Noted Keynote Speakers Participate in NISO Plus Conference

One, Two, Three … Announcing our Inspiring NISO Plus Keynotes!

With the inaugural NISO Plus conference just a few weeks away, we are delighted to announce not one, not two, but three inspiring keynote speakers — Amy Brand, James G Neal, and danah boyd. As a publisher, librarian, and researcher respectively, they each represent a different aspect of the information community that we serve and will each bring their own unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities that we collectively face. 

Our opening keynote, on Sunday February 23, is Amy Brand, Director of the MIT Press. She is uniquely well-placed to address our community since, as well as being a publisher, she has also worked in a wide variety of information and scholarly communications roles in research infrastructure organizations and academia, including as a researcher in child language development. The MIT Press is well-known for its publications in emerging fields of scholarship and its pioneering use of technology. Under Amy’s tenure, this has included the launch of several important new initiatives, including the MIT Knowledge Futures Group, a joint venture between the MIT Press and the MIT Media Lab, which aims to help build a more sustainable scholarly publishing ecosystem. In addition to her role at the Press, Amy is also an associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and serves on the boards of Crossref, Duraspace, Altmetric, and the Board on Research Data and Information of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 

On day two of NISO Plus, you will hear — virtually! — from James G Neal, the winner of this year’s Miles Conrad Award. Sadly, Jim is unable to join us in person, so instead we will be sharing a video of him receiving his award from NISO President, Marian Hollingsworth, as well as a fascinating discussion between Jim, Todd Carpenter (NISO’s Executive Director), and Deanna Marcum (former Chair of NFAIS and a previous Miles Conrad awardee). Jim’s numerous contributions have been widely recognized, and he is a worthy recipient of this award, which honors his lifetime achievements in the information community. He has held a number of senior positions, most recently at Columbia University, where he is now University Librarian Emeritus, served on numerous boards and committees — including as President of the American Library Association, and of the Association of Research Libraries — and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, as well as a consultant and published author. Jim’s main areas of focus are in the areas of scholarly communication, intellectual property, digital library programs, and library cooperation. 

NISO Plus’s closing keynote, on Tuesday February 25, is danah boyd, Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, Founder and President of Data & Society, and a Visiting Professor at New York University. An activist and scholar, danah’s research is focused on addressing social and cultural inequities by understanding the relationship between technology and society. Her most recent books - It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens and Participatory Culture in a Networked Age - examine the intersection of everyday practices and social media. danah was a 2011 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, and is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Director of both Crisis Text Line and Social Science Research Council, and a Trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian. She received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Brown University, a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab, and a Ph.D in Information from the University of California, Berkeley. 

We’re thrilled to have three such inspiring keynotes to launch our new annual meeting. Register for NISO Plus now and prepare to be inspired by them!