corruption and comedy as freedom of expression.

Consultant to Nottingham University’s JISC funded JoRD Project, on journal policies regarding the sharing of research data, Sept-Dec 2012.

External activities

Fellow of CILIP (FCLIP)

Professor Extraordinary, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Frequent speaker at international conferences and participant in seminars and workshops.

Member of the Gates Foundation’s Access to Learning Award (ATLA) Jury 2011, 2012 and 2013.

During 2012 was involved in conferences and other activities at Amsterdam, Seattle, Zadar (Croatia), Oslo, Corfu, Helsinki, The Hague and Rome.

Featured publications

• 'The role of spirit messages in African conflicts: the case of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.' Open Information Science Journal, 3 (2011) pp.76-79
• ‘Comedy as freedom of expression.’ Journal of Documentation, 66, 2, (2010) pp.279-293.
• ‘Information literacy as a human right’. With Almuth Gastinger. Libri, 60 (2010), pp. 195-202.
• Paul Sturges and Almuth Gastinger, Libraries, donations and freedom of expression: The case of Scientology. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 0961000612452031, first published on July 24, 2012 as doi:10.1177/0961000612452031
• ‘What is this absence called transparency?’ In: Capurro, R. et al Eds: Africa Reader on Information Ethics. Pretoria: Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria, 2012. Chapter 24, pp.221-228. Electronic version available at www.i-r-i-e.net/issue7.htm