Print this

Phineas L. Windsor Lectures

The Phineas L. Windsor Lectureship honors the career of Dr. Windsor who was Director of the University of Illinois Library and the Library School from 1909 to 1940. The initial lecture was given in 1949 by John T. Winterich titled Three Lantern Slides: Books, The Book Trade, and Some Related Phenomena in America, 1876, 1901 and 1926. Gifts from alumni and friends built the fund when Dr. Windsor retired. In 2004 Marian ('50 BA Science and Letters) and Arnold ('50 BS Architectural Studies) Thompson made a gift to this Fund. Marian is a Windsor granddaughter.

2008 Spring Lecture

Library Research and Its Infrastructure in the Twentieth Century

Dr. Andrew Abbott, Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Sociology and the College at the University of Chicago.

Abstract: Dr. Abbott will discuss the coevolution over the twentieth century of the library research community and the libraries in which that community worked. He argues that after 1970 disciplinary fragmentation and overproduction produced information overload and disorganization that probably compromised the library research community's control over research quality. Dr. Abbott's talk speculates about the implications of this history for the current moment in knowledge evolution.

Listen to the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to listen) or download and read the text in pdf format.

2007 Fall Lecture

Using the Future to Create the Present

Betty Sue Flowers, Director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library

Abstract: This presentation will consist of three interwoven topics related to leadership and the future of organizations and professions. The first--how the future is created--discusses the implications arising from our experience of the future as a kind of story. The second--the use of scenario planning to create the future in specific ways--draws on experiences in multinational corporations and NGOs. The third--a discussion of the ways our stories of past and future create the present--explores our power to change these stories to create different outcomes for the institutions and projects that engage us.

Listen to the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to listen).

2006 Fall Lecture

What's an Author to Do? Google, Digitization, and the Future of Books

Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan, Associate Professor of Culture and Communication, New York University

Abstract: This talk will explore the ways that large-scale digitization projects such as Google Book Search affect those who research and write books. It will examine the ways full-text searches might affect research, how widespread access to digitized books will alter market demands for authors, and how technological changes could alter the modes of composition and distribution of books in the near future. Critical of Google for its lack of quality control, this talk will argue that the public debate (such as that between John Updike and Kevin Kelly) has been misguided and misplaced. The real questions for authors will be how we will gather and represent the raw materials for our work.

Listen to the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to view or listen).

2005 Fall Lecture

The Academic Library in a Googlezon World

Roy Tennant, User Services Architect, California Digital Library

Abstract: Breakthrough Internet-based businesses like Google and Amazon have both raised user expectations of information services as well as demonstrated new possibilities. What is the appropriate position of an academic library in this new environment? What are we best positioned to do, and what should we leave to others to do? How should academic libraries change to better serve the needs of their university clientele? These and related questions will be explored in a talk in which there are no sacred cows. The lecture will be from 4:00-5:00 p.m., and then followed by a reception.

Watch the video or listen to audio of the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to view or listen).

2005 Spring Lecture

What Children Can Teach Us: Lessons Learned from the Trenches of Digital Libraries

Dr. Allison Druin, University of Maryland College of Information Studies and Institute for Advanced Computer Studies

Abstract: Developing new technologies appropriate for children can be challenging, since young people can have difficulty reading, typing, and spelling without mistakes, and are continually changing in their interests and abilities. Since 1999, our team at the University of Maryland has attempted to meet these challenges by developing digital libraries that support young people in querying, browsing, and reading scanned materials. With the support of an NSF ITR, an IMLS leadership grant, and Microsoft Research, we have developed and are evaluating the impact of The International Children's Digital Library (www.icdlbooks.org). Interdisciplinary researchers from computer science, information studies, education, art, and psychology have been working together with children to design and evaluate this new library. Currently the collection includes materials in 30 languages donated by authors, publishers, and national libraries from around the world. This presentation will offer a live demonstration of the current prototype and will highlight the design challenges in creating digital libraries for children. In particular, the needs of children as information searchers, users, and learners will be discussed.

Listen to the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to listen).

2004 Fall Lecture

Cataloging for the Future

Dr. Barbara Tillett, Chief, Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Library of Congress

Abstract: Cataloging and catalogs are changing yet again to benefit from advances in technology. We have new ways of looking at the bibliographic universe to meet the needs of today’s users. We must do cataloging differently in the future while retaining the best of basic cataloging principles and the benefits of authority control. Our tools not only will improve future catalogs but also information seeking systems of tomorrow’s world.

Listen to the recorded lecture (you will need Real Player in order to listen) or download and read the text in html and pdf format.