News & Events:   Events Calendar

Thomson ISI Annual Samuel Lazerow Lecture featuring Brewster Kahle

At its annual Thomson ISI Samuel Lazerow Lecture on October 9, 2007, the UW Information School will welcome Brewster Kahle, the "internet librarian."

Kahle will speak about the past, present and future of digital librarianship during his lecture, "Universal Access to All Human Knowledge."

The goal of universal access to our cultural heritage is within our grasp. With current digital technology we can build comprehensive collections, and with digital networks we can make these available to students and scholars all over the world. The current challenge is establishing the roles, rights, and responsibilities of our libraries and archives in providing public access to this information. With these roles defined, our institutions will help fulfill this epic opportunity of our digital age.

Brewster Kahle is a U.S. internet entrepreneur, activist and digital librarian. Kahle graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982 with an SB degree in Computer Science & Engineering. The emphasis of his studies was artificial intelligence; he studied under Marvin Minsky and W. Daniel Hillis.

Kahle was an early member of the Thinking Machines team, where he helped develop the WAIS system, a precursor to today’s internet search engines. He later started WAIS, Inc. (sold to AOL), the nonprofit Internet Archive, and the related for-profit Alexa Internet (sold to Amazon.com). He is currently Director of the Internet Archive. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a key supporter of the Open Content Alliance. His stated goal is "Universal Access to all Knowledge."

In 2005, Kahle was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Please take a moment to RSVP at www.ischool.washington.edu/rsvp/event/lazerow

About the Thomson ISI Samuel Lazerow Lecture Series
The distinguished Samuel Lazerow Lecture, an annual event, is sponsored by Thomson ISI’s Corporate Awards Program (www.isinet.com). The Lecture Series was established by ISI in 1983, to honor the memory of Samuel Lazerow, who was an outstanding librarian, administrator, and pioneer in library automation.