David Menhennet CB (4 December 1928 – 5 February 2016) was a British librarian. As librarian at the House of Commons Library from 1976 to 1991, [1] he oversaw a period of modernisation and other improvements to the library, [2] transforming it into a modern research facility. [3]
Menhennet was born in Redruth, Cornwall, [2] the son of William and Everill Menhennet. [3] He attended Truro School on a scholarship and excelled in languages, [3] going on to graduate with a first in French and German from Oriel College, Oxford. [2] [3] He then moved to Queen's College to study for a D.Phil. in 18th-century French literature. [3]
He became a clerk in the Commons Library in 1954. [2] When given responsibility for the research area in 1964 he introduced a system of comprehensive daily briefings for MPs, [2] [3] and he was promoted to Deputy Librarian in 1967. [3] When Speaker George Thomas appointed him 10th Librarian of the Commons Library in 1976, [1] [3] he began a process of modernisation. [2] He set up the Public Information Office (now the House of Commons Information Office) in 1978, [3] and electronic publication began the same year, when the Library contributed to the Prestel viewdata system, which at one time had 90,000 subscribers. [3] Computerisation of the Library's information systems began in 1979 with the creation of the Parliamentary On-Line Information System (POLIS). [3] He also established a service for schools. [3] The new systems introduced by Menhennet enabled MPs to find and check information far more easily, and were used particularly often by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair while in opposition. [2] [3]
Menhennet hosted international conferences at Westminster, and also acted as an adviser to other parliaments. [3] His last reform was to ban smoking in the library. [2] [3]
In 1964 Menhennet was a founder member of the Study of Parliament Group, and also chaired the British Library's Advisory Committee on Bibliographic Services from 1986 to 1992. [3] He also wrote a number of books about Parliament. [3] After his retirement in 1991 he was a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths College. [3]
Menhennet was a life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a freeman of the City of London and a liveryman of the Stationer's Company. [3] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the Queen's 1991 Birthday Honours. [3]
David Menhennet married Audrey Holmes in 1954. He died on 5 February 2016, survived by Audrey and their two sons. [3]
- 1967: Parliament in Perspective (with John Palmer)
- 1972: Erskine May’s Private Journal 1857-82
- 1991: The House of Commons Library: A History
- Roger Morgan (librarian), moderniser of the House of Lords Library
- ^ a b "Factsheet G18: The House of Commons Library" (PDF). parliament.uk. House of Commons Information Office. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Been and gone: the refugee behind television's famous pigs". BBC News. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "David Menhennet, commons librarian: Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
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David Menhennet CB (4 December 1928 – 5 February 2016) was a British librarian. As librarian at the House of Commons Library from 1976 to 1991, [1] he oversaw a period of modernisation and other improvements to the library, [2] transforming it into a modern research facility. [3]
Menhennet was born in Redruth, Cornwall, [2] the son of William and Everill Menhennet. [3] He attended Truro School on a scholarship and excelled in languages, [3] going on to graduate with a first in French and German from Oriel College, Oxford. [2] [3] He then moved to Queen's College to study for a D.Phil. in 18th-century French literature. [3]
He became a clerk in the Commons Library in 1954. [2] When given responsibility for the research area in 1964 he introduced a system of comprehensive daily briefings for MPs, [2] [3] and he was promoted to Deputy Librarian in 1967. [3] When Speaker George Thomas appointed him 10th Librarian of the Commons Library in 1976, [1] [3] he began a process of modernisation. [2] He set up the Public Information Office (now the House of Commons Information Office) in 1978, [3] and electronic publication began the same year, when the Library contributed to the Prestel viewdata system, which at one time had 90,000 subscribers. [3] Computerisation of the Library's information systems began in 1979 with the creation of the Parliamentary On-Line Information System (POLIS). [3] He also established a service for schools. [3] The new systems introduced by Menhennet enabled MPs to find and check information far more easily, and were used particularly often by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair while in opposition. [2] [3]
Menhennet hosted international conferences at Westminster, and also acted as an adviser to other parliaments. [3] His last reform was to ban smoking in the library. [2] [3]
In 1964 Menhennet was a founder member of the Study of Parliament Group, and also chaired the British Library's Advisory Committee on Bibliographic Services from 1986 to 1992. [3] He also wrote a number of books about Parliament. [3] After his retirement in 1991 he was a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths College. [3]
Menhennet was a life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a freeman of the City of London and a liveryman of the Stationer's Company. [3] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the Queen's 1991 Birthday Honours. [3]
David Menhennet married Audrey Holmes in 1954. He died on 5 February 2016, survived by Audrey and their two sons. [3]
- 1967: Parliament in Perspective (with John Palmer)
- 1972: Erskine May’s Private Journal 1857-82
- 1991: The House of Commons Library: A History
- Roger Morgan (librarian), moderniser of the House of Lords Library
- ^ a b "Factsheet G18: The House of Commons Library" (PDF). parliament.uk. House of Commons Information Office. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Been and gone: the refugee behind television's famous pigs". BBC News. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "David Menhennet, commons librarian: Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |