Roberta Stevens, MLS '74

Roberta Stevens, MLS, is the outreach projects and partnerships officer at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, and the project manager of the National Book Festival. She has had a 35-year career in a wide range of libraries. Previously, she was the resource center coordinator for the Genesee-Wyoming Board of Cooperative Services, she oversaw media services for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and was the director of technical operations for the Fairfax County Public Library.

For the past 24 years, Stevens has assumed a variety of responsibilities at the Library of Congress, including high-profile positions working with members of Congress and their staff, individuals at the highest levels of government, and top donors to the library. She managed the three-year Library of Congress Bicentennial Program, which included commemorative coins, a commemorative stamp, exhibitions, publications, symposia, concerts and the Gifts to the Nation program that resulted in $80 million raised for library collections, projects, and a scholarly center.

Most recently, Stevens has been the project manager for the National Book Festival, a collaborative effort of the Library of Congress and the Office of the First Lady, which began in 2001. Funded by donations, this complex enterprise annually features 70 popular and diverse authors and attracts an audience of 120,000. Over the festival’s eight years, 440 of America’s best known and most celebrated authors have participated in the event.

Stevens has served two terms on the ALA (American Library Association) Council, which is the governing body of ALA. She is currently on ALA’s Executive Board and has just completed her candidacy for ALA President. She was a member of ALA’s Committee on Legislation for six years and chaired its Privacy Subcommittee during the critical time following passage of the USA Patriot Act.