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National Public Radio President and Chief Executive Officer Delano Lewis will keynote Urban Libraries Council’s fifth annual Leadership Symposium, “Creating Futures for the Public Library: Opportunities & Opportunity Costs.” On May 2, Lewis will kick off a day and a half of presentations and discussions with outside experts and colleagues about how public library leaders can plan and prepare for the future.
Designed for ULC member library directors and trustees, as well as decision-makers from local community organizations, the Leadership Symposium will be held in Washington, D.C. On Saturday, May 2, participants will choose among seven break-out sessions on staffing issues, serving tomorrow’s children, making tough choices, demographics and urban library use, measuring electronic services, and public library funding. Session speaker/discussion leaders include Jane Robbins, Dean of Florida State University’s School of Information Studies; Dr. George D’Elia, Director of CARLIS at SUNY-Buffalo; Frank Lucchino, Allegheny County (PA) Controller; and John Bertot, Assistant Professor, Department of Information Systems, University of Maryland, and co-author of NCLIS studies on Internet availability and public libraries.
After dinner Saturday night, Edward Tenner, the author of the provocative and often funny Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences, will talk about the unexpected effects of technology and how we can better survive in a world where, in spite of technology’s advances, “reality is always gaining on us.”
“As leaders of public libraries, we are often confronted with a bewildering amount of change, moving at a fast pace,” said Jim Fish, Director of the Baltimore County Public Library, and chair of the ULC Leadership Symposium Planning Committee. “We are delighted to be able to give public library directors and their colleagues in leadership an opportunity away from the demands of every day business to reflect and retool.”
On Sunday, May 3, the Leadership Symposium will close with a joint session with members of the Council of State Library Agencies, facilitated by Diane Frankel, Museums and Library Services Director. This will be a lively discussion of what state librarians and urban/metropolitan public library directors need and want from each other.
Sponsored in part by Baker & Taylor Books, the ULC Leadership Symposium is open only to Urban Libraries Council members. ULC can be reached at 847/866-9999 (phone), 847-866-9989 (fax), or ulc@gpl.glenview.lib.il.us (e-mail). Founded in 1971, ULC offers advocacy, research, consulting and training and support services to its members. Membership is open to library vendors and public libraries serving populations of 50,000 or more in a standard metropolitan statistical area. |
