Opening Keyote Address: Al Gore

By Chris Zammarelli, The Brookings Institution

Former Vice President Al Gore discussed the roles of librarians in the information age and in influencing information policy during the opening keynote speech of the SLA Annual Conference on June 3, 2007.

After beginning with some anecdotes about his experiences just after the 2000 election, Gore discussed how the information age has redefined the work librarians do.  He noted that there is a misconception that the role of librarians has been "diminished" by search engines.  "Libraries are making headway in the challenge of telling people what librarians contribute in the information age," he said.

However, situations such as the EPA library closings show how pervasive such a misconception is.  He praised the EPA librarians and offered support in their battle over the closures.  "God bless you for hanging in there," he said, adding, "The rebellion lives.  Where you least expect it.  Actually, where I would most expect it."