Queens Lbirary has received numerous national awards for its innovative programs, including the first ever "National Award for Lbirary Service" from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in April 2000. The award highlighted the fact that staff "keep a close watch on neighborhood changes, suggesting ways the library's resources can fill emerging needs." The Library's achievements have been chronicled on the front page of the New York Times in May 1988 and again in March 2001 and the Washington Post in April 1998, as well as segments on CNN.

Strong will discuss the challenges facing libraries in relating to their community. Participants will leave the session with a plan for action for their own library.

For more information on Gary or to see copies of his speeches and presentations, go here:

http://www.queenslibrary.org/about/gstrong/index.asp

Gary Strong has served as the Director of the Queens Library since September 1994. The Queens Library is the largest circulating library system in the country, reaching a record circulation level of 17.2 million items and 16.9 million library visits in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000.

Mr. Strong's career spans more than 30 years as a librarian and library administrator, giving him a unique perspective on the ramifications of the Information Age. He can address many of the key issues reflecting the social challenges facing public institutions now and into the next millennium, including the role of the public library in the 21st Century; adult literacy; electronic equity for equal access to information; multiculturalism and cultural diversity in a pluralistic society; intellectual freedom, privacy and censorship; funding and fundraising for public institutions; and a host of subjects relating to the knowledge explosion.

Since coming to the Queens Library, he has won the Distinguished Service Award from the Chinese-American Librarians Association (1996) and has been named to the New York State Board of Regents Advisory Council for Libraries. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Library Agency (METRO) and was elected Vice President of that organization in October 1999. He also serves on the IFLA Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters, and the Board of the section of Services to People with Disabilities. He is Co-Chief Executive Officer of the IFLA Boston 2001 NOC and serves as the IFLA Representative to the United Nations. He is an active member of INTAMEL. He has initiated International Cooperation Agreements with the National Library of China and the Shanghai Library.

Before coming to Queens, he was the State Librarian of California, the top administrative post in the California State Library system, from 1980 to 1994. He was a founder and member of the Board of Directors of the California State Library Foundation and is now a Director Emeritus of that body.

While with the California Library, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the California Library Services Board; Chairperson of the California Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act Board; member of the California Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act Finance Committee; Executive Director and ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the California State Library Foundation; Chairperson of the Governor's State Literacy Collaborative Council; and member of the Family Impact Seminars Advisory Board. He started the California Literacy Campaign and the Families for Literacy Program as State Librarian.

Prior to that he spent four years with the Washington State Library system, as Deputy State Librarian (1979-1980) and Associate Director for Services (1976-1979). His career in library management has included positions as Director of the Everett (WA) Public Library, 1973-1976; Director of the Lake Oswego (OR) Public Library, 1967-1973; and Head Librarian of the Markeley Residence Library at the University of Michigan, 1966-1967. His earlier career as a librarian included service with the Latah County (ID) Free Library, 1966; and the University of Idaho Library, 1963-1966.

Among many forms of professional recognition in his career, Mr. Strong's honors include the Librarian of the Year award from the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners (1994); the John Cotton Dana award from the Library Administration and Management Association (1994); the Advancement of Literacy award from the Public Library Association (1994); and the Exceptional Achievement Award (1992) from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies.

Throughout his career, Mr. Strong has served on a number of leading policy panels, including the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Emerging Information Infrastructure of the National Research Council, (1998-1999), the Government Technology Conference Advisory Board (1993-1994), for which he received the [California] Governor's Award for Exceptional Achievement, and the White House Conference on Libraries (1992).

He has served as a consultant and advisor to the Library of Congress. He is a member of the American Library Association, the New York Library Association, the Library Administration and Management Association, and Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, among other professional organizations and affiliations.

Mr. Strong is the author/editor of numerous journal articles on library and literacy issues, and in 1988 won the won the H.W. Wilson Periodical Award for his work on the California State Library Foundation Bulletin, which he edited from 1982 to 1994. He authored the chapter "Queens Library: Global Reach to Serve Diverse Communities" in Libraries: Global Reach - Local Touch (published by the American Library Association, 1998); and wrote the articles "A Life in Literacy," American Libraries, December 1998, and "LinQing the World to Queens and Queens to the World," American Libraries, October 2000.

In 1984 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Michigan, from which he earned a Master of Library Science degree (AMLS) in 1967. He received a Bachelor's degree in Education (B.S. Ed.) from the University of Idaho in 1966.

He is active in various local organizations, including service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Borough of Queens; the Greater Jamaica Development Corp.; the Board of Directors of the Queens Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Flushing Cemetery Board.

A native of Moscow, ID, Mr. Strong, 56, now resides in Beechhurst, NY. He is married and has two adult children.