Keynote Speakers

Em Claire Knowles

The hallowed walls of the traditional libraries are being inundated with coffee shops, comfortable seating and space for computer labs. Today’s students are more likely to expect a latte and an electronic version of a current bibliography of their subject than training in traditional search methods. The changing role of the library warrants a change in the education of the librarian. This issue will be addressed by Dr. Em Claire Knowles, Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and Assistant Dean for Student Administrative Services at Simmons College GSLIS, in the opening plenary session. Dr. Knowles’ presentation, The Next Generation: The Revolution Continues: Mentoring, Recruitment and Library Education, addresses critical issues for librarianship in the 21st century. Her presentation will explore the current direction of library education, as well as the importance of mentoring students and professionals into the new roles librarians will serve.

Dr. Knowles serves on the Councils of the American Library Association and the Massachusetts Black Librarians’ Network, and chairs the Tyson Professional Recognition Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She is also a Design Team member of the Leaders of Tomorrow, a mentoring program of the National Black MBA Association. In 2007, Dr. Knowles received the Distinguished Service to the Library Profession Award of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BACALA). This award was presented at the 6th National Conference of African American Librarians held in Fort Worth, Texas. Originally from California, she has a BA from the University of California at Davis, an MLS from the University of California at Berkeley, an MPA from California State University in Sacramento, and a DA from Simmons College.

Immediately following the presentation, a panel consisting of a diversified mix of ACL members and students in various stages of their careers will respond to Dr. Knowles' comments.

Tim Spalding, LibraryThing

Nothing has revolutionized the library profession as much as the constant advancements in technology.  FaceBook, MySpace, and Youtube are not just buzzwords to this generation of library users.  They are a part of their everyday lives and how they “share” their lives with the world everyday.  LibraryThing is to librarians as MySpace is to today’s users.  We are pleased to announce that Tim Spalding, LibraryThing founder and creator, will be delivering the second keynote address for this year’s conference.  LibraryThing began as a simple way to keep track of personal libraries and has mushroomed into a service that offers a fascinating convergence of cataloging and social networking. 

LibraryThing has become the world largest book club.  It has over 300,000 members, supports 34 languages, and at the end of 2007 over 21 million books were cataloged by the members.   LibraryThing is also a social space as people “share” their library collections, add tags, and recommend books.  Record sharing, book finding, review writing and affordable cataloging all rolled into one.  What more could you ask for?   

Before LibraryThing, Spalding was a graduate student in Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan, and worked for Houghton Mifflin in Boston as a freelance web developer and web publisher.  Previous projects include www.isidore-of-seville.com, www.ancientlibrary.com and www.bramblestory.com.  Spalding is married to HarperCollins author Lisa Carey. 

The Revolution Continues

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