Opening Session & Joseph Leiter NLM/MLA Lecture

Join MLA President Shannon D. Jones, AHIP, FMLA, SLA President Seema Rampersad, and National Program Committee (NPC) Cochairs Kate Flewelling, AHIP, and Ryan Harris, AHIP, as they welcome you to MLA | SLA '23 in Detroit and virtually! Your introduction to the conference will be immediately followed by the Joseph Leiter NLM/MLA Lectureship.

The Joseph Leiter NLM/MLA Lectureship was established in 1983 to stimulate intellectual liaison between MLA and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Lectures are chosen for their ability to discuss subjects related to biomedical communications. The lecture is presented every other year at NLM and in alternating years at the association's annual conference.

The 2023 Lectureship speaker is Craig Robertson, speaking on his book The Filing Cabinet: A Vertical History of Information.

Craig Robertson is an associate professor of communication studies at Northeastern University. He has a PhD from the Institute of Communication Research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. An award-winning author, Robertson researches the history of information. He focuses on the relationship between paper and information, specifically how the recording, classification, and storage of information on paper affects not only who gets to handle and access information, but also how information is conceptualized as something people can use.

The Atlantic described his most recent book, The Filing Cabinet: A Vertical History of Information, as a “captivating history.” In addition to writing two monographs and editing two volumes of essays, Robertson’s research has been published and reviewed across a wide range of fields and disciplines including communication studies, design studies, library and information science, history, surveillance studies, immigration studies, and legal history/ policy. An internationally recognized scholar, Robertson has been interviewed by multiple media outlets including the New York Times, National Geographic, NPR, BBC, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

This session will be livestreamed for virtual attendees and available post conference on demand.

A book signing will follow the live session in Detroit; a limited number of books will be available for purchase.