Roberta Stevens

Roberta A. Stevens is Special Assistant to the Associate Librarian for Library Services, Library of Congress; and is the Immediate Past President of the American Library Association. Stevens has worked in libraries for 36 years as a school library/media specialist, Chairperson of Media Services for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Director of Technical Operations for the Fairfax County Public Library system, and, most recently, as the Outreach Projects and Partnerships Officer and the Project Manager of the National Book Festival at the Library of Congress.

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 a commemorative stamp and coins, 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 has been on leave since August 2010 to serve as the 2010-2011 President of the American Library Association (ALA). Prior to her presidency, she managed the National Book Festival, which began in 2001 as a collaborative effort of the Library of Congress and then First Lady Laura Bush. The festival now includes President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as its honorary co-chairs. In addition to project management, Ms. Stevens has handled fundraising responsibilities for the Library of Congress.

Before her election as ALA President, Ms. Stevens served two terms on the ALA’s Council (its governing body) and a term as a member of ALA’s Executive Board.

Ms. Stevens was the first former Masters of Library and Information Studies graduate at the State University of New York at Buffalo to be invited as its 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.