Thank you Nick

As Nick Poole, our Network Chair steps down this month, we’d like to thank him for his enormous contribution to the Europeana Network.

Nick Poole, Chief Executive Officer of the Collections Trust, CC-BY-SA

Here, those who worked closely with Nick reflect on the importance of his role:

‘A big thinker, great speaker, master of the pithy quote, a real catalyst for the sector. So many ideas, seen in both the strategy and Network of Europeana can be attributed to Nick, it is difficult to pick out the one ,’ said Europeana Director Jill Cousins. ‘He has been an inspiration and leaves a powerful base on which to build.’

Bruno Racine, Chair of the Europeana Foundation Board and Président de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, said, ‘Nick believes passionately in making cultural heritage widely accessible and has been able to galvanise a very broad group of people towards achieving that aim under his chairmanship of the Europeana Network. It’s fitting that he steps down as Chair to make way for a democratically elected Governing board, and a Europeana steadily inching closer to its goals.’

Marco de Niet (Dutch Knowledge centre for Digital Heritage) worked with Nick in ENUMERATE. ‘Through ENUMERATE, Nick has helped create valid statistical data for the digital heritage field that gives us a greater understanding about what is going on at a European level in a sector that has in the past been void of valid data.

Internationalist and self-confessed culture geek, Nick’s many professional roles bring to the sector a unique and valuable skillset, as some of those with whom he has worked in the past highlight:

Louise Edwards (The European Library): ‘Nick Poole has been an energetic and visionary Chair of the Europeana Network. I've greatly appreciated his foresight on the development of Europeana. He is a gifted orator and I will also remember his brilliant performance at the debate on open content at the Europeana AGM in Leuven - he was awesome.’

Anne Bergman (Federation of European Publishers): ‘Nick is a visionary; being around him is very rewarding. I have been lucky enough to share a few years as his fellow Network officer and I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussions we have had. I also appreciate that Nick comprehends that even with work-in-progress, one needs to understand what the other sectors require to sustain a sound activity. I am hoping we can continue our collaboration for cultural institutions and commercial outfits like publishers.’

Besides being Chair of the Network, Nick served on the Executive Board, contributed to major Task Forces that dealt with the advancement of Europeana. He also made important contributions to the everyday running of the Foundation.

We would like to thank him for all his efforts, and look forward to his continued participation in shaping Europeana.