BBC archive director to move to British Library

The BBC's director of archive content, Roly Keating, is to leave the corporation after 29 years to become chief executive of the British Library. Keating, a former controller of BBC2 and BBC4, , said it was a huge honour to have the opportunity to lead what he said was one of the UK's greatest cultural institutions. His departure comes as the BBC is seeking a new director general to replace Mark Thompson and grapples with how to exploit its archive content including a proposed new paid-for download service . The BBC's archive director since 2008, Keating also took temporary charge of BBC1 after Peter Fincham stood down in the wake of the "Crowngate" incident. He joined the BBC in 1983 and went on to work as a producer and director in music and arts on shows including Omnibus, Bookmark and Arena, and was a founding producer on BBC2's The Late Show. He also worked as head of programming at BBC Worldwide's pay-TV joint venture, UKTV, and was the corporation's lead director on its recently announced tie up with Arts Council England, The Space . Thompson described him as one of the corporation's greatest cultural heavyweights. He will start his new job on 12 September. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook .