Keynote Speakers
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Samantha Adams Becker Senior Director of Communications, New Media Consortium Samantha Adams Becker, Senior Director of Communications for the New Media Consortium, is the Director of the NMC Horizon Project and lead writer and researcher for the NMC Horizon Report series, which analyzes emerging technology uptake in various education sectors across the globe, including academic and research libraries. She has an expertise in digital communications, with a special interest in e-publishing, social media, and online learning. In 2013, she taught the first online course ever to exclusively take place in Facebook, which was geared towards training education professionals to integrate social media into their teaching practices. Previous to the NMC, Samantha facilitated the digitization of books and periodicals for several of the world’s largest publishers and was the managing editor of a lifestyle magazine. http://www.nmc.org/ On the Horizon: Pressing Technologies, Trends, Challenges for Libraries How can libraries remain relevant in a Google and Wikipedia world? How can they better foster interdisciplinary research? To effectively foster information discovery and implement emerging technologies, library professionals need timely research and analysis to aid their strategic planning. In this presentation, Samantha Adams Becker, the New Media Consortium's lead writer/researcher of the NMC Horizon Report series, will take a five-year view to explore the future landscape of academic and research library technology use, along with the trends that are advancing it and the challenges that are impeding it. Each topic discussed will be framed by creative examples of technology being successfully leveraged in libraries across the world. |
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Phil Bradley Internet Consultant UK Search Guru Phil Bradley is an information specialist and well known Internet Consultant. He runs courses on various aspects of the Internet, is a webpage writer and designer, is the author of several books about the Internet and speaks on various Internet related subjects at conferences. http://www.philbradley.typepad.com Alternative search engines; why Google simply isn't enough. |
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Christine Bruce Professor, Queensland University of Technology Christine Bruce is Professor in the Information Systems School at the Queensland University of Technology. She is Higher Degree Research Director for the School, and also Convenor of the QUT Higher Education Research Networ. Christine’s research interestsincorporate workplace, community and academic information literacy. Christine has attended most recently to working with her research team on developing the pedagogical framework of informed learning, and also on information experience as a research focus. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Bruce,_Christine.html Information Experience: New approaches to theory and practice The Queensland University of Technology Research Team has recently edited a book on the idea of information experience. Authors from many parts of the world and focussed on many contexts have contributed chapters. The book represents the first attempt to profile and discuss information experience as a research domain and a research object, together with emphasis on different theories and methods being used in workplace, educational and community contexts. In this session members of the editorial team will introduce the book. We anticipate it will be of interest to any information professionals, students or researchers interested in understanding peoples' information experience. |
| Jonathan Hernández National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Jonathan Hernández, PhD student in Library and Information Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), is a member of the board of the National Association of Librarians (CNB) and also works as an academic at the Coordination of the Humanities (UNAM). Topics: Internet censorship, Freedom of expression, Infodiversity. https://twitter.com/jonhz Internet censorship, privacy and freedom of expression: new challenges for LIS professionals. This keynote presentation will discuss the threats to free access to information on the Internet such as censorship, privacy violations and surveillance, which also are the matters of fierce debate on the international agenda and become new challenges for LIS professionals. |
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Sandra Hirsh Professor and Director of the School of Library and Information Science, San José State University Sandra Hirsh is Professor and Director of the School of Library and Information Science at San José State University. Prior to joining the School as Director, she worked in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade at major technology companies: Hewlett Packard and Microsoft. As an industry user experience researcher, leader, and manager, she contributed to R&D research projects and influenced the user experience of web, mobile, and TV consumer products resulting in 5 U.S. patents. She was previously an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, and has taught courses for San José State University and the University of Washington. Dr. Hirsh's research focuses on information-seeking behavior and understanding the information needs of a broad spectrum of users in the United States and around the world; this work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and has appeared in international conference proceedings. Her leadership roles include serving on committees for the American Library Association (ALA), the International Federation of Libraries Association (IFLA), the Special Libraries Association (SLA), and as the President-Elect of Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). https://slisapps.sjsu.edu/facultypages/view.php?fac=hirshs Working in a Global Environment – Success Strategies for Today’s Information Professional This keynote presentation will take a look at the transcendence of the “information professional”. Through “Day in the Life” scenarios and reflective photos, we will explore how the image of the information professional - both physically and vocationally – has transcended over time. We will discuss the phenomenon of the global community and the essential role information professionals perform within the global environment – both locally in the communities they serve as well as globally. We will also discuss the essential value of the MLIS degree. How does the MLIS degree today prepare information professionals to serve the complex needs of today’s organizations – both within the LIS field and outside of it? What are the essential and transferable competencies unique to the information professional's skillset? Finally (and maybe most importantly), what is the key to becoming “rock stars” in the organizations, communities, and global environments that information professionals engage in every day? Join us in this fun time travel of the information professional as we explore the answers to these questions and more! |
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Hilary Hughes Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology Hilary Hughes is Senior Lecturer in the Education Faculty and member of the Children and Youth Research Centre at QUT. Her research interests include: experiences and needs of learners in culturally diverse and online contexts; informed learning; teacher-librarianship; and learning space design. She contributes to major research projects including the ARCfunded ‘Living labs’: fostering digital participation in regional and rural Australian communities (2013-16). http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/hugheshe/ Information Experience: New approaches to theory and practice The Queensland University of Technology Research Team has recently edited a book on the idea of information experience. Authors from many parts of the world and focussed on many contexts have contributed chapters. The book represents the first attempt to profile and discuss information experience as a research domain and a research object, together with emphasis on different theories and methods being used in workplace, educational and community contexts. In this session members of the editorial team will introduce the book. We anticipate it will be of interest to any information professionals, students or researchers interested in understanding peoples' information experience. |
| Pam Sandlian-Smith Library Director, Anythink Library As Director of Anythink Libraries, she has worked with a collaborative team to reinvent libraries in Adams County, Colorado. Anythink has been awarded the IMLS 2010 National Medal of Honor for innovating library services and the 2011 John Cotton Dana award and the Library Journal 2011 Landmark Library Award. Pam was awarded the 2012 Charlie Robinson Award for innovation and risk taking in public libraries and was the Colorado Librarian of the year in 2010. Previously, she was the Director of the West Palm Beach Public Library, and the Manager of Children’s Services at the Denver Public Library. She enjoys traveling, writing, cooking Italian, walking her great Pyrenees, Buddy Einstein Doodle and inventing libraries that help people fall in love with libraries and reading. http://www.anythinklibraries.org/ Creating Experience Libraries At Anythink, we believe that using libraries should be a great experience. When a customer walks in the door, the library should be filled with great books, music and movies. It should be easy to find the things you are look for, as well as surprising when you discover new things you didn’t even know existed. We do everything possible to help you feel smart in our libraries, not intimidated. We are merging the comforts of the traditional library with innovations for the future. Welcome to Anythink, where everyone can feel at home. We are part corner store, part community living room, cultural center, book and media center and studio learning space. Whether you need to use a computer, make a video, find some great books to read to your children, watch a favorite movie, find a recipe for tonight’s dinner or write a business plan, we are partners in helping you succeed. Anythink libraries are places where you can explore your neighborhood or your world…We open doors for curious minds. |
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Dr. Daisy Selematsela Executive Director Knowledge Management Corporate, National Research Foundation of South Africa Dr. Daisy Selematsela is the Executive Director, Knowledge Management Corporate at the National Research Foundation (NRF). Prior to the NRF, she was Senior Director, Client Development at the Department of Library Services: University of South Africa (UNISA). At UNISA, she served on several portfolios including the Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) within the Department of Organisational Development and as the Deputy Chairperson of the UNISA Institutional Forum and contributed towards the UNISA 2015 VISION Transformation Agenda. She serves as mentor and external examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Library and Information Science at UNISA and the University of Johannesburg. Daisy has co-ordinated workshops, chaired conference sessions and made numerous local and international presentations on areas of her research interest, including Information Literacy; Data Management; Digitisation and Preservation; Records and Document Management; Information and Knowledge Management; and Leadership, Transformation and Change Management. She has also published articles in a number of popular and accredited journals; a book chapter; and several contributions to UNESCO and WHO reports. Daisy serves on a number scientific bodies and is an editorial board member of the CODATA DSJ and a reviewer of several programs. She was also appointed to the Board of the National Library of South Africa (October 2012 – September 2015). http://www.nrf.ac.za/ Perspective on the evolving roles of information professionals within the South African National System of Innovation (NSI) This presentation focuses on the role expectations of information specialists, particularly as African Governments have set themselves the objective of transforming their countries and the continent into a knowledge society and economy that competes effectively in a global system. Experiences will be shared about emerging competencies, government interventions in relation to internship programs, transformation and talent management challenges within the NSI. |
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Ian Stoodley Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Ian Stoodley is employed as a researcher at Queensland University of Technology. His work includes qualitative research into information use, specializing in the investigation of people’s experience, and has encompassed professional ethics, information technology research, higher degree research supervision, health information literacy and student engagement. Ian has published a number of high ranking peer-reviewed journal articles. He was conferred an IT Faculty Dean’s Award for Excellence for his doctoral work on professional ethics. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Stoodley,_Ian.html Information Experience: New approaches to theory and practice The Queensland University of Technology Research Team has recently edited a book on the idea of information experience. Authors from many parts of the world and focussed on many contexts have contributed chapters. The book represents the first attempt to profile and discuss information experience as a research domain and a research object, together with emphasis on different theories and methods being used in workplace, educational and community contexts. In this session members of the editorial team will introduce the book. We anticipate it will be of interest to any information professionals, students or researchers interested in understanding peoples' information experience. |
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Joyce Valenza Lecturer, Rutgers University Library and Information Science Joyce is an Assistant Professor and co-director of the MLIS program at Rutgers University School of Communication & Information. She has been a school, public and special librarian. For ten years, Joyce was the techlife@school columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Tag Team Tech column for VOYA. She is the author of several books for ALA Editions. Her NeverendingSearch Blog (on the SLJ website) won an Edublogs Award for 2005 and 2009. She was selected as a Technology and Learning 100@30 and was awarded an Edublogs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Joyce is active in ALA, AASL, YALSA, and ISTE. Joyce earned her doctoral degree from the University of North Texas in August, 2007 and speaks nationally about issues relating to libraries and thoughtful use of educational technology. She considers herself a founder and mother of the school library Geek Tribe, #tlchat, and TL Virtual Café. http://about.me/jvalenza Librarians and Social Capital In a workshop built using social capital, Joyce examines practical strategies for leveraging social media to grow your network, support your professional learning and growth, improve your practice and to build your community and your influence. |
| Jia Yang Data Resource Leader, Shanghai Library Jia Yang, Leader of Data Resource Dept., Shanghai Library. She has worked as a R&D engineer at the IT department at Shanghai Library since 2005, participated in the digital library project and mobile library project, and recently focus on data analysis, data mining, information visualization and its application in the library, and participate in several innovative data services programs, such as reading analysis report, personalized reading history, data flow visualization and so on. Exploring the Use of Information Visualization for Library With the arrival of Big Data Era, properly utilizing the power of data is becoming increasingly essential for the strength and competitiveness of libraries.Information Visualization(IV) aims to more effective and explicitly communication by means of graphic illustration. Pragmatic does not mean tedious and magnificence also will not lead to complication. During the visualization process, we should comprehend business and data thoroughly and keep good balance between function design and art design. The information derived from data and expressed in the visualized illustration tells stories out of the numbers and has our patrons inspired. Shanghai Library has launched a series of innovative data services programs based on IV, data analysis and data mining. This presentation will show how we think about data in LIS system, how we make use of it, introduce personalized reading history program and real-time data flow visualization screen program. |
Distinguished Speakers
| Stephen Abram Managing Principal, Lighthouse Partners Stephen Abram, MLS, is a strategy and direction planning consultant for libraries and the information industry as managing principal at Lighthouse Consulting. He is also Executive Director of the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries. He is a renowned library trend watcher and innovator and author of Stephen’s Lighthouse blog, one of the most popular blogs in librarianship. He has been president of the Ontario Library Association, the Canadian Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. He received the 2011 CLA Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award in June 2011. He has held international executive leadership positions at Cengage Learning (Gale), SirsiDynix, Thomson, ProQuest Micromedia, and IHS. He has lead several libraries and served on the advisory boards of six LIS schools. He was listed by Library Journal as one of the top 50 people influencing the future of libraries as one of the first LJ Movers and Shakers. He has been awarded the SLA's John Cotton Dana Award as well as being a Fellow of the SLA. He was Canadian Special Librarian of the Year and Alumni of the Year for the Faculty of Information iSchool at the University of Toronto where he received the 2010 Outstanding Teaching Award. He speaks internationally on innovation, technology, marketing and strategic success in libraries and is the author of hundreds of articles and ALA Editions' bestselling Out Front with Stephen Abram. http://stephenslighthouse.com/ 7 Tactics to Gain Big Savings through Collaboration: Can we bravely take risks? Budgets are under pressure in all sectors of librarianship. That seems to be a given in today's fiscal environment globally. Do we do more with less, less with less, or do we rethink our business models. Libraries aren't businesses, but as social enterprises we must be businesslike. Many of our consortia are mere buying clubs but some are stepping up the plate to rise to new levels of cooperation and collaboration. Some library systems compete more internally for resources than engage in win-win partnerships. Stephen, gives seven examples (Lucky Number 7!) of opportunities for great savings while increasing productivity, impact, and the value of library services. And there are side-benefits that allow for the freeing of talented staff for time to work on the important projects that discover our future. It is within our wheelhouse to be greater than we are and to manage our budgets better through more collaboration and innovative partnerships and sharing. Isn't that what libraries are all about anyway?! |
| Susan Hildreth Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) On January 19, 2011, President Obama appointed Susan Hildreth to be director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The nomination to her new post was confirmed by the US Senate by unanimous consent on December 22, 2010. Hildreth is the former city librarian of Seattle where she managed the Seattle Public Library, which includes the world-renowned Central Library and 26 new and expanded branches. The Library operated on a $50 million budget, had approximately 650 staff members, served more than 14 million visitors, and circulated nearly 12 million books and materials in 2010. Hildreth was the former state librarian of California, where she managed a $70 million administrative budget supporting library and research services for the state government and funding and consultation for California libraries. Before her 2004 appointment by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hildreth was city librarian of San Francisco, overseeing an annual operating budget of more than $58 million and a $130 million building program. Hildreth was president of the Public Library Association and served on its board of directors. She was an elected member of the council that governs the American Library Association. She was a longtime member of the California Library Association and served as its president and treasurer. Hildreth graduated cum laude from Syracuse University and holds a master's degree in library science from the State University of New York at Albany and a master's degree in business from Rutgers University. http://www.imls.gov/ Libraries as community learning partners - STEM, Maker and Badging! Libraries are becoming learning hubs in their communities. As traditional public education systems continue to be disrupted, find out how libraries can step forward to become community learning partners. Learn how STEM and maker programming can support development of 21st century skills with badges to certify that skill development! |
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Peter Morville President,Semantic Studios Peter Morville is a writer, speaker, and consultant. He is best known for helping to create the discipline of information architecture. His bestselling books include Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Ambient Findability, and Search Patterns. Peter is currently hard at work on a new book, Intertwingled, to be published in 2014. He advises such clients as AT&T, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Macy’s, the National Cancer Institute, Vodafone, and the Weather Channel. His work has been covered by Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. Peter lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Knowsy. He blogs at findability.org. http://semanticstudios.com/ The Architecture of Understanding If we hope to move forward, we must first go deep. We've been seduced by surface at the expense of understanding. We think we're designing libraries, websites, and experiences. But we're not. We are agents of change. Until we accept this mission, we will forever repeat our mistakes. How can we work together when we're divided by silos? How will we innovate while blinded by cultural illiteracy? The things we make are reflections of the language we use and the ways we organize ourselves. It's time to stop twittering about tactics and start shaping strategy. It's time to be architects of understanding. In this spirited tour of information architecture, organizational strategy, and systems thinking, Peter Morville draws from his new book, Intertwingled, to reveal how everything is connected from code to culture. It's a trip into the wilderness of cognition and complexity that delivers a simple message: librarians and information architects can change the world, but only if we have the courage to go deep. |
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Michael Stephens Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, San Jose State University Dr. Michael Stephens is Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. He was the 2009 CAVAL Visiting Scholar in Australia, consulted and presented for US Embassies in Germany, Switzerland, and Turkey, and presents to both national and international audiences about emerging technologies, learning, innovation, and libraries. Since 2010, Dr. Stephens has written the monthly column “Office Hours” for Library Journal exploring the issues, ideas, and emerging trends in library and information science education. To review Dr. Stephen’s archive of work, visit his Tame the Web website and blog http://tametheweb.com. http://tametheweb.com Finding Balance: Reflective Practice and the Profession Reflective practice is mindfulness to the nth degree. Information professionals should be thoughtful about the decisions they make, about the projects they take on, and about how we put ourselves out there in the online world. We must always keep working to be there, to be present, to be at the edge of what’s happening, and to be very visible while focusing on people, not technology, not the collection. Those are merely tools. |
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Barbara Stripling Assistant Professor of Practice, Syracuse University ALA President Barbara Stripling is the Immediate Past President of the American Library Association and an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University. Previously, in her 35-year library career, Stripling has been Director of Library Services for the New York City schools, a school library media specialist and school district director of libraries in Arkansas, a library grant program director in Tennessee, and director of library programs at a local education fund in New York City. She received her Doctorate in Information Management from Syracuse University in May 2011 and has written or edited numerous books and articles. Stripling is a former president of the American Association of School Librarians. http://www.barbarastripling.org/ Building a Learning Community Through a Library Learning Commons Librarians in public, academic, and school libraries have responded to societal changes by transforming their libraries into a learning commons and using their spaces, collections, technology, programs, services, and opportunities to build library programs that are both learning-based and community-based. The focus of the learning commons approach is not simply about creating flexible spaces and providing access to dynamic resources and technology. Instead, the focus must be on creating a learning community by combining attention to the way people learn with the attributes of a learning commons, resulting in a shared value of learning, connections among members of the community, synergy through diversity, and a flexible and evolving culture. |
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Roy Tennant Senior Program Officer, OCLC Research Roy Tennant is a Senior Program Officer for OCLC Research, where he manages projects relating to technology, infrastructure, and standards. Previous employers include the California Digital Library and the University of California, Berkeley. Roy is the creator and owner of the Web4Lib and XML4Lib electronic discussions, and the creator and editor of Current Cites, a current awareness newsletter published every month since 1990. His books include Technology in Libraries: Essays in Honor of Anne Grodzins Lipow (2008), Managing the Digital Library (2004), XML in Libraries (2002), Practical HTML: A Self-Paced Tutorial (1996), and Crossing the Internet Threshold: An Instructional Handbook (1993). Roy wrote a monthly column on digital libraries for Library Journal for a decade, where he still blogs, and has written numerous articles in other professional journals. In 2003, he received the American Library Association's LITA/Library Hi Tech Award for Excellence in Communication for Continuing Education. Roy is also a commercial whitewater river guide, treehouse builder, (the fourth in his backyard in the Sonoma Valley), husband, and the father of grown twin daughters now in college. http://oclc.org/research/people/tennant.html How to Be a 21st Century Librarian Librarianship has weathered tremendous change in the last 30 years. This will be no different going forward unless the pace of change accelerates. This session will focus on strategies you can use to keep your professional edge in a rapidly changing world. |
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Ellen Tise Senior Director, Library and Information Services, University of Stellenbosch Access to knowledge - reality or fantasy in the digital age This presentation will explore whether access to knowledge through libraries has been enhanced or restricted in the digital age |
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David Weinberger Author, Too Big To Know David Weinberger, Ph.D., writes about how the Internet is shaping our most fundamental understanding of ourselves. In books including The Cluetrain Manifesto (co-author), Small Pieces Loosely Joined, Everything Is Miscellaneous, and Too Big to Know, he has explored the implications of the Internet for marketing, journalism, business strategy, information organization, knowledge, politics, science, and much more. A senior researcher at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, he has been a Franklin Fellow at the US State Dept., an entrepreneur and marketing consultant to high tech companies, co-director of Harvard's Library Innovation Lab, and an advisor to presidential campaigns. Dr. Weinberger's doctorate is in philosophy from the University of Toronto. http://www.evident.com/ John Henry in the Library: Algorithms vs. Humans In the Age of Big Data, computational algorithms are getting good at recommending books based on our behavior and our interests. But can they become better than a knowledgeable human? Or have they already? Most important, how can we best fulfill the social goals of recommendations, which include steering people toward works that challenge them and expand their sympathetic awareness. (Hint: It's not clear that humans are necessarily the best at this.) We'll discuss some of the issues and the context. |
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