Joseph Lucia, keynote speaker for LHU's 4th annual Celebration of Scholarship

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The keynote speaker for Lock Haven University’s April 21 Celebration of Scholarship will be Mr. Joseph Lucia, university librarian and director of Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University. The keynote speech is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Price Auditorium. All COS events, including the keynote speech, are free and open to the public.

Lucia will speak about the changing nature of publications and how libraries and institutions have changed as a result. As more and more information has become available in digital form, libraries and classrooms are undergoing a dramatic transformation.

Lucia’s topic is especially relevant to the Lock Haven University campus. In the fall semester, faculty, students and staff at Lock Haven University engaged in lively debate on the relative merits of traditional books vs. electronic formats, and on proposed changes to the university library. In addition, LHU’s requirement that all students have laptop computers has led to dramatic changes in teaching and learning.

Cori Myers, assistant professor of management, is spearheading this year’s Celebration of Scholarship. She stated, “Intellectual inquiry and the scholarship generated by it serves as a vital foundation for the academy and the building blocks for a community of learning. I highly anticipate Joseph Lucia’s keynote address as he discusses issues about how the digital age may transform the storage and retrieval of scholarly work.”

Lucia’s combined backgrounds in strategic planning for libraries, library systems, library technology planning, the management of library technical services, and literary studies and creative writing provide him with a rich technical and cultural perspective on the trends and forces reshaping the mission and character of academic libraries.

Myers noted that “Mr. Lucia’s talk holds particular relevance to Lock Haven University faculty and students as we consider strategic changes on this campus.”

The Celebration of Scholarship, now in its 4th year, is a day-long, campus-wide opportunity to showcase the achievements of faculty and students through presentations demonstrations, performances, recitals and exhibits. Nearly 100 faculty and over 700 students participated in the 2009 Celebration of Scholarship, sharing their research and achievements in all disciplines and fields of endeavor. A highlight of the day is the keynote speech.

Joseph Lucia is a founding member of the Lyrasis Board of Trustees, where he currently serves as President. Prior to assuming his post at Villanova in 2002, Lucia served as Director for Library Technology & Access Services within the Information Resources organization at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Lucia holds an MLS from Syracuse University, an MA in English from the University of Toronto, and a BA from McGill University in Montreal. He is a frequent speaker at library professional association meetings and conferences on the forces affecting the evolution of libraries in all their forms and on the future of library technology infrastructure.