ACL is pleased to present two respected and influential members as keynote speakers this year. Nancy Olson and Greg Smith will emphasize two strategic areas of librarianship today: Christian librarians as effective leaders and influencers at their place of service and librarians “retooling” their approach to decision-making and outcomes evaluation in all areas of their libraries. Each presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

“Refreshing Your Philosophy of Servant Leadership as a Christian Librarian”

Associate Dean and Library Director, Jessie C. Eury Library

Lincoln Christian College and Seminary, Lincoln, Illinois

Those who know Nancy Olson will credit her with the ability to empower people to reach the next level of their professional lives and the ability to get things done. As a keynote speaker, Ms. Olson will address the essential elements needed to develop a philosophy of servant leadership as a Christian Librarian in a Christian setting. She will reflect on the vision, characteristics, influence, principles, and practices of a leader, distinctively as a Christian librarian. If you aspire to be an influential leader in your library, in ACL, or in another organization, this presentation will help you "Retool" or "Refresh" before you "Return."

Ms. Olson earned a Bachelor of Religious Education degree from Great Lakes Christian College, a Master of Science in Librarianship from Western Michigan University, and the Master of Divinity from Lincoln Christian Seminary. She joined Lincoln’s faculty in 1988 as Assistant Librarian, and was named Library Director in 1994 and an Associate Dean in 2007. Previously she had served as Library Director at Great Lakes Bible College. As a Seminary Faculty member she team-teaches the course Shaping the Mind of a Leader: Thinking Theologically as a Lifelong Learner every semester. Her involvement with ACL is lengthy and includes serving as presenter, conference planner, and board member. Following a four-year term as President, she served thirteen years as Executive Director of the Association of Christian Librarians from 1994-2007. She currently serves as secretary of the Foundation for the Advancement of Christian Libraries and ACL’s liaison to ABHE.

Because of a deep commitment to missions, she has worked on a short-term basis with missionaries in Japan, England, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Combining her library experience with her commitment to missions, she serves in the Library at TCM International in Austria. Her latest cross-cultural experience is team-teaching Research Methods, a course taught at TCMI to students from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She works with the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) by serving on their Commission of Accreditation for five years, participating on multiple evaluation teams, presenting workshops, chairing nominations, and coordinating their librarian track at their 2009 conference. In addition, she was a member of the Association of Christian Librarians committee that wrote Library Guidelines for ABHE Colleges and Universities. She is also a team evaluator for the Association of Theological Schools. During her tenure as Library Director, the Eury Library received a large state grant to digitize selected Stone-Campbell Movement hymnals from the mid 1800s. The Christian Standard Subject Index: 1967-1993 was compiled by the library staff and edited by Ms. Olson.

“Retooling the Profession: Librarianship in an Era of Accountability and Competition”

Associate Dean for Library Services & Institutional Research

Baptist Bible College, Springfield, Missouri

One of Greg Smith’s professional passions is using data to support decision-making. The old days of librarians using professional judgment are being superseded by an era of higher accountability, accompanied by numerous streams of data from automation systems, online databases, and other sources that can help librarians be more efficient and more effective in promoting learning at their campuses. Mr. Smith will explore various ways to “Retool” librarians’ approaches to dealing with everyday decisions and fine-tuning the assessment cycle for library operations and student learning.

Mr. Smith earned the Master of Arts (Information Science and Learning Technologies) from the University of Missouri and has completed additional study in education and communication studies at Liberty University. He currently serves as Associate Dean for Library Services & Institutional Research at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He began his library career as Director of the G.B. Vick Memorial Library at Baptist Bible College in 1995, and moved to Liberty University in Virginia in 2003, serving as Dean of the Integrated Learning Resource Center and then as Administrative Services Librarian until 2008, when he returned to BBC.

Since 1997, he has served ACL as an indexer, presenter, committee member, and Digital Content Manager. His research interests include Christian librarianship, religious and theological information, and scholarly communication. In addition, he has a passion for publication, including numerous periodical articles, an anthology entitled Christian Librarianship: Essays on the Integration of Faith and Profession, an online bibliography, and a blog, fides-q.