Courtney Greene McDonald is head of the Discovery & User Experience department at Indiana University Libraries in Bloomington Indiana. Her professional interests are focused on the intersection of emerging technologies and library public services, and on implementing user-centered design methods and philosophies in libraries. She has presented and written on a variety of topics including user experience design, the selection and implementation of discovery tools, and mobile services in libraries. Her most recent book, Putting the User First: Thirty Strategies for Transforming Library Services, was published in 2014. Courtney is active professionally, as Chair of the Reference & User Services Association Emerging Technologies section, and as chair of  the editorial board for the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Weave: Journal of Library User Experience. Courtney earned her Master of Library Science degree, as well as a BA in English and journalism, from Indiana University Bloomington, and holds a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University in Chicago.

Preconference Workshop I: October 27th

Workshop with Ben Woods, Kent State University

D. Ben Woods began his professional career in 1999 when the World Wide Web was just beginning to be recognized as a valuable tool for businesses. Ben has worked with a number of firms in Northeast Ohio and collaborated with global teams, delivering solutions for clients in the manufacturing, medical, nonprofit, and property management industries including  General Electric, Eaton, The Cleveland Clinic, The City of Shaker Heights, Mazzella Lifting, Knoch Corporation, HEMA Imaging and many others.

Mr. Woods received his BFA in Visual Communication Design and MS in Information Architecture and Knowledge Management from Kent State University, and his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.