Alex Holzman Profile
Alex Holzman Profi le
Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation
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Article 26
Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg
Interview — Yoav Lorch
from page 45
do you enjoy? And of course, we’d love to
know what books you are reading.
YL: I have a built-in trust in the generosity
of destiny. An engrained belief that things will
turn out alright no matter what. Even when I
have reason to challenge this belief, I can’t
really shake it off. I don’t know who to thank
for this trait, but I guess it’s here to stay. And
when you add to this the full conviction that
what we are doing is both viable and good, that
the books of the world and the people of the
world desperately need a better platform for
finding and engaging each other, it’s a very
potent energy source.
There is no shortage of hardships on this
way. As you can imagine libraries are not
quick to embrace newcomers, especially those
branded “vendors.” On the other hand we often
receive such warm and heartfelt thanks from
patrons and librarians, that it quickly balances
the suspicious glances we get elsewhere.
I love the sea and my sea-kayak, and I go
out in almost all weather, day and night. It’s
a dance with the wind and the waves, and
has on the mind the effect of reformatting the
hard disk. When I’m back on shore there’s a
bit more order in my mind, and the priorities,
both practical and philosophical, are more
correctly placed.
I read mostly literary fiction, both new and
old, but I can get easily immersed in more or
less anything. In fact, Total Boox has greatly
increased the subjects and types of books
I’ve dabbled in, and recently I read some
military history, and an extremely effective
diet book.
against the grain
people profile
n BORn & LIvEd: Born in New York City. Have lived in NYC; Bergenfield, NJ; New Brunswick,
a NJ; Berkeley, CA; Columbus, OH; Brooklyn, NY; Philadelphia, PA.
EARLy LIFE: Fun. 5.5 people (an interesting story) in a two-bedroom, rent-controlled NYC
mapartment, with the life-changing American museum of natural history and hayden
z
l planetarium and Central Park only a block away. Followed by a whole house (!) and lots
o of woods and fields to roam in NJ.
pROFESSIOnAL CAREER And ACtIvItIES: College textbook sales rep/manager,
abHstracter/indexer, acquiring editor, electronic publishing manager, consortia sales manager,
x university press director, freelance baseball writer, journal editor.
e FAmILy: Lots of fun and lots of love.
l
In my Sp ARE tImE: What’s that? But non-professional activities include bicycles,
Arunning, walking, traveling, and learning sabrmetrics.
FAvORItE BOOKS: Biographies and baseball books and novels and creative nonfiction.
The Essays of E.B.White is the book I re-read and re-read and re-read.
pEt pEEvES: So much to do; so little time!
phILOSOphy: 1) I’d rather be lucky than good. 2) Luck is the residue of design. 3)
Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.
mOSt mEmORABLE CAREER AChIEvEmEnt: Publishing so many important books
written by such great authors.
gOAL I hOpE tO AChIEvE FIvE yEARS FROm nOw: Taking my great nieces to their
first baseball game; continuing to contribute in various ways to improving the scholarly
communications ecosystem, especially its sustainability.
hOw/whERE dO I SEE thE InduStR y In FIvE yEARS: I’ll assume this means
university presses. I worry that some may cease to exist because of the changing structure
of scholarly communication, but I hope those that persist will be using multiple business
models to thrive in their niches. I don’t presume to know what models; the excitement
will be in seeing and perhaps helping them to develop!
NEW: Charleston
Conference to Reward
Creative Ideas!
Iceived panels about startups, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
n 2015, the Charleston Conference presented several
well-re
For 2016, the Conference will seek to expand on those themes
and that spirit by actively encouraging creative solutions in
academic libraries. In an exciting new and experimental session called
CHARLESTON FAST PITCH, 3-5 applicants, thoughtfully
pre-selected from among all those who respond to a CALL (soon
to be issued), will “pitch” their ideas to the entire audience and a
select group of judges. TWO proposals will be awarded, one by the
judges and one from audience votes. This Call will be open to all
who have interesting, useful, and implementable ideas for change
and improvement in their own workplaces and seek a community
“vote of confidence” plus a small financial award ($2500 each) to
seed their proposals. Immense thanks to Steve Goodall and the
Goodall Family Foundation for funding the 2016 prizes in this
new Charleston Conference Feature. For further information,
contact Ann Okerson <> or Katina Strauch
<>.
Rumors
from page 38
optimize legal research, drafting and review processes. By layering
Lexis Search Advantage capabilities on top of their BA Insight
knowledge management systems, (...truncated)