Bertil is passionate about the Library and about science

On 1 October 2013 at just after 2 a.m., an email arrived in Bertil Dorch’s inbox. Unaware of the email, the future library director slept on for a few more hours before beginning his first day of work at SDU.  

The email was from Aase Lindahl, who had been employed at the University since 1971, first as a research librarian and then as the library director at the former Odense University Library, now the University Library of Southern Denmark. And it meticulously described two large piles of paper that Bertil Dorch would find if he turned the orange chair 180 degrees. The stacks of paper contained tasks for him to deal with – prioritised so that the most important ones were at the top.  

While this handover may not have been in line with the contemporary approach of modern organisations, the 52-year-old astrophysicist has been in the job ever since. And he has made it through the pile of tasks, although a few of them may have been archived along the way.  

Extensive experience from research libraries 

But his start at SDU was not as challenging as it may sound. Bertil Dorch came from a position as senior consultant at the former Danish Library of Natural and Medical Sciences, which later merged with the Royal Library. In fact, in February this year he celebrated 25 years of employment in the state, and to celebrate the occasion he now shares some reflections about his many years in academia.   

- I have always known for sure that I was going to be involved in research. I got a postdoc position in Stockholm immediately after my PhD at the University of Copenhagen, and after that I was a bit unsure about what I wanted to do. I actually also applied to become an astronaut at ESA, but I was rejected before the final selection process as number 11 out of hundreds of applicants. 

- I wanted to return to Denmark, and I was employed in some short-term jobs at UCPH. Most of the positions that were available were temporary –  and then a few tenured ones which I applied for: Three associate professor positions, one job as a museum curator – and one as a research librarian. And in 2013, when I had worked as a research librarian for a few, enjoyable years, the opportunity arose to apply for the job as library director at SDU. 

A time of great change at SDU 

A lot has happened at the University of Southern Denmark since Bertil Dorch took up the post in 2013. This has required almost constant adaptation to the organisation for him and for the Library. 

- I’ve served under five university directors. Shortly before I took office, the Library had been moved from being under the rector to being under the director’s management, and it was also new that the library director was to participate in a forum of area managers, since the Library previously functioned organisationally as a sixth faculty, he says.  

The University Library has undergone a major transformation over the past several years due to  increasing digitalisation, which makes it easier for everyone to access information. Bertil Dorch is always working to ensure that the Library keeps up with the times and remains an important player at SDU. 

- I feel that the Library still needs to become more integrated into the University, even though it is located right in its centre. We must constantly move towards the core of university life. We want to be part of the day-to-day operations and work with research. We work less with printed books and more with databases, e-books and other digital solutions.  

An ongoing effort to disseminate the science 

While you might think that years of digitalisation make it easier to run a library, it’s actually more expensive, and this forces a research library to constantly innovate. 

- This year we have the highest budget ever. It’s expensive to publish in and have access to the best journals. E-books are also often more expensive than physical books, which many people don’t realise. Of course, we work with the literature and knowledge that is brought into the University, but we also have a strong focus on what is disseminated by the University, says Bertil Dorch, elaborating: 

- We record all research and are working to open up new knowledge and make it accessible to everyone – for example through the PURE system. We ensure quality, and we teach all PhD students good scientific conduct, and after 10 years, our courses are still very successful.  

- We have also taken the initiative to make it easier for research and new knowledge to reach ordinary citizens through citizen science. This is yet another example of how we’re trying to keep up with the times and open up our world more. 

The space geek is still active 

Bertil still finds time to research things like the magnetic fields of stars other topics within space exploration, which is his great passion – suitably illustrated by the Lego collection in his office window, which features small Lego versions of four pioneering women in the science of astronomy, Margaret Hamilton, Mae Jemison, Sally Ride and Nancy G. Roman, standing in front of a space rocket.  

10% of his working hours are dedicated to his associate professorship at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, but according to the library director himself, he probably spends a lot more than 37 hours in total at work. 

- The only limit to my time is the rotation of the earth and I’m always trying to find time for research and dissemination. There’s plenty of research to do, but there will no doubt be more time to delve into that. I couldn’t ask for a better job than the one I’ve had for many years now, he says. 

A man of many hats 

Bertil Dorch is the ninth generation of hatmakers in a company that has been in the family since 1753. In his spare time, he recently earned his black belt in karate, and he is currently taking Japanese lessons, because he will participate in the International Championships of karate in Japan in 2025 – along with his 14-year-old son.  

Academically, Bertil started a hobby project at the end of 2023 which means that he can now be seen on YouTube, disseminating his research field to other interested parties. 

- I’ve set myself the goal of making one video a week, and I’m not allowed to spend more than an hour in total on research, shooting and editing.  

It’s important for him to share the knowledge that he and other researchers generate. And since the end of last year, Bertil Dorch’s videos have been viewed more than 30,000 times. In the videos, he shares recently published research articles and elaborates on the new findings and the conclusions of the studies.  

- I put a lot of effort into dissemination. We have a duty to disseminate our research, and for me, it’s also about taking the lead and showing that you can achieve quite a lot with very little money. If I can do it, so can everyone else.