Home LITA Membership LITA Election Billy Kwan

KWAN, BILLY CHI-HING, Current Position: Associate Museum Librarian/Systems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Image Library, 2006-present. Previous Positions: Assistant Director of Library Technical Services, Harvard Business School, 2000-06; Systems Librarian, University of Massachusetts Boston, 1999-2000; Coordinator of Systems Operations & Database Management Librarian, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1997-99; Cataloger/Reference Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library, 1995-97; Assistant Curator, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1990-92. ALA Activities: LITA: Member, Education Committee, 2007-Present; LITA: Member, Regional Institutes Committee, 2005-07; ALCTS: Member, , 2001-07; LITA: Member, Program Planning Committee, 2001-05; LITA: Speaker, 2003 Annual Conference, 2003. Offices Held in State & Regional Library and Other Associations: Visual Resources Association Greater New York Regional Chapter: Vice-Chairperson, 2007-Present; Museum Computing Network: Member, 2006-Present; Art Libraries Society of North America: Member, 2006-Present; Visual Resources Association: Speaker, 25th Annual Conference, 2007.  Accomplishments: From 1999 to 2000 I successfully implemented the integrated library system, Endeavor Voyager, at University of Massachusetts Boston. At Harvard Business School I pioneered the move of the library’s collections and technical services department to an off-site annex during the library’s major renovation project and made significant contributions to the design of the library technical services department in the new building. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I am part of the Met Images project to implement the museum-wide digital asset management system. The system manages an enormous amount of digital images representing the Museum’s encyclopedic collections of works of art. On the personal front, my ability to adapt to new cultures and societies and to appreciate their differences and uniqueness is one of my strengths. My never-ending passion to learn and to experiment with new things and technologies and my ability to work in a wide variety of working environments, ranging from museum, library to information technology, are some of my major accomplishments.

STATEMENT: Technology is changing at an accelerated rate. At the same time, technology also brings people and communities closer together. Having worked in a wide variety of institutions, I can see the overlapping goals and functions among museums, libraries, archives and information centers. Management of and access to a mass amount of digitized or born-digital content is one of our common trends. Hopefully, with my diverse background, I can share my knowledge and perspectives with other fellow members of LITA.