John Ober joins the Calif. Digital Library

[Roy Tennant]

John Ober Joins the California Digital Library
as the Assistant Director, Education and Communications

On May 11, 1998, John Ober will assume the post of Assistant Director,
Education and Communications, California Digital Library.  In his new role,
Dr. Ober will be responsible for managing CDL communication and education
programs.  Working closely with other members of the CDL management team,
he will develop programs that communicate the goals and objectives of the
CDL to faculty, students, and librarians throughout the University, as well
as to CDL partners in other educational institutions and in industry. Dr.
Ober will serve as a resource to librarians on the UC campuses for the
development of local educational and training programs, and will be a key
participant in the design of an effective user interface for access to CDL
collections and services.  In addition, he will make presentations about
CDL programs to various groups, as well as participate in national
discussions of issues relating to the training of users of digital content.

"In a cooperative endeavor such as the CDL, continuous communication with
the user community and user training are of paramount importance," says
Richard Lucier, University Librarian and Executive Director of the CDL.
"Dr. Ober will regularly evaluate the needs of the CDL community and the
effectiveness of our technological tools and systems in meeting those
needs."

Dr. Ober has broad experience and knowledge in librarianship, teaching, and
computer technology.  Most recently, he was the Development Librarian for
Electronic Resources for the Center for Science, Technology, and
Information Resources/Library Learning Complex, California State University
(CSU), Monterey Bay.  In this position, he coordinated the technological
infrastructure for the Library, as well as strategic planning and
development for the Library academic program, and the collection of
electronic primary sources.  Previously, he served as the Acting Director,
Library Systems, at UC Berkeley, where he was responsible for the
operational and strategic management of the UC Berkeley Library Systems
Office and acted as project manager for several digital library projects.
He was also a Network Resources Librarian at UC Berkeley.

As an Instructor at CSU Monterey and an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley,
Dr. Ober has taught courses on database management, networks and networked
information, and the management of information technology.  He has worked
with various faculty and university committees at both institutions, given
numerous presentations on digital resources, computer technology in
libraries, and user training, and has written several articles and book
chapters.

Dr. Ober received a B.A. in English/Philosophy from Bowling Green State
University, an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Houston, an
M.L.I.S. in Information Systems Management from UC Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in
Library and Information Systems Management, also from UC Berkeley.