Thursday, September 27

Foundations: Reading, Collecting, Discovering

American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall
427 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

1:00–1:30 p.m.: Conference Registration Opens

1:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m.: Welcome
Patrick Spero, Director of the Library
American Philosophical Society

2:00–3:00 p.m.: Panel 1: Reading Communities

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“From Literary Salon to Library: The Female Mind and the Art of Reading Across the Color Line”
Ariel Silver, Columbus Ohio Institute of Religion

“Women of the Roxburghe Club: Bibliomania, Country Houses and Bridges to the 21st Century”
Sharon Prado, University College Dublin

“New Frontiers in Library History”
Jonathan Rose, Drew University

Comment: John Van Horne, Director Emeritus, Library Company of Philadelphia

3:00–3:30 p.m.: Coffee Break

3:30–4:30 p.m.: Panel 2: Building Collections

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“Ushering in the Era of Expansion: Academic Libraries Supporting Change in American Higher Education, 1860-1920”
Katy Mathuews, Ohio University Alden Library

“Harvard's Public Library: What the Birth of the Harvard Map Collection Can Tell Us about the Changing Meanings of Library Collections”
Lena Denis and David Weimer, Harvard University

“From Wastebasket to Library: Creating the Twentieth Century Literary Archive”
Alison Fraser, University at Buffalo

Comment: David Gary, American Philosophical Society

7:30–8:00 p.m.: Opening Reception

8:00–9:30 p.m.: Keynote Roundtable on “The Future of Libraries”

Click Here to Watch This Panel

A roundtable keynote discussion featuring:

Mary Lee Kennedy, Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries

Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies

Michael Witmore, Director, Folger Shakespeare Library

Moderated by Sarah E. Thomas, Vice President for Harvard Library, University Librarian, and Roy E. Larsen Librarian for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall
427 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

Friday, September 28

Present: Access, Preservation, and Representation

American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall
427 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

8:30–9:00 a.m.: Conference Registration, Light Breakfast, and Coffee

9:00–9:30 a.m.: Welcome Remarks

9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.: Panel 3: Voices in the Library

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“Decolonizing Special Collections: Collection Development for Diversity and Inclusion”
Michael Kelly, Amherst College

“Racial Imaginaries of the Catalog”
Laura Helton, University of Delaware

“Transforming Trapped Audio: Digitization in Indigenous Contexts” 
Sarah Dupont, The University of British Columbia

Comment: Guha Shankar, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

10:30–11:00 a.m.: Coffee Break

11:00–12:00 p.m.: Panel 4: Access and Accessibility

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“Take me Into the Library and Show Me Myself: Towards Authentic Accessibility in Digital Libraries”
Dorothy Berry, Houghton Library

“Changing Attitudes toward Access to Special Collections”
Jae Rossman, Yale University Library

“Preservation of Electric Government Information: An Urgent National Priority”
Scott Matheson, Yale Law School

Comment: Bethany Wiggin, University of Pennsylvania

12:00–1:00 p.m.: Lunch

“Perspectives”

1:00–2:00 p.m.: The Past, Present, and Future of Public Libraries

Click Here to Watch This Panel

Siobhan Reardon, Free Library of Philadelphia

Gina Millsap, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Susan Considine, Former Executive Director of the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL)

Moderator: Derick Dreher, Rosenbach Museum and Library

2:00–2:15 p.m.: Coffee Break

2:15–3:15 p.m.: The Past, Present, and Future of University and College Libraries

Click Here to Watch This Panel

Joe Lucia, Temple University Libraries

Monica McCormick, The University of Delaware Library

Geneva Henry, The George Washington University

Martha Whitehead, Queen’s University Library

Moderator: Mary Lee Kennedy, Association of Research Libraries  

3:15–3:30 p.m.: Break

3:30–4:30 p.m.: The Past, Present, and Future of Independent Research Libraries

Click to Watch This Panel

Lisa Browar, Linda Hall Library

Neil Safier, The John Carter Brown Library

Sandra Ludig Brooke, The Huntington Library

Moderator: Ellen S. Dunlap, American Antiquarian Society

5:00–5:30 p.m.: Reception

5:30–6:30 p.m.: Keynote: The Making of Digital Libraries for the Scholarly Community

Click Here to Watch This Keynote

Featuring Deanna Marcum, Senior Advisor, Ithaka S+R, in conversation with Donald J. Waters, Senior Program Officer for Scholarly Communications, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Saturday, September 29

Future: Virtual Libraries

American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall
427 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

8:30–9:30 a.m.: Conference Registration, Light Breakfast, and Coffee

9:30–10:30 a.m.: Panel 5: Tools and Technologies

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“The Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts: A Special Collections Research Tool for the 21st Century”
Emma Cawlfield, University of Pennsylvania Libraries

“Expanding Access to Library Collections in Three Dimensions”
Zachariah Lischer-Katz and Matthew Cook, University of Oklahoma Libraries

“The New Wave of Digital Collections: Reimagining Library Curation for Multi-Faceted Data-Sets”
H. Alexander Wermer-Colan and James Kopaczewski, Temple University

Comment: Scott Ziegler, Louisiana State University

10:30–11:00 a.m.: Coffee Break

11:00–12:00 p.m.: Panel 6: Networks, Collaboration, and Community

Click Here to Watch This Panel

“The Collection is the Network: Collection Collaboration and Cooperation at Network Scale”
Daniel Dollar and Sarah Tudesco, Yale University Library, with Jeff Kosokoff, Duke University Libraries

“Refworld: Future Frontiers for Special Collections Libraries”
Rachael Dreyer, The Pennsylvania State University

“Library Metadata as Linked Data: Transition, Transformation, and Accountability”
Philip Schreur, Stanford University

Comment: Will Noel, University of Pennsylvania

12:00–12:30 p.m.: Wrap-up and Concluding Remarks

12:30–1:30 p.m.: Lunch

After 1:30 p.m.: Departures

Conference papers can be found through the link to the left. You will be required to enter a password provided by conference organizers to access them. Please contact the APS at [email protected] if you are attending the conference but have not yet received the password.

Papers are not to be cited or circulated without the written permission of the author.

"The Past, Present, and Future of Libraries" will be held from September 27-29, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA. Papers will become available on the APS website in the weeks before the conference. Please check regularly for updates.

Please direct any questions to Adrianna Link at [email protected].

Old City Hotels:

There are several hotels within walking distance as well as many within a short ride by public transit, taxi, or Uber. Addresses and contact information are below. The hotels listed here represent accommodations in Old City, Philadelphia. There are many additional options in other areas of the city including Center City and Rittenhouse Square. Philadelphia is also served by Airbnb and other accommodation sharing sites.

Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel (Marriott)
401 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 215-925-0000

Hotel Monaco (Kimpton)
433 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 855-295-BELL
Hotel: 215-925-2111

Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District
400 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-923-8660

Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel
1 Dock Street (Between 2nd and Walnut Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-6000

Best Western The Independence Park Hotel
235 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-922-4443

Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia-E.Penns Landing
100 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19106
1-800-405-4329

APS Addresses: The conference will take place in the APS’s Franklin Hall, located at 427 Chestnut Street. The Library is located at 105 South Fifth Street, and the APS Museum is housed across the street from the Library, in Philosophical Hall at 104 South Fifth Street. 

Planes: The Philadelphia International Airport is 12 miles from the American Philosophical Society and is served by most major domestic and many international airlines. Philadelphia is a regional hub for American Airlines.

Ground Transportation from Airport: The airport is connected to Philadelphia through a network of public transit, rental cars, taxis, and private car services. In addition, Uber services can be booked for transport to and from the airport. More information on specific modes of transport can be found on the airport’s website.

Trains: Philadelphia has an Amtrak station and is on the busy Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. Both Northeast Regional and Acela trains stop at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. In addition, the Keystone, an east-west Amtrak route, stops several times a day in Philadelphia.

Automobiles: The American Philosophical Society is easily reached by I-95, 676, and the 76/Schuylkill Expressway.

Parking: There are several parking garages within a convenient distance from the APS. The Bourse Garage is the closest facility, at 4th and Ranstead Streets. Additionally, there are garages at the Independence Visitor Center and the National Constitution Center.

Buses: Many bus companies in the Northeast serve the Philadelphia area including Bolt Bus, Mega Bus, and Greyhound. Bolt Bus and Mega Bus arrive at 30th Street Station, which is a short ride away from the APS. The Greyhound station is between 12th and 13th Streets, just behind the Jefferson Station SEPTA stop.

Public Transportation in Philadelphia: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the major public transportation provider in the Philadelphia region. SEPTA runs Regional Rail lines through the city to the outlying suburbs and the airport. The Market-Frankford Line stops every couple of streets in Center City and runs out to West Philadelphia, by the University of Pennsylvania. SEPTA also runs trolley lines and buses throughout the city. Schedules, maps, fares, and additional information about the public transit system in Philadelphia can be found on their website.