A CHRISTMAS FAREWELL

The BDS staff held their Christmas lunch on the 5th of December and took the opportunity to say goodbye to Heather Sherman, who takes retirement at the end of this year.

Heather has been in the post of Director of Academic Library Operations for the past five years. She oversaw the launch and development of BDS’s new service to academic libraries, UniCat.

Staff were in a festive mood. Lesley Whyte, BDS Managing Director, gave a short speech thanking everyone for their work in 2025. She expressed her gratitude for Heather’s hard work introducing UniCat to university libraries. She went on to pay tribute to her long career in libraries and metadata supply. (See A CAREER HELPING LIBRARIES WORK SMARTER – BDSLive).

Finally, Heather was presented with a commemorative glass gift with the engraved words: Celebrating your career of commitment to libraries and metadata.

Candlelit Concert

The following evening members of staff mingled with the general public for a “Concert by Candlelight”. The event, sponsored by BDS, took place in the Crichton Memorial Church. Performed by the Scottish Ensemble, it used the magical glow of candles on Christmas trees to create a contemplative atmosphere. The music played included works by J.S. Bach and Philip Glass, Henry Mancini and a brand new work by Valentin Silvestrov, a Ukrainian composer currently living in exile in Germany.

Members of the public thanked BDS for its role in supporting cultural events in the company’s home town of Dumfries. Every member of a large audience found something to enjoy. Managing Director of BDSDigital, Eric Green, particularly enjoyed the ethereal arrangment of Mancini’s Moon River. “My favourite song of all time,” he said as he left the concert.

The Scottish Ensemble takes a bow after its candlelit concert in Dumfries

BDS resident classical music expert Fraser Clark, himself a composer, announced, simply, “wasn’t that fantastic!”

“Celebration and sadness are so often mixed in life,” says Lesley Whyte. “This Christmas we gave thanks and celebrated a successful year at BDS but also said goodbye to people who had become our colleagues and friends. It was fitting that the wonderful concert that followed our festive fun and farewells was warm-hearted and contemplative. We look forward to 2026.”