Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge
New York University
New York, USA

Eric Klinenberg is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality and several other books. His scholarly work has been published in journals including the American Sociological Review, Theory and Society, and Ethnography, and he has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The London Review of Books, and the radio program, This American Life.

President/CEO
Urban Libraries Council
Washington DC, USA

Susan has worked with libraries and local governments for over 30 years. Her professional career has been dedicated to assisting city and county executives initiate and manage change in their organizations so that citizens and businesses are receiving the strongest possible services. She comes to ULC from her position as Research, Development and Strategic Partners Executive at the International City/County Management Association.

Team Leader: Makerspace and Music Dept.
Espoo City Library: Sello
Espoo, Finland

Éva Kelemen is the team leader of the Makerspace and Music department at Sello Library in Espoo, Finland. As a children’s librarian, the main focus of her work used to be organizing booktalks and educational workshops for schools and kindergartens in coding, animation filmmaking, responsible use of media, information evaluation and information retrieval, etc. Nowadays she is focusing on developing new kinds of music services based on community music and pedagogy. As an enthusiastic
cello and ukulele player, she believes that the joy and inspiration of music belongs to everyone, regardless of their age, skills or social background.

Musician and Music Pedagogue
Espoo City Library
Espoo, Finland

Sakari Heikka is a musician and a music pedagogue working in Espoo City library, Espoo, Finland. He holds a BA in Music (Performance) from Sibelius Academy, Helsinki Finland. He has worked as a viola player in Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and he has worked as a musician in theatre productions and as a sound engineer at University of Helsinki. As a facilitator and developer of the music services at Sello library, he leads ukulele groups, drum jams, singalongs, and music workshops for kids. He sees daily in his work, how community music brings together people from all walks of life and from all cultural backgrounds, and he is committed to bringing music to as many as possible.

Business Unit Director
Lyngsoe Systems
Aars, Denmark

Henrik Kjeldgaard has since 2015 headed the global library business at Lyngsoe Systems, developers of Self-Service Equipment, Automated Material Handling (AMH/sorters) and the Intelligent Material Management System™ (IMMS). Henrik firmly believes that libraries embracing technological change will become even more valuable assets to the communities across the Globe. Lyngsoe Systems, headquartered in Denmark, is one of the world’s leading software developers and systems integrators of logistics solutions for a wide range of complex industries. Lyngsoe Systems has been designing, installing and maintaining control and track-and-trace systems for more than 40 years, and in 2009 acquired the library business from FKI Logistex.

Vice President International Sales
Innovative
Dublin, Ireland

Head of Library Network Services
Helsinki City Library
Helsinki, Finland

Virva has worked as the Head of Library Network Services in Helsinki City Library since 2009. Prior to that she has worked in BTJ Finland and Academic Bookstore and also in Hämeenlinna City Library. Developing the future library services together with technology, library customers and library staff members is absolutely fascinating. Finding solutions also by benchmarking organizations in a completely different field brings a particular special interest in work.

Executive Director
Gwinnett County Library
Gwinnett County, GA – USA

Charles Pace became Executive Director of the Gwinnett County Library on January 6, 2014. Prior to this he served as the Director of the St Louis County, MO and Fargo, ND. libraries. A native of Texas, he received his M.L.S. and B.A. at the University of North Texas. He served as a reference librarian at the Brooklyn and Dallas Public Libraries. After that, he served as branch manager at the Houston Public Library and then served in the same capacity at the Chicago Public Library. He was named by the Library Journal as one of 2006’s Movers & Shakers, a term which is described as “the people shaping the future of libraries.” (Supplement to Library Journal, March 15, 2006, Volume 131, No. 5.) In 2017 Pace was awarded the John Ilif Award for innovation in technology and service delivery by the Public Library Association. Also in 2017 and again in 2018 GCPL was recognized by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as a “Top Workplace” and by the Urban Libraries Council as a “Top Innovator” in the area of Customer Experience. Charles has also been a presenter at numerous conferences and other library events.

Director of Library and Adult Education Services
City of Tampere
Tampere, Finland

Director of library and adult education services in Tampere City, Finland. She has a long career in library field, as she has worked in library management both in the university library and public libraries altogether for almost 30 years. She has also worked as a lecturer at Oulu university teaching information studies. She is a member of IFLA Public Libraries Section Standing Committee (2nd term) and a member of several national library organizations. Her experience in both national and international library field is wide and she has given numerous international presentations.

Communications Coordinator
Tampere City Library
Tampere, Finland

Communications Coordinator at Tampere City Library. She has previously worked as a sub-editor in interior design magazine Avotakka and as a communications assistant at advertising and communications agency Villivisio.

Head of Kännukuke branch
Tallinn Central Library
Tallinn, Estonia

Kirsti Aarniste is a head of Kännukuke branch library of Tallinn Central Library. When started working in library 9 years ago she couldn’t imagine that this job can transform into something so interesting as it is today. Her everyday work includes activities with children: robotics classes, inventors club, Lego club and different programming workshops. She’s also teaching visitors to use 3D-printer, vinyl cutter, consulting about using computer and smart-phone.

Assistant Director
Belgrade City Library
Belgrade, Serbia

Marjan Marinkovic is a senior librarian who currently works as director assistant of the Belgrade City Library, the largest public library in Serbia. For more than 12 years, he has worked in the same library as cultural activities coordinator. He has a Masters degree in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory. He attended a two-year long INELI-Balkans Training Program for innovative librarians held by Future Library (supported by Global Libraries – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). He is particularly interested in the innovative library services, the role of library in the development of the community and cultural and educational activity of the library.

Deputy Director
Bremen Public Library
Bremen, Germany

Deputy director of Bremen public library since 2016. Previously I was director of the public library in Leverkusen and director of the public library in Eislingen, a medium-sized town in the south of Germany.

Associate in R&D Department
Zagreb City Libraries
Zagreb, Croatia

Maja Bodis joined Zagreb City Libraries in February 2010 as a reference librarian and was responsible for library patron assistance, conducting reference interviews and thematic research on various topics, as well as development and monitoring of weeding and deselection software module and policies. From December 2015 she is an associate in R&D Department of Zagreb City Libraries where her focus is library management, system development, various statistics, employee training and development of librarianship in general.

Deputy Director for Enrichment and Civic Engagement
Free Library of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, USA

Andrew Nurkin serves as the Deputy Director for Enrichment and Civic Engagement at the Free Library of Philadelphia. In this role he leads the Free Library’s programs in culture, humanities, and civic engagement across fifty-four locations. As a poet, organizer, and administrator, Andrew has worked for 15 years at the intersection of civic engagement and the arts. Previously he served as Executive Director of Princeton AlumniCorps and managed programs at Princeton University’s Pace Center for Civic Engagement. His poems have appeared in The Believer, Cimarron Review, North American Review, The Massachusetts Review, FIELD, Iron Horse Literary Review, and elsewhere.