Who's looking after the British Library?

Here are a couple of interesting recent quotes for anyone interested in the future welfare of the British Library in these times of public funding uncertainty:

- From Lynne Brindley, British Library CEO, in her article in The Observer, on 23 September 2007: "All this [note: the BL’s position as a major player in the information field] is threatened by the prospect of cuts in the current government spending round […] Our capacity to collect and offer access to the latest international research publications would shrink, with inevitable damage to the national research infrastructure and the ability of UK research to sustain its international ranking."

- From David King, the retiring UK Chief Scientist, interviewed by Research Fortnight on 26 September 2007: "The Department of Culture, Media and Sport [note: the Government Department that funds the BL] has still not got a not got a chief scientific adviser and the new permanent secretary […] doesn’t see the point of appointing one."

Am I the only one to think that these two points of view are not entirely unrelated?