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MAURICE YORK

Degrees and Certifications: University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, MSLIS, 2003; Bard College, BA, 1999. Current Position: Head, Information Technology, NCSU Libraries, North Carolina State University, 2008-present. Previous Positions: Head, Information Technology, North Carolina State University, 2008-Present; Associate Head, Information Technology, North Carolina State University, 2007-08; Team Leader, Circulation and E-Learning Services, Emory University, 2003-07; Graduate Assistant, University of Illinois, 2001-03. ALA Activities: LITA: Member, LITA Camp Task Force, 2008-Present; LITA: Chair, Top Technology Trends Committee, 2007-Present; LITA: Member, Nominating Committee, 2007-07; LITA: Member, Top Technology Trends Committee, 2005-07; LITA: Member, Sponsorships Task Force, 2005-06; LITA: Chair, Emerging Technologies Interest Group, 2004-05. Publications: Author, Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Infinitude of the Private Man. A biography. (Wrightwood Press), 2008; Editor, Natural History of the Intellect: the Last Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Wrightwood Press), 2008; Author, "Calling the Scholars Home: Google Scholar as a Tool for Rediscovering the Academic Library," Internet Reference Services Quarterly (Haworth Press), 2006; Author, "The Radio Frequency Revolution: Tips and Trends for Implementing RFID Systems in Libraries," Technical Services Quarterly (Haworth Press), 2005. Accomplishments: The chief accomplishments of my career have been based in pushing the edge of new technologies to tackle the complex problems of delivering library services while making the technology practical and useful. At Emory University I was the project lead for developing ReservesDirect, a best-in-class open source system for staff and faculty to manage electronic and print reserves. At NCSU I am carrying this commitment to open enterprise systems forward by leading the initiative to open source E-Matrix, our Electronic Serials Management System. Within LITA, I have focused energy on introducing game-changing technologies to broader audiences: I organized the first program on RFID at an ALA conference, the first program on the Google Library Project and Google Scholar, and the first program/preconference on podcasting in libraries. I also pioneered experiments in new ways engage members in LITA programming through means such as podcasting, concurrent audience chat, and remote participation. My bias is to engage with large, complex problems and break them down into understandable components that lead to practical solutions.

STATEMENT: Throughout my involvement with LITA, I have been a beneficiary of the openness, spontaneity, and impulse for innovation of the organization and its members. At my first LITA meeting, I walked out of the room the chair of an Interest Group and as quickly discovered a path towards engaging with some of the most interesting and challenging issues of the profession while benefiting from a network of like-minded colleagues. I believe that LITA is positioned to represent the potential of a responsive and flexible professional organization to play an important role in shaping the profession at this critical turning point. My exposure to a wide variety of the aspects of LITA that make it hum--the interest groups, the program planning, the committees, the administrative and procedural concerns--has prepared me to join in the governance of the organization and take an active role in promoting these principles.