Library guru/blogger/technology expert Carl Grant will speak at the UT Libraries on the challenges facing academic libraries. His theme at the talk on Monday, April 8, at 10:00 a.m. in the Hodges Library auditorium will be “Budgets, staffing and collections getting smaller? It’s time to think BIGGER.” The campus community and the public are invited.

Grant has a unique perspective on university libraries, having held positions in academic librarianship as well as senior executive positions in a number of library-automation companies. His articles in the library literature and on his blog (thoughts.care-affiliates.com) address the intersection of new technologies and the values inherent in librarianship. He routinely publishes prescriptions for updating the librarian’s role in the academy.

Grant was recently named to the newly created position of Associate Dean for Knowledge Services and Chief Technology Officer at the University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman. Prior to that appointment, he was both an independent consultant in library and information science and the Executive Advisor to the Dean of Libraries at Virginia Tech Libraries. He was Chief Librarian of the Ex Libris Group during 2011 and President of Ex Libris North America from July 2008 through 2010. He served on the board of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), where he held offices as treasurer and chair. Under his leadership, NISO underwent a transformation that resulted in a revitalized library standards organization. In recognition of his contribution to the library industry, Library Journal named Grant an industry notable.