Keynote Speakers

RASHIDAH BOLHASSAN, Ph.D

Permanent Secretary 
Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing,
Women, Family and Childhood Development Sarawak State

YBhg. Dr. Rashidah binti Bolhassan was appointed as a Board Member of Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) on 22 April 2020.She was the CEO Pustaka till Dec 2020. In Jan 2021, she commenced her appointedment as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development. She holds a PhD in Information Systems from Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Ohio, USA, Master in Library Science from Syracuse University, Syracuse NY, USA and a Bachelor of Library Studies from UiTM.

She started her career in 1986 at the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC). She has extensive experience in library administration and currently holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak State Library since 2003 to date. Dr. Rashidah has written more than 30 papers on various library issues. She also has an interest in environmental issues, biodiversity, women’s development and arts. Dr. Rashidah has been awarded the Gamma Beta, Sigma from the University of Ohio in 1997, the Excellent Service Medal of the State of Sarawak (1999), the IFLA / OCLC Fellowship (2001), the Officer of The Order Of The Star Of Hornbill Sarawak (2003), the Member of The Order of the Defender of the Realm (2008) and the Distinguished Service Medal. (Gold), Sarawak State PPC (2019).

BARBARA LISON

President-Elect of IFLA

Barbara Lison is President-Elect IFLA and Director of the Bremen Public Library in Bremen, Germany. In 1999, she was also appointed the CEO of the Public Enterprise Bremen Public Library.

Barbara has served as the President of Bibliothek Information Deutschland, the national umbrella organization of German library and information associations, and as President of the German Library Association, DBV. She has held many leadership positions in the European Bureau for Libraries, Archives and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), including Vice-President. – (View original source)

CASSIDY R. SUGIMOTO, Ph.D

Informatics Graduate Director
Professor of Informatics
Indiana University

Dr. Cassidy R. Sugimoto is Professor and Tom and Marie Patton School Chair in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research examines the formal and informal ways in which knowledge is produced, disseminated, consumed, and supported, with an emphasis on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Sugimoto was a professor of Informatics in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington from 2010-2021 and served as the Program Director for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy program at the National Science Foundation from 2018-2020. She has received the Indiana University Trustees Teaching award (2014), a national service award from the Association for Information Science and Technology (2009), and a Bicentennial Award for service from Indiana University (2020). She holds a bachelor’s in Music Performance, a master’s in Library Science, and a doctoral degree in Information and Library Science all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.