Name: John G. Dove
Title: President
Organization: Credo Reference
Address: 201 South Street,
Boston, MA 02111
Phone: 617-426-3294
Fax: 617-426-3103
Email: dove@credoreference.com
Website: www.credoreference.com
Born and lived:
Oak Park, Illinois (through 18)
Oberlin, Ohio (through College)
New York City (through ’69 and Woodstock)
Boston, Mass ever since.
Early Life: Newspaper boy (10 years), Ranch hand (haystacker) 5 summers at Marys River Ranch in Deeth, Nevada.
Professional Career and Activities: All my career has been centered around online presentation of information and the enhancement of learning. I joined a start-up on Wall Street (Interactive Data Corporation) in 1968 that had 200 people and a super-computer focused on effective searching and presentation of financial information. In the early 90s I worked for the strategy company, Symmetrix, with teams that applied both technology and organizational principles to the challenges of creating learning organizations. In the late 90s I was President of Silverplatter, an experience that introduced me to both Bela Hatvany and the library world. Just before joining Credo Reference I worked at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in a program of executive education related to e-Government.
Family: 5th of 5 children. Mother: Library Researcher at Encyclopedia Britannica, Father: Biologist and Social Scientist.
Married for 37 years to Gloria, one of the best teachers of young people on the planet. Our two sons aged 28 and 33 are both teachers, fluent in a foreign language, athletic, musicians, avid readers and excellent cooks (and they have serious women in their lives who appreciate these things).
In My Spare Time: reading, running, motorcycle touring, and playing piano
Favorite Books: “Lila” and “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Pirsig; “The World’s of Reference” by Tom McArthur; “On Followership” by Robert Kelley; “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.
Pet Peeves: None. See below about “positive thinking”.
Philosophy: I’m a fundamental fallibalist (Karl Popper) meaning that I believe in questioning everything and then building on what works. But I try to be open to the possibility that I have it all wrong.
Most Memorable Career Achievement: Featured in a training film by the American Management Association as an example of a leader who exhibits “Positive Thinking”.
Goal I Hope to Achieve Five Years From Now: To see in full-fledged adoption the following virtuous cycle: reference content on the open web draws uninitiated new learners into libraries where they benefit from accessing the truly valuable resources that librarians assemble for their benefit and thereby give financial returns to those who produce such valuable resources.
How/Where Do I See the Industry in Five Years: The power of the expanding network on the web will build on the local and institutionally-specific knowledge and skills of librarians to enhance the online experience of the general population of life-long learners everywhere.
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