Stephen Abram, MLS, is a Past President 2008 of SLA and the past-President of the Canadian Library Association. He is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Markets for Gale Cengage. He was Vice President Innovation for SirsiDynix and Chief Strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute. He has been VP of Corporate Development for Micromedia ProQuest and Publisher Electronic Information for Thomson. He ran libraries for Suncor, Coopers & Lybrand, Smith Lyons Torrance Stevenson and Mayer and Hay Group.

Stephen has been listed by Library Journal as one of their first "Movers and Shakers", the 'key' people influencing the future of libraries and librarianship. He has been awarded SLA's John Cotton Dana Award as well as being a Fellow of the SLA. He was Canadian Special Librarian of the Year and Alumni of the Year for the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information Studies. He was President 2002 of the Ontario Library Association as well as sitting on the SLA Board of Directors as Director and Secretary.

Stephen gives over 90 international keynote talks annually to library and information industry conferences and writes articles and columns for Information Outlook, Feliciter, Access, Multimedia & Internet @ Schools, and Library Journal. He is the author of ALA Editions' bestselling Out Front with Stephen Abram. His blog, Stephen's Lighthouse, is a popular blog in the library sector.

On what Stephen plans to talk about:

Building the New Academic Library Experience

Our definition of what comprises a library experience is mutating. Is it just what happens in our physical spaces? Of course not. With virtual presences everywhere - on desktops, phones, and beyond – and with digital content easily accessible beyond our walls, the library is truly everywhere. But is the library experience? Where do social media fit in? As we move the academic experience into lesson level education in forms like Blackboard, whither the library and librarian? Can we model more of the important experiences in the library virtually? Can we align with student life, learning, research, discovery, writing, job seeking, health advice, and more? Can we insert library staff and library programs into all players in our academic communities' daily lives? Stephen Abram is a popular blogger at Stephen's Lighthouse and a library futurist who leads discussions on the future of libraries of all types. Prepare for a challenging day!