Michael Porter

Communications Manager at WebJunction.org

Michael is a librarian, blogger, technology fan and author who was named one of Library Journal's "Movers & Shakers" for 2009. He is an energetic speaker who has presented hundreds of times to library staff around the world.

Michael has nearly 20 years of experience working in 'libraryland' and is currently Communications Manager at WebJunction.org in Seattle, Washington. Before heading to his current position at WebJunction in 2006, Michael worked at OCLC Western (Ontario, CA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation US Library Program and the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, IN). He holds an MLS degree from Indiana University (’99). Michael’s professional focus is on practical technology, community, library futures, training and planning. He is currently working on a book about successful electronic communities for ALA Editions. Michael co-authors the “Internet Spotlight” column in each issue of Public Libraries Magazine and also regularly teaches the “Technology Planning and Management” workshop for PLA’s “Certified Public Library Administrator Program”. You can read more about Michael on his Libraryman blog: www.libraryman.com


Anne Zarinnia

Associate Professor and Chair, Educational Foundations department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Anne's academic research focuses on working with technology in libraries and school media centers in small, rural communities. She is interested in how technologies -- specifically social media -- change the information landscape and necessitate learning new technology skills. In 2009, Anne and her library science colleague, Dr. Eileen Schroeder, received a nearly $1 million grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to help school librarians become familiar with changing technology.

Anne teaches Reference, Cataloging, Virtual Libraries, Advanced Design, the Independent Learning System in Educational Media for pre-professional teachers, and looks for strategies to engage students with information. Anne came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar in geography in the sixties and subsequently earned a MLS and Ph.D. at UW Madison. For the last decade, she has directed the University of Wisconsin System School Library Education Consortium - a MAD idea, born in a snow storm and sustained through collegiality.

Link to presentation