This editor profile is the twenty-second in a series which will introduce you to a selection of our editors.
This week we have an interview with Toni Carbo, Editor of International Information and Library Review

What aspect of being an editor do you find most rewarding?
Working with so many people from around the world and learning so much about different cultures, policies and research.

What advice would you give to a new editor?
Make sure you get the very best editorial board you can, preferably one with representatives from around the world, and find the very best reviewers. Also, never forget to tell your editors and your reviewers how much you appreciate what they do for the journal. Finally, always provide the best advice you can to authors.

How do you envision the role of the editor being different in year 2020?
We are still using a traditional scholarly approach, which has been in use for hundreds of years. We need to continue to tap into the power of technology to create new types of information resources and use multimedia to its full potential. We need to continue to rethink scholarly communication.

How do you balance your role as editor with your other roles?
We all work ridiculous hours every week but it does help that the roles interrelate and overlap.

What would you change about your role as editor or the scientific journal publishing industry if you could?
Having the reward system work better for the authors. We need better measures of the quality of publications which allow for the vast differences between disciplines and fields of study so that authors can be rewarded for publishing in high quality, niche journals, as well as the larger, better known ones.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut. However, in my second year in college I found out I couldn’t be an astronaut. You had to be a military pilot first to be an astronaut and at that time only men could become military pilots. Things have changed since. It was a big disappointment for me at the time. I took time off university and went to work with the American Mathematical Society and that’s how I ended up in this field of study. It was all a bit by accident, because I couldn’t become an astronaut. It’s been an interesting career.  

What’s new in the field of international information? How will this work impact our daily lives?
Social networking is changing the way we gather information and how we act on it. Social networking allows everyone to communicate with each other, across all sorts of barriers. It allows people to create information, to evaluate services, to connect with other people, to form communities, to collaborate on research and to find out about a vast array of topics, from high-risk pregnancy to collecting thimbles. It’s changing the way we function professionally and socially.

What is your favorite quote?
I have two I would like to share:

``No one is born a racist.’’ I think that’s an important one for us all to think about. Another reason why I took time off from college was because I was very heavily involved in the civil rights movement. Ever since high school I have dedicated myself to trying in whatever way I can to make the world more equitable and I have fought for human rights.

``Excellence can be obtained if you risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible.’’ That’s another one of my favorites. It’s about doing whatever you decide to do as well as you can. It’s one of the things I tell my students. I often tell them; don’t take the job you are perfectly qualified for, that’s the job you should have been doing 5 years ago, dare to dream and expect more than others think is possible. I normally let my students redo their first assignment a few times until they understand what my expectations are and so they have a chance to rise to those expectations. People rise and fall to expectations. Your expectations should be high enough to inspire people to do their best. When your expectations are too low, people become complacent.

What keeps you awake at night?
Often something related to class. I’ll wake up at night thinking ``why didn’t I raise this?’’ It’s normally things related to teaching better.

What is your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievements are my daughter and my grandson. In terms of my career, I love building organizations and teaching. I love helping students to learn. When I get an email or a letter from a student saying that I’ve made a difference, it makes me feel I have achieved something special.

What are you currently reading?  Would you recommend it?  If so, why?
I am currently doing a book review on The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics by Kenneth Himma and Herman Tavani. I hope that my review will entice you to read the book.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?
My parents! My parents lived through some very difficult times, through the Depression. Later in the 1950s, they lost everything financially after my father had a terrible accident and that was very hard. To see what they did for all of us in spite of so many huge challenges was the best inspiration.

What would you like your legacy to be?
A happy and healthy daughter and grandson. Seeing students go off and succeed in doing what makes them happy and gives them satisfaction. Have the world be more focused on human rights.

What do you like to do for fun?
I love being with my daughter and grandson. I am a big sports fan and enjoy watching hockey and American football. I also like to read a good mystery.