Speakers



	William Miller

William Miller has directed libraries in Ohio and Florida for more than 20 years, and has published several articles in Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators on the importance of the library as a place. He believes passionately that electronic resources merely enhance the status and importance of the library, both as a place and as a resource, and observes that people of all walks of life intuitively understand why libraries exist and what their missions and values are.

“I once blew a job interview for Head of Collections at a major research institution by declaring that the staff who worked there were more important than the collections. I still believe that.”



	Ed Rivenburgh

Ed Rivenburgh is the Director of College Libraries at the State University of New York at Geneseo. Previously, he held the positions of Library Director at Finger Lakes Community College, near Rochester, NY, and Director of Instructional Media Services at Simmons College in Boston. Ed has graduate degrees from Boston University, Michigan State University, and Simmons College.

“Library attendance no longer counts?

Make no mistake—students and faculty are voting daily with their feet. And college decision-makers, caught in difficult economic triage situations, are watching the library’s front doors. They are also calculating the cost/benefit ratios of how that very expensive campus real estate is actually utilized each day.

In our decades-long quest to create the virtual library, have we dangerously neglected the importance of also radically transforming our physical libraries into the special place for college-wide, mission-critical, academic activities and services?

One of the valuable roles I currently have on campus is serving as chair of the campus-wide users’ advisory group that works closely with key administrators of the College’s facility services operation. Building infrastructure isn’t sexy; but it’s a crucial component of any successful library transformation process.”

Douglas Zyskowski was born in Detroit and received his B.A. from Wayne State University with a double major in History and Classical Studies. He then received an M.A. in Ancient History and Classical Studies from the University of Michigan but realizing he had to make a living, he also got his MLS from U. of M. Then realizing he wasn’t well prepared for a management position, he began working on an M.B.A. at U of M. Two-thirds of his course work is completed.

He has worked at the Southfield Public Library since 1971 and has been City Librarian since 1983. As City Librarian, he has focused most attention on the economic and political environment of Public Libraries.

“Our goal in creating the Southfield Public Library was to create a unique facility that would be a location residents would want to use — with amenities residents expect in a Library and those they don’t expect. We hoped to create a building that residents would be proud of and feel that their tax dollars were well spent. We wanted to create a place that WAS Southfield.”