Director of Open Libraries
Internet Archive
I am Chris Freeland, Director of Open Libraries at the Internet Archive, working in support of the organization's mission to provide "Universal access to all knowledge." Before joining the Internet Archive, I was an Associate University Librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, managing Washington University Libraries’ digital initiatives and related services. I have an M.S. in Biological Sciences from Eastern Illinois University and am currently pursuing an Master's of Library and Information Science at University of Missouri-Columbia. I love to explore the intersections of science and technology in a cultural heritage context, having published and presented on a variety of topics relating to the use of new media and emerging technologies in a library and museum setting. While working previously at Missouri Botanical Garden, I founded and led the Center for Biodiversity Informatics and served as the Founding Technical Director of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), an international consortium of the world’s leading natural history libraries that are working together to digitize their historic collections for free and open access use. I have been a project manager for several large informatics and academic computing projects, including the development of the Tropicos botanical information system and the BHL. In addition to my busy academic life, I enjoy making and selling soap for South Compton Soap Company, the small business I run with my husband, who is also named Chris.
Monday, June 25
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM