David Lewis Jones (4 January 1945 – 15 October 2010) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

who was the librarian of the

House of Lords Library The House of Lords Library is the library and information resource of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides Members of the House and their staff with books, Parliamentary material and reference ...

from 1991 to 2006.

Early life and education

Jones was born in Riversdale,

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the ...

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, to Gwilym and Joyce Jones. He was educated at Aberaeron Grammar School and read history at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

Career

Librarian

Jones began his career as an assistant librarian at the Institute of Historical Research in London, 1970–72, before returning to Wales for five years as the

law librarian A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new l ...

at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1972–77. In 1977,

Lord Elwyn-Jones Frederick Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones, CH, PC (24 October 1909 – 4 December 1989), known as Elwyn Jones, was a British barrister and Labour politician. Background and education Elwyn Jones was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and read ...

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

in the Labour Government, recruited Jones to fill the post of deputy librarian of the

. This followed a report by a working group, led by

David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles David McAdam Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles (18 September 1904 – 24 February 1999), was an English Conservative politician. Education and early career Eccles was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he obtained a sec ...

, that recommended creating a research service, hiring qualified librarians for the first time, acquiring updated books, and "dipping a toe in

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

". From 1977 to 1991, Jones, the first qualified librarian to serve in the post of deputy librarian, assisted

Roger Morgan Roger Ernest Morgan (born 14 November 1946) is an English former footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur. Career Born in Walthamstow, London, Morgan came through the ranks at Que ...

in transforming the librarian to modern standards. Working directly with Eccles, Jones oversaw the installation of the Geac ADVANCE multiuser integrated online library system "incorporating acquisitions,

cataloguing In library and information science, cataloging ( US) or cataloguing ( UK) is the process of creating metadata representing information resources, such as books, sound recordings, moving images, etc. Cataloging provides information such as auth ...

and serials control features and online access to that catalogue." Jones also created a significant programme for the conservation and cataloguing of the library's historic collections. Jones succeeded Morgan as librarian in 1991 and continued to work to modernize the library, cooperating with the

House of Commons Library The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834. Th ...

in developing shared online systems. Over his 15 years as librarian, he oversaw expansion of the library's holdings and tripled its staff from 10 to 30 by bringing highly qualified research clerks, librarians and secretarial staff to meet the increased demand from the Lords for quick access to research and information. In 1999, Jones contributed to add upgrades to the working law library for the Law Lords at the Palace of Westminster's West Front. Morgan was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2005 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2005 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2005 to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2005. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged first by the coun ...

, in anticipation of his retirement. He retired in 2006 and was succeeded by

Elizabeth Hallam-Smith Elizabeth Mary Hallam-Smith (''née'' Hallam; born 5 November 1950) is an English historian and information professional who was the librarian of the House of Lords Library from 2006 to 2016. She is the first female to hold the post as well as the ...

Historian

David Lewis Jones was a prolific historian, biographer and bibliographer. He contributed several entries for the biographical dictionaries ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and the ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

'', and authored a book on Eirene White, Baroness White. From 1994 to 1996, he served as secretary to the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. In 1996, he was admitted to the

Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...

at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

in Llandeilo for his services for Welsh culture.

Personal life

He died in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

, London, following surgery, at age 65.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, David Lewis 1945 births 2010 deaths People from Aberaeron Welsh librarians 20th-century Welsh historians Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Welsh bibliographers 21st-century Welsh historians