National Forum

August 6, 2018

The IMLS-funded Blockchain National Forum event was held in San Jose, CA on Monday, August 6, 2018. The format for this live-streamed event included panel presentations and discussions from notable experts in the information professions, business, government, and urban planning. They focused on suggested blockchain applications that might be employed by libraries and archives. The day’s proceedings were live-streamed and participants had the opportunity to submit questions and comments.

The goal of this forum sponsored the SJSU School of Information and a grant from IMLS was to discuss and make recommendations about the future uses of blockchain technology within the information professions. The results of the forum are the basis for a White Paper that will be submitted to IMLS and distributed to the information communities.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services – LG-98-17-0209-17. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

In preparation for the National Forum the participants prepared Executive Summaries on possible blockchain applications and considerations for the information professions.

National Forum Schedule

August 6, 2018

Topics: Urban Planning/Smart Cities; Enhanced Metadata; Standards; Legal Issues; Community-based Collections; Civic Data; Partnerships; Credentials; Provenance

9:00 – 9:55 Overview: Possibilities and Issues Panel Presentation and Discussion

Moderator: Miguel Figueroa

Panelists: Jason Griffey, Dan Blackaby, John Bracken, Bohyun Kim

10:00 – 10:55 Public Libraries: Panel Presentation and Discussion

Moderator: Annie Norman

Panelists: M. Ryan Hess, Chris Martin, Toby Greenwalt

10:55 – 11:15 Break

11:15 – 12:10 Academic Libraries: Panel Presentation and Discussion

Moderator: Frank Cervone

Panelists: MacKenzie Smith, Alexandra Lederman, Tim Thompson, Eli Edwards

12:15 – 1:15 Lunch

1:20 – 2:00 Partnerships: Panel Presentation and Discussion

Moderator: Andrew Pace

Panelists: Nader Afzalan, Todd Carpenter, May Chang, Alex Voto

2:05 – 2:50 Additional Applications of Blockchain Technology (Credentialing, Community-based Collections, Blockchain Education, Provenance, Civic Data, Archives/Record Keeping) Panel Presentation and Discussion

Moderator: Jason Griffey

Panelists: Amy Jiang, Link Swanson, Darra Hofman, Yao Zhang

2:50 – 3:10 Break

3:15 – 4:00 Round Table Discussions to Finalize Recommendations

4:00 – 5:00 Recommendations and Discussion

Moderator: Jason Griffey and Miguel Figueroa

National Forum Participants

Last Name

First Name

Institution

Afzalan

Nader

Urban Footprint/American Planning Association Technology Division Director

Alman

Sue

SJSU Faculty – Co-PI

Blackaby

Dan

Cornell University School of Law

Bracken

John

Executive Director Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

Carpenter

Todd

Executive Director National Information Standards Organization (NISO)

Cervone

Frank

Director of Information Technology, School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Chang

May

Library Chief Technology Officer, University of Cincinnati

Coward

Caroline

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Edwards

Eli

Emerging Technologies Research Librarian Santa Clara University School of Law

Figueroa

Miguel

Executive Director American Library Association Center for the Future of Libraries

Greenwalt

Toby

Director, Digital Strategy & Technology Integration Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Griffey

Jason

Fellow, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, Founder: Evenly Distributed

Hess

M Ryan

Palo Alto City Library, Library Services Manager for Digital Initiatives

Hirsh

Sandy

Director, SJSU School of Information and Co-PI

Hofman

Darra

University of British Columbia, JD, MSLS, current doctoral student focusing on blockchain with patient rights and archives

Jiang

Amy

University of La Verne, Associate Professor and Library Technology Coordinator

Kim

Bohyun

President, ALA LITA (Library Information Technology Association) and University of Rhode Island Chief Technology Officer and Associate Professor

Lederman

Alexandra

The New School, Digital Asset Manager

Martin

Chris

King County Library System PC Services Manager

Norman

Annie

Delaware State Librarian

Norton

Robert

CEO and Founder Verisart

Pace

Andrew

OCLC Executive Director, Technical Research

Smith

MacKenzie

UC Davis, University Librarian and Vice Provost of Digital Scholarship

Swanson

Link

University of Minnesota, Systems Engineer and Developer

Thompson

Timothy

Yale University, Discovery Metadata Librarian

Voto

Alex

ConsenSys, West Coast Regional Director

Zhang

Yao

Kent State University, Postdoctoral Research Scholar