Speakers

The Relevance of Libraries in a Digital Age

James G. Neal

Jim Neal is currently the Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University, and also works with the Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC) and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL). He serves on key academic, technology, budget and policy groups at the University. Jim is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, consultant and published researcher with a focus in the areas of scholarly communication, intellectual property, digital library programs, organizational change, staff turnover, and fundraising. He has worked on the editorial boards of journals in the field of academic librarianship, and has worked on copyright policy and advisory groups for universities and professional and higher education associations.

Barbara M. Jones

Barbara M. Jones is the Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Previously she was Head of the Rare Book and Special Collections Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has held a number of library positions in academic and research libraries, including technical services, reference, and library directorships.

Jones' major professional focus has been intellectual freedom issues. She was named to the Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor in 1999. Her book, Intellectual Freedom in Academic Libraries, will be published by ALA Editions in 2007. She is also active on the FAIFE Committee (Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression) of IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations), lecturing and conducting workshops in such places as Tokyo, Zagreb, and San Jose, Costa Rica on privacy and technology issues.

Susan Kent

Susan Kent has served as the Director and Chief Executive of The Branch Libraries for the New York Public Library from 2004 to 2007. Prior to this, Ms. Kent served as the Director of the Los Angeles Public Library from 1995-2004 and the Director of the Minneapolis Public Library from 1990-1995.

Ms. Kent served as the Chair of the Executive Board of the Urban Libraries Council in 1999-2000 and as the President of the Public Library Association from 1987-1988. She received the Public Library Association’s Charlie Robinson Award in 2001, the University of California’s Anderson School of Business’ Executive Leadership Award, and the American Library Association’s Lippincott Award for “distinguished service to the profession of librarianship” in 2003. Ms. Kent was named “Librarian of the Year” in 2002 by Library Journal. She has been actively involved in activities regarding international librarianship for many years.

Robert P. Doyle

Robert P. Doyle is the executive director of the Illinois Library Association. He was the director of the ALA International Relations Office and the first director of the Library Fellows program, a joint program of the United States State Department and the American Library Association (ALA).

His first position at ALA was in the Office for Intellectual Freedom, where he wrote a monthly newsletter to state intellectual freedom committees; counseled and supported individuals involved in censorship controversies; edited the Freedom to Read Foundation News; and designed, developed and implemented educational programs on first amendment rights and libraries. He has written numerous articles on Intellectual Freedom, and edits Banned Books and the Illinois Library Association Reporter.

Doyle's publications include Trustee Facts File, Third Edition, 2004; Guidelines on Library Twinning (published in 1994); U.S. Information Ambassadors/The 1994-95 Library Fellows (published in 1996); American Library Association's 1991 International Relations Program (published in 1992); and Access to Library Resources Through Technology and Preservation (published in 1989).