Books and Libraries in the 21st Century: Strategic Perspectives of a Librarian and Publisher

Date
Thu January 16th 2014, 5:00 - 6:30pm
Event Sponsor
Seminar on Enlightenment and Revolution, 1660–1830, a Stanford Humanities Center Research Workshop in Honor of John Bender
Location
Stanford Humanities Center, Watt Room
Books and Libraries in the 21st Century: Strategic Perspectives of a Librarian and Publisher

The identity of “the book” and the future of libraries in the face of e-publishing and the likes of Google coexist uneasily in our minds as humanists and as members of what might be called the intellectual castes of our society.  The many forms of “the book” over time and especially the ones that are being published now are elements of the construct of many professional publishers and of librarians responsible for long term preservation of and access to the published and archival records of our civilization. The challenges to research libraries’ pre-eminence in providing collections and items for scholars and students in this digital age should be understood as should be the responses to those challenges.  Advantages, disadvantages, particular issues, and quandaries remaining as well as forthcoming will be exposed, if not resolved.

Michael A. Keller is the Ida M. Green University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources, Publisher of HighWire Press, and Publisher of the Stanford University Press. These titles touch on his major professional preoccupations: commitment to support of research, teaching and learning; effective deployment of information technology hand-in-hand with materials; active involvement in the evolution and growth of scholarly communication. He may be best known at present for his distinctively entrepreneurial style of librarianship. As University Librarian, he endeavors to champion deep collecting of traditional library materials (especially of manuscript and archival materials) concurrent with full engagement in emerging information technologies. Keller’s responsibilities at Stanford encompass libraries, cybraries, academic and residential computing, publishing and publishing services.