Wendy Newman is an advocate for the transformative power of librarians and libraries in the communities they serve. She retired recently as Senior Fellow, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, after a long career in library administration. She has an extensive background in public, academic, and special librarianship as well as public policy advocacy on the local, provincial, and national fronts. After years as a volunteer trainer for CLA’s Library Advocacy Now! Program, she developed the first course in advocacy in an ALA-accredited program and adapted it to create the iSchool’s first MOOC, Library Advocacy Unshushed, which has had over 8,200 registrations.
She has written and spoken extensively on the future of libraries. A former President of the Canadian Library Association, Wendy Newman has been honoured with several awards, including the Ontario Public Library Association President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, CLA’s Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award, and the Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship from both CLA and ALA. She also holds a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for community service.