Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to Headline Library Conference in Baltimore
Former Head of Enoch Pratt Library to Deliver Opening Keynote; Johns Hopkins Data Researcher, Army General Turned Social Entrepreneur Will also Lend Local Flavor to Annual Event for Information Professionals
McLean, Virginia, 10 June 2018—Three dynamic keynote speakers with Baltimore connections will deliver keynote addresses on consecutive days at the 2018 annual conference of the Special Libraries Association (SLA).
The conference, which starts Monday, June 11, and runs through Wednesday, June 13, will draw more than 1,500 librarians and information professionals to the Baltimore Convention Center.
The conference will feature 120 education sessions, an exhibit hall with 132 vendors of information products and services, networking opportunities, business meetings, a “Main Street” with kiosks representing SLA chapters (geographic units) and divisions (subject-matter units), and awards presentations to distinguished members.
Each day of the conference will be highlighted by a keynote presentation, and all three keynote speakers—Carla Hayden, Sayeed Choudhury, and Wes Moore—have strong ties to Baltimore.
Hayden was director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library from 1993 to 2016, when she became the first woman and first African American to be appointed librarian of Congress. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, including an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling.
Choudhury is associate dean for research data management and director of the Digital Research and Curation Center at the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University. He serves on the boards of the National Information Standards Organization and the Institute of Museum and Library Services and is the project owner for the Data Conservancy.
Moore is an Army combat veteran and author who was born and grew up in Baltimore. He overcame challenges in his early life to become a Rhodes scholar, White House Fellow, and special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. His best-selling book, The Other Wes Moore, details the fascinating intersection of his life with that of another man by the same name—one ended up a decorated veteran, the other a convicted criminal.
Hayden, Choudhury, and Moore will address an international audience of librarians and information professionals who provide competitive and decision intelligence, knowledge management, copyright management, data analysis and curation, and other information services in businesses, law firms, government agencies, colleges and universities, museums, and other specialized settings.
“We’re excited to be in Baltimore this year and especially to hear from three speakers with such diverse experiences and perspectives,” says Roberto Sarmiento, 2018 president of SLA. “Our members work at the intersection of information, intelligence, decision making, and leadership, and it’s important for us to hear a variety of views on these topics.”
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA), founded in 1909, is a nonprofit international organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves information professionals in more than 50 countries and in a range of working environments, including business, academia, and government. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit sla.org.
Contact
Rebecca Flick
rflick@sla.org
+1.703.647.4900
