Speakers

People Watching With a Purpose: Meeting Needs Before They Need It

Ann P. Bishop

Ann P. Bishop, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is also the co-director of the Community Informatics Initiative.

Ann's work focuses on participatory and community-based approaches to the development of information systems and library services, especially those serving marginalized groups in society. Her principal partners in this work include SisterNet and B.T. Washington Elementary School in Champaign-Urbana and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago. She has served as PI or co-PI on research funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the W. C. Kellogg Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She teaches courses in participatory action research, social justice in library and information science professions, and community information systems.

Nancy Kranich

Nancy Kranich is a national library leader, speaker, and advocate; past president of the ALA, past Assoc. Dean of Libraries at New York University, and published author on topics of libraries’ roles in civic engagement, equity, digital technologies, and “the information commons.” Her provocative book, Libraries & Democracy: The Cornerstones of Liberty (2001) American Library Association was reviewed by Library Journal as demanding “…the attention of all librarians, trustees, and library educators. A genuine effort should be made to get copies into the hands of politicians and others who may have the power to affect the future of libraries, but not much understanding their importance to democracy.”

Program Outline | Resources and Readings