Masud Khokhar will be speaking at Carnegie Mellon University as part of the Gloriana St. Clair Distinguished Lecture in 21st Century Librarianship, named in honor of the CMU dean of libraries emerita. Gloriana St. Clair led the transformation of Carnegie Mellon Libraries into the 21st century, supporting and serving both CMU students and our research community.

Masud Khokhar is the Chief Digital and Information Officer at the University of Leeds.

About the lecture: In an era defined by geopolitical tensions, rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence, and an urgent global imperative to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, libraries find themselves at a pivotal moment. As traditional repositories of information evolve into dynamic catalysts for change, the role of Knowledge Stewardship has never been more critical. Libraries are ideally placed to reclaim authority over the full life cycle of knowledge, from its generation and curation to its long-term preservation, and embrace a proactive, innovation-driven mindset. This renewed vision requires a bold shift: a commitment to creativity, capacity-building, and a culture of positive disruption. Libraries must embrace a more active role in the knowledge ecosystem – developing skills, infrastructure, and approaches to influence the knowledge agenda locally and globally. This talk calls on libraries and information professionals to move beyond custodianship and toward leadership, ensuring that knowledge remains a tool for equity, justice, and sustainable future.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend.