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Arts Council England (ACE) has appointed Luke Burton as its new director for libraries to take over from Sue Williamson, who is retiring in November.
Burton moves from his role as service manager for community hubs and libraries at Newcastle City Council. He has previously worked as a prison library development worker at Durham County Council, and several roles within Newcastle City Council including digital transformation manager and digital development manager for the library service. He will join ACE at the end of October.
He said: "I’ve been immensely proud of the work colleagues and I have been involved in in Newcastle and around the country, not least of all in the response to Covid. It is a privilege to take on the role of director for libraries and be able to support libraries to continue this work nationally. I hope to be a strong advocate not only within libraries but across the cultural sector."
Laura Dyer, deputy chief executive for places, engagement and libraries, said: “I’m delighted that Luke will be joining us here. His experience in a range of library roles and as a service head in Newcastle will ensure that his work is informed by a deep understanding of both the challenges facing the sector, and the opportunities and contribution libraries can make towards our delivery of Let’s Create.”
In a statement, ACE thanked Williamson for her work and wished her the best for her retirement. It added: “Sue’s incredible achievements over four years at Arts Council England include the continued investment for the development of the Single Digital Presence platform for public libraries with the British Library, the £300,000 investment into e-book and e-audio resources during the pandemic and funding the Big Jubilee Read through The Reading Agency to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
“She has also led projects on urgent areas of need in the sector, such as the Green Libraries Project, and improved public library access to National Lottery Project Grants, the Arts Council’s open funding programme. She was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours this year for services to the library sector.”