InfoSpeak: Volume 3, Number 1
Leslie Burger: Leading Libraries in a Turbulent Century
Length: 20 minutes
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Topics discussed:
- New librarians
- Advocacy and activism
- Web 2.0
Leslie Burger:
Leading Libraries in a Turbulent Century
ALA President Leslie Burger speaks in the quiet, reasonable way that people speak as they speak the truth.
Her vision that libraries have the duty and the mandate to provide information resources that transform the communities they serve, shows how a personal advocacy of the public interest can bring millions of funding dollars to the service of a fundamental democratic cause. Hearing her speak brought hope, helped me reconnect with the reason that libraries embody our constitutional values. Public libraries are shared places that belong to all people without prejudice, sanctuaries of a sacred birthright: facilitated access to the human record, self-education that can sustain democracy.
As you will hear, from July 2006 to June 2007, Leslie Burger did all she could to push the libraries of the Unites States forward, to grapple with this turbulent, troubling new century.
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...It's not enough to just talk about how great libraries are. That might not have a lot of meaning for someone who has not been in a library for ten or fifteen years and who has now shaped this image that those libraries are totally useless in the age of the internet. We need to think about ways that we can attract these users and get them back through our doors, by creating new mental images that convey what libraries in the 21st century are all about.
Leslie Burger attended library school at the University of Maryland in College Park and has a master's degree in organizational behavior from the University of Hartford.
Leslie has directed the Princeton Public Library since 1999. Her library career began at the Bridgeport (Ct.) Public Library when she was hired to develop a community information and referral service. At the Princeton Public Library, she built partnerships with civic and community leaders and convinced donors to contribute $21 million to capital and endowment campaigns.
Leslie is also a sought after spokesperson in the media on issues related to the implementation of CIPA, the future of libraries, revitalizing downtown areas, and fundraising. During her ALA Presidency Leslie focused her efforts on helping libraries transform the communities they serve.
She received the Princeton YWCA Tribute to Women Award in 2003, The New York Times Librarian Award for 2004, and was honored as the University of Maryland's CLIS Alumna of the Year in 2005.