About
Roberta Stevens, ALA’s 2010-2011 President, is the Library of Congress Outreach Projects and Partnerships Officer and Project Manager of the National Book Festival. Her 36-year career in libraries includes positions as a school library/media specialist, Chairperson of Media Services for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Director of Technical Operations for the Fairfax County Public Library.
Ms. Stevens began her more than 25 years at the Library of Congress as the Customer Services Officer managing product development, marketing, customer support and accounting operations for its Cataloging Distribution Service. Since then she has held high-profile positions working with members of Congress and their staff, individuals at the highest levels of government and top donors to the Library. She managed the three-year Library of Congress Bicentennial Program, which included commemorative coins, a commemorative stamp, exhibitions, publications, symposia, concerts, a nationwide Local Legacies Project and the Gifts to the Nation program that resulted in $80 million raised for the Library’s collections, projects and a scholarly center.
Ms. Stevens, who will begin 11 months of leave on August 1 to serve
as ALA President full-time, was the Project Manager fo the National Book Festival for ten years. A collaborative
effort of the Library of Congress and
then First Lady Laura Bush, when it began in 2001, the festival now
includes President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as its
honorary co-chairs. Funded by donations, this complex enterprise
annually features more than 70 award-winning and popular authors and
attracts an audience of 130,000. Over its “decade of words and wonder,”
the National Book Festival has included more than 500 of America’s best
known, most celebrated and diverse authors. In addition, Ms. Stevens
has handled fundraising responsibilities for the Library of
Congress.
Ms. Stevens served two terms on the ALA Council and a term as a member of ALA’s Executive Board. She was a member of the Committee on Legislation for six years and chaired its Privacy Subcommittee.
Ms. Stevens was the first former graduate of the MLS program at Buffalo to be invited as the commencement speaker. She was named the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, where the MLS program is organizationally located, and received the 2009 Ainsworth Rand Spofford Presidential Award from the District of Columbia Library Association for contributions to the development or improvement of library and information services. Ms. Stevens has been given numerous special achievement and meritorious service awards during her career at the Library of Congress and recently received its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award.
