Instructor Details

Chief Librarian, Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Biography:

Sohair Wastawy received her BA, MA, and completed work towards her Ph.D. thesis in Linguistics at Cairo University, Egypt. She possesses a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, USA and a Doctorate degree in Library and Information Management from Simmons College, Massachusetts, USA.

Wastawy has been a practitioner in the information field since 1975 and practiced librarianship in a number of countries that include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the USA. She began her library career at Cairo University Library, taught librarianship in the first women's library program in Saudi Arabia and was the Dean of Libraries at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago from 1988 until 2004. Wastawy was appointed in 2004 as the first Chief Librarian for the new Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.

In addition to her leadership role and managerial responsibilities, Wastawy is often a consultant to the non-for-profit organizations, corporations, and accreditation commissions.

Sohair Wastawy has been the recipient of many excellence awards, a Peace Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship and has written and lectured extensively on library subjects.

Status: Confirmed