Rachel Vacek, 2013 Candidate for LITA Vice President/President-Elect

Statement:

Striving to improve the user experience is a primary tenet that guides my professional work. LITA’s most valuable assets are its members, and as President I will strive to apply that philosophy to current and potential new members. I want to move more continuing education opportunities, programming, and informational sessions to a virtual environment. One of my strengths is in bringing people together to work collaboratively towards a goal.  I will look for new opportunities for collaboration among divisions and committees, both within and outside of ALA, and strengthen existing relationships.  LITA is uniquely positioned to collaborate with others because technology is integrated in almost all aspects of libraries. I will work with all Board members to develop a financial strategic plan to ensure that LITA remains viable, meaningful, and relevant for years to come. 

Current Position:

Head of Web Services, University of Houston, Texas

Previous Positions:

Web Services Coordinator, University of Houston, October 2007-February 2010; Electronic Resources and Technology Librarian, Vanderbilt University, July 2004-September 2007; Electronic Information Services Librarian, Miami University, January 2002-June 2004

Degrees and Certificates: 

University of Pittsburgh, MLIS, 2001; University of Dayton, BA English, 1999

ALA and/or ALA-APA Activities:   

ALA Committee on Organization, Intern, 2009-2011; ALA Emerging Leaders Program Subcommittee, Member, 2009-2010; LITA Board, Director at Large, 2012-2015; LITA Membership Development Committee, Liaison, 2012-2013; LITA Technology and Access Committee, Liaison, 2012-2013; LITA Blogs, Wikis, & Social Software Interest Group, Chair, 2008-2011; LITA Drupal4Lib Interest Group, Member, 2009-2011; LITA Nomination Committee, Member, 2010; LITA Program Planning Committee, Member, 2005-2010; LITA Nation Forum Planning Committee, Member, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010; ACRL President’s Program Planning Committee, Member, 2010-2011.

Offices held in state and/or regional library associations, and other associations: 

Academic Library Association of Ohio, Member, 2002-2004; University of Pittsburgh Student Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, Chair, 2001.

Honors and Awards:   

University of Houston Libraries’ Dean’s Standard-bearer Award for External Service, 2010; University of Houston Libraries’ Outstanding Group Award, 2010; Accessibility Internet Rally Houston, 2nd Place, 2010; University of Houston Libraries’ Individual Trailblazer Award for Leading Organizational Change, 2009; University of Houston Libraries’ John P. McGovern Outstanding Employee Award, 2009; University of Houston Libraries’ Dean’s Standard-bearer Award for External Service, 2009; ALA Emerging Leader, 2007.

Major Accomplishments:

As a member of the LITA Board of Directors, I am familiar with LITA’s governance and have gained a deeper understanding for the need to keep LITA relevant and meaningful to its membership. I value strong programming as evidenced by years of participation on several planning committees with LITA and ACRL.  I continually strive to improve myself in the areas of management, leadership, and mentoring. I am proud to have participated in the 2007 ALA Emerging Leaders Program.  In 2011, at the University of Houston, I was accepted into a ten-week leadership program called Executive Excellence. I am a visible leader within the UH Libraries, having chaired the Strategic Directions and Bylaws Committees, and I served as Chair of the Librarians. I have received seven micro-grants within the UH Libraries varying up to $2000 each for projects and events. I am invited to present frequently on library and web technologies at local and national conferences. I endeavor to be welcoming and thoughtful, and hope to inspire change and expand horizons for everyone I engage.

Publications:

Watkins, Sean, Battles, Jason, and Vacek, Rachel. “Streamlining Data for Cross-Platform Web Delivery,” Journal of Web Librarianship (Taylor & Francis), Volume 7, Issue 1, 2013.; Vacek, Rachel, Keller, Derek, Morris, Christina, and Watkins, Sean. “Improving the Drupal User Experience,” The Code4Lib Journal, Issue 12, 2010.; Vacek, Rachel and Sharpe, Paul. “Intranet 2.0 from a Project Management Perspective,” Journal of Web Librarianship (Taylor & Francis), Special Issue on Intranets 2.0, Volume 4, Issue 2/3, 2010.

Links for further information: