About the presenter:

Michael Gorman is Dean of Library Services at the Henry Madden Library, California State University, Fresno. From 1977 to 1988 he worked at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Library as, successively, Director of Technical Services, Director of General Services, and Acting University Librarian. From 1966 to 1977 he was, successively, Head of Cataloguing at the British national bibliography, a member of the British Library Planning Secretariat, and Head of the Office of Bibliographic Standards in the British Library. He has taught at library schools in his native Britain and in the United States--most recently as Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Library and Information Science (summer sessions).

He is the first editor of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition (1978) and of the revision of that work (1988). He is the author of The Concise AACR2 (1989); editor of, and contributor to, Technical Services Today and Tomorrow, 2nd edition (1998); and editor of Convergence (proceedings of 2nd National LITA Conference), and Californien, both published in 1991. Future Libraries: Dreams, Madness, and Reality, co-written with Walt Crawford, was honored with the 1997 Blackwell's Scholarship Award. His most recent book, published by ALA in 1997, is titled Our Singular Strengths: Meditations for Librarians. Mr. Gorman is the author of more than 100 articles in professional and scholarly journals. He has contributed chapters to a number of books and is the author or editor of other books and monographs. He has given numerous presentations at international, national, and state conferences.

Michael Gorman is a fellow of the [British] Library Association, the 1979 recipient of the Margaret Mann Citation, the 1992 recipient of the Melvil Dewey Medal, and the 1997 recipient of Blackwell's Scholarship Award.

Summary: This keynote address recounts the many important accomplishments and advancements in cataloguing theory and practice which have occurred between 1900 and 1999, and provides a backdrop for the papers and discussions which follow. The address also serves as an upbeat reminder of all the progress that has been made and, we hope, will inspire conference participants to tackle the challenges of networked resources and the Web with enthusiasm and resolve.