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Karen Coyle is a librarian with nearly 30
years experience in digital libraries. She
worked for over 20 years at the University
of California in the California Digital
Library, primarily on the development of
the online access system used by libraries
on the nine UC campuses. She is a
recognized expert in technical issues,
such as metadata and information
retrieval, as well as social, political,
and policy issues.

While active in developing computer
systems for libraries, she is outspoken
about the effects, both negative and
positive, electronic information is having
on the social role of libraries. She
speaks and writes on the effect of
computer culture on privacy, intellectual
property, social equality and gender
image. She is a frequent speaker at
conferences and meetings and has been
quoted or interviewed in a variety of
media. She has published numerous articles
on practical and policy questions relating
to the "new information order." Her book,

Coyle's Information Highway Handbook,
published by the American Library
Association in 1997, describes the effect
on libraries of new developments in the
areas of privacy, public access,
copyright, and information access.