May 7 Seminar on Digital Libraries
April 25, 2008
Media contact: Anna Dahlstein , tel. (919) 515-3585
Robert Miller of the Internet Archive
will be the featured speaker at the NCSU Libraries' I. T. Littleton Seminar on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. It will be held at 2:00 P.M. in the second floor Assembly Room in the East Wing of the D. H. Hill Jr. Library. A reception will follow the seminar.
Miller will speak about “Revolutionizing Access to Knowledge." As Director of Books at the Internet Archive, he is spearheading a global program to bring the world's books online. He has worked with over 50 great libraries to knit together an open, online library. Miller will highlight successes, lessons learned and challenges yet to be overcome.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1996 to build a permanent and freely accessible digital library of web sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Built on open source software, it is the largest publicly available web archive in existence.
Before joining the Internet Archive, Miller co-founded five consumer product start-up companies bringing over 85 products to market in the U.S., Europe and Australia. In addition, he was CEO of FocusEngine, and rose to senior management roles at two Fortune 500 companies, Mattel Toys and AMP/Tyco. He has frequently been featured in various news media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN.
The Internet Archive administers the Open Content Alliance (OCA), which emphasizes open and free access and offers an alternative to mass digitization ventures led by commercial entities such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. More than 80 major institutions and research libraries have partnered with the OCA, including the British Library, Smithsonian Institution, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of California System. The Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), including the NCSU Libraries, recently joined the OCA , ensuring that their online collections will remain open to scholars and all other members of the global community.
The annual I. T. Littleton Seminars are funded by an endowment established in 1987 to honor former Library Director Littleton upon his retirement from NC State. The Libraries welcomes your continued support of the I. T. Littleton Seminar series. If you would like to make a voluntary contribution to support future seminars, please send your check, payable to the Friends of the Library, to: Friends of the Library, NCSU Libraries, Box 7111, Raleigh, NC 27695-7111. Please note "I. T. Littleton Seminar Endowment" on your check. For more information about making a gift, please call (919) 515-2841.