About Martin Halbert

I have a varied background that bridges several communities. I consider this a strength that I can bring to any new roles and responsibilities that I take on. I think that it is critical to have a broad perspective on social issues and organizational challenges in this time when so many efforts are walled up in institutional silos. The intellectual linkages that connect us all are both the greatest hope we have of survival and the richest aspect of our personal identies.

Like anyone, I have many identities that inform my sense of who I am. I am a librarian, a father, a technologist, a husband, a writer, a son, someone with an interest in philosophy, an academic administrator, a student, a white-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant-male, hetero, a fan of science fiction, a once-upon-a-time programmer, a Rice University grad, a citizen of the United States, and a whole lot of other things all at once. I agree with Heinlein; specialization is for insects.

Professionally, I have since 1996 held the position of Director for Library Systems at Emory University, as well as on-and-off committee appointments in external organizations like the Digital Library Federation and the National Science Digital Library. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in a number of digital library projects over time.

Academically, I am currently finishing a doctoral dissertation at Emory University on the topic of how libraries and the system of scholarly communication have changed because of technological innovations like the Web. I am working on this doctorate in the Emory Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts (ILA), an unusual program that requires that you identify a research area that is inherently interdisciplinary and can only be studied through a combination of academic approaches. I developed my research project informed by several perspectives. The first was my undergraduate education at Rice University in philosophy, which gave me profound appreciation for the ongoing dialogue of scholars through history. The second was my graduate program in library science at the University of Texas at Austin. This theoretical background helped to shape both my career and my interest in the dynamics of the information production cycle within the publishing and media industries, and the effect of these dynamics on academia and society. My third perspective has been my professional experience as a librarian and information technology professional. My fourth perspective is the work I've done in interdisciplinary studies in the Emory ILA on media and society.

I’ve worked in many positions which required me to act as a mediator between different groups. I undertook a fellowship sponsored by the United States Information Agency to provide leadership in automating the national university library of the former Soviet Republic of Estonia in 1994. When I worked at Rice University from 1988 to 1996, I held a joint appointment with both the library and campus computing center. At Emory I’ve served on several campus committees representing the library to the rest of the university.

I have kids, and they are both the most important accomplishment of my life as well as a constant education to me. Family is a huge part of our lives, and I really appreciate both my immediate and extended family.

If I had to identify my single most important value, I would lay it on a complex concept: a sense of wonder. Wonder is the awe we experience in the presence of incredible things and amazing events. Wonder is the humility we feel when we encounter that which is far greater than us. Wonder is the thrill we feel when we come face-to-face with the unexpected. Wonder is a deep sense of linkage with others that provides us with insight into the patterns that connect us all. I hope that we can all maximize the sense of wonder we feel in life, because it renews us and ultimately can show us how our individual experiences are part of a coherent whole.