PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
C&RL News, June 2009
Vol. 70, No. 6
William Baker, who holds a joint appointment with University Libraries and the Department of English at Northern Illinois University, has been named one of three 2009 Board of Trustees Professors.
Jim Cheng, head librarian at University of California (UC)-San Diego’s International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) Library, has received a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research to complete his book on Taiwan film studies. The book, An Annotated Bibliography for Taiwan Film Studies, is a sequel to his previous book, An Annotated Bibliography for Chinese Film Studies. His research will be conducted at the Chinese Taipei Film Archive Library, the National Central Library, and the National Taiwan University Library for three months starting in fall 2009. Cheng, who is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program, is an authority on Asian film and has built an unparalleled collection of East Asian films at UC-San Diego’s IR/PS Library. Last year, Cheng was recognized by Library Journal as a “Mover and Shaker” in the library world for his innovative work in building the UCSD Libraries’ Asian film collection, as well as a film festival and symposium series.
Susan R. Gilmont, assistant to the librarian at Oregon State University Libraries, received the 2009 Oregon Library Association Employee of the Year award.
Randy J. Olsen, university librarian for the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, has won the first BioOne/SPARC Howard Goldstein Award to Advance Scholarly Communication.
Sara Piasecki, head of historical collections and archives at Oregon Health and Science University Library (OHSU), was recognized with a 2009 Best Archives on the Web Award in the category of Best Institutional Blog for Historical Notes from OHSU (ohsu-hca.blogspot.com/).
Appointments
Susan Brynteson has been named vice provost and May Morris director of libraries at the University of Delaware Library. Brynteson served as president of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services and was on the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She was chair of both the ALA Publishing Committee and the ALA Legislative Committee and served for six years on the ALA Council. She has been active in various capacities in the Association of Research Libraries and is presently a member of its Special Collections Working Group.
Sherre Harrington is now director of Memorial Library at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. She had served as college librarian Amherst College since 2004. In addition to her service at Amherst, Harrington’s extensive resume also includes 17 years at Vanderbilt University, where she most recently held the title of director of the Stevenson Science and Engineering Library. She also served as acting director of the Anne Potter Wilson Music Library, assistant director for public services at Central Library and Stevenson Library, and bibliographic instruction coordinator at Central Library. Harrington chairs ALA’s Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Feminist Task Force.
Pamela Jones has been named library director at Medaille College. She began at Medaille as library systems coordinator in 2006, having worked previously as a librarian at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, the Eastman School of Music, and the University at Buffalo. Jones is active in the Western New York Library Resources Council and serves as managing editor of the Journal of Library Innovation. Her research interests include workflow redesign, technology management, strategic planning, and organizational management using Web 2.0 services.
Paula T. Kaufman, university librarian and dean of libraries for the University of Illinois, has been named the inaugural Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson dean of libraries. Kaufman joined the University Library in 1999 after serving in key library positions at the University of Tennessee and Columbia University. She has four decades of experience as a librarian and has written and made presentations on a number of issues pertaining to scholarly information, privacy, copyright, research libraries, recruitment, and leadership.
John B. Weaver has been appointed director of the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, effective August 1, 2009. Weaver has served as head of public services at Emory University’s Pitts Theology Library since 2005. He previously held the position of reference librarian at Pitts Theology Library. As an ordained minister, theological librarian, and biblical scholar, Weaver has written and taught extensively on religious literature and theological practices, including the act of reading and the use of technology in scholarship and ministry.
Lori Ostapowicz Critz has accepted the position of head of reference and research services at Old Dominion University Libraries effective July 10, 2009.
Melissa Gasparotto has been appointed area studies librarian at the Rutgers University Libraries in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Martin Knott has assumed new responsibilities as head of the electronic resources and database management section in the University of Michigan Library’s Technical Services Division.
Haipeng Li has been appointed associate director of the John Cotton Dana Library, on Rutgers University’s campus in Newark, New Jersey.
Julia Lovett is now special projects librarian in Library Information Technology at the University of Michigan.
Jessica Mirasol has been named librarian archivist for music collections at the University Libraries of Old Dominion University.
Valeria E. Molteni is now academic liaison librarian at San Jose State University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
Caroline Norton has joined the Technical Services Department as the head of technical services and manager of procurement at the University of Northern Colorado’s James A. Michener Library in Greeley, Colorado.
Gene Springs has been appointed business information services librarian at Rutgers University Libraries in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Scott Stevens is the new director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library.
Jay Trask has joined the Archival Services Department as head of archival services at the University of Northern Colorado’s James A. Michener Library in Greeley, Colorado.
Jeremy York is now special projects librarian in Library Information Technology at the University of Michigan.
Retirements
Kathy Arsenault has retired as dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg.
Patricia Yocum has retired from the University of Michigan Library. Yocum began her career at the University of Michigan in September 1977 as head of the natural science at the Museums and Biological Station Libraries. During the 31 years that followed, she took on increasingly responsible positions, including coordinator of collections for the Basic Science and Engineering Libraries, directing the efforts of Instructor College, and spearheading the creation of UC170. She served on numerous library committees and contributed service to the University of Michigan as secretary of the Senate Assembly and the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, and as a member of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics. She is recognized as a leader on a national and international level in science librarianship and for her work in developing educational programs and services to academic library user.
Deaths
Beulah C. Howison, 99, former reference librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, has died. Howison was an early leader in developing Simulated Literature Searching (multimedia) during the 1970s, and she published results in the Drexel Library Bulletin.
Ed. note: To ensure that your personnel news is considered for publication, write to Ann-Christe Galloway, production editor, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: agalloway@ala.org; fax: (312) 280-2520.