Aimee Fifarek, 2015 Candidate for LITA Vice-President/President-Elect

Aimee FifarekStatement:

My name is  Aimee Fifarek and I am the Deputy Library Director for IT and Digital Initiatives at Phoenix Public Library in Phoenix, AZ.  I am currently filling a 1-year Director At Large term on the LITA Board.  I've been involved with LITA since my first professional job at LSU Libraries in Baton Rouge, LA in the late 1990's.  Over the years LITA has provided me with extraordinary resources that have allowed me to excel throughout my career.  Like everything else in our profession today, LITA is entering a time of great change.  In a time of decreasing membership and increasing difficulty of finding professional development funds, LITA's challenge to figure out how to continue delivering extraordinary value to our members while knowing that they are  less likely to be able to travel to conferences to reap the benefits.  If elected as LITA Vice President I will work with the rest of the LITA Board to prepare our organization to meet these and other challenges.

Current Position:

Deputy Library Director, Customer Support Services, IT and Digital Initiatives, Phoenix Public Library

Previous Positions:

Library Technologies and Content Senior Manager, Scottsdale Public Library, 2009-2013; Library Technology Supervisor, Scottsdale Public Library, 2003-2009; Systems Librarian, Louisiana State University Libraries, 1997-2003

Degrees and Certificates:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MLIS, 1997; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MA English, 1997; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, BA English, 1991.

ALA and/or ALA-APA Activities:

LITA Board Director at Large, 2014-2015; ALA Advocacy Coordinating Committee, LITA Liaison, 2010-Present; LITA Library Hi-Tech Award Committee Chair & Past Chair,2009-2011; LITA Bylaws Committee, Member, 2009-2012; Freedom to Read Foundation, LITA Liaison, 2006-2008; ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, LITA Liaison, 2005-2006; LITA Technology and Access Committee, Chair, 2004-2006; LITA Technology and Access Committee, Member, 2002-2004; IFRT Publications Committee, 1998-2002

Honors and Awards:

2012 Scottsdale City Managers Award of Excellence, Plan and Innovate for the Future; Arizona Library Association's 2006 Outstanding Service Award

Major Accomplishments:

Top Technology Trends Panelist, ALA Annual 2013; Contributing Editor for Public Libraries, Library Hi-Tech News, 2006-2007

Publications

"Thriving in the New Normal: Strategies for Managing the Scarcity Mindset," Library Leadership and Management (LLAMA), Vol 29, No1, 2014; "Blazing the Tech Trail: Tips for Implementing New Technologies in a Risk-Adverse Environment," Library Hi Tech News, Vol 24, No 1, 2007; "Technology and Privacy in the Academic Library," Online Information Review (Emerald Publishing), Volume 26, No 6, 2002

Links to Further Information

http://www.linkedin.com/in/aimeefifarek
Twitter: @aimeelee
http://afifarek.wordpress.com/