James Schmidt has been a university librarian and professor for over 35 years. Currently, Schmidt serves as a Professor at San Jose State University. He has held posts at Brown University, Ohio State University and has consulted with university and state library systems all across the country.

Since coming to San Jose State, Schmidt has served as the University's first Chief Information Officer. In this role, he works on an ongoing basis with a number of Silicon Valley companies on the development and implementation of the University's telecommunications infrastructure.

Schmidt has served on a number of state and federal committees on information technology including the California State University Commission on Learning Resources and Instructional Technology, California State University Council of Library Directors, the Networking Task Force for the State Library of California and the Network Advisory Committee on the Library of Congress. He has also served as an active member of a number of professional associations including the American Library Association, the Center for Research Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries.

Schmidt holds a bachelor's degree from Catholic University, a master's degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Florida State University. He has also done graduate study work in Political Science at the University of Texas and Ohio State University.