Michael White is the librarian for research services in the Engineering and Science Library at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He is the subject specialist and departmental liaison for Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy. He is also responsible for providing research and information services to campus interdisciplinary research centres and PARTEQ, the university’s technology transfer office.

Before joining Queen’s in January 2005, Mike was a librarian at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Arlington, Virginia, where he provided support to the nationwide network of Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs). He served a one-year fellowship with the PTDL Program from 1997 to 1998. Mike has conducted numerous patent and trademark research seminars for librarians, inventors, attorneys and the general public. He also has taught continuing education courses on patent information at SLA annual conferences in 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007. He has given presentations on patent and trademark topics at state, provincial and national library conferences and meetings.

Earlier in his career, Mike was the engineering librarian at the University of Maine in Orono from 1995-1998. He was responsible for providing research and instruction services to the College of Engineering and Mathematics and Computer Science Departments in addition to coordinating the library’s Patent and Trademark Depository Library services. He has also worked as a science librarian at Loyola University Chicago from 1993 to 1995 and a library associate in the Engineering Library at the University of Michigan from 1991 to 1993.

Mike is interested in the history of patent information. His most recent publications include "US Alien Property Custodian Patent Documents: a Legacy Prior Art Collection from World War II" in World Patent Information. He also is the owner of the "Patent Librarian’s Notebook", a blog about the patent information and libraries.

Mike is an active member of SLA, having recently served a two-year term as the professional development chair for the Engineering Division. In 2004 he was elected to the board of association’s Washington, D.C. Chapter. He is also a member of the Chemistry, PAM and Science-Technology Divisions. Mike is also a member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and Patent Information Users Group (PIUG). He is currently serving a two-year term as director on the board of the Engineering Libraries Division of ASEE.

Mike received a BA, cum laude, in history and international relations from Boston University in 1989 and an MLIS from the University of Michigan in 1994. In his free time he enjoys hiking, camping and biking. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Kingston.