Ken Varnum, 2015 Candidate for LITA Director-at-large

Ken VarnumStatement:

I am running for LITA Director-at-Large because I want our professional organization to grow while preserving the important elements that current members enjoy. LITA is most valuable to me when it provides opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking with colleagues, and career development. In talking with many of you at LITA Forums and online over the years, I have come to understand the need for more interactive and on-demand services from the organization. The current Board has taken solid steps toward regularizing the budget and setting new processes in place for the betterment of the organization. With nearly 20 years of library technology experience, commitment to the advancement of the organization, and most importantly, your support, I want to make LITA even more valuable to current members while expanding membership to those who feel LITA is not currently for them. 

Current Position:

Web Systems Manager, University of Michigan

Previous Positions:

IT Manager, Ginn Library, Tufts University, 2004-2007; Head of Web Development Group, Research Library & Information Services, Ford Motor Company, 2001-2004; Information Specialist, Research Library & Information Services, Ford Motor Company, 1997-2001

Degrees and Certificates:

University of Michigan, MILS, 1994; University of Michigan, MA Russian and East European Studies, 1994; Grinnell College, BA History & Russian Language, 1989

ALA and/or ALA-APA Activities:

LITA Forum Committee Chair, 2014 and Member, 2013-date

Publications

Kenneth J. Varnum: Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know, ALA Tech Source, 2014, Kenneth J. Varnum: Drupal in Libraries, ALA Tech Source, 2012; Chapman, Suzanne, Shevon Desai, Kat Hagedorn, Ken Varnum, Sonali Mishra, and Julie Piacentine. “Manually Classifying User Search Queries on an Academic Library Web Site.” Journal of Web Librarianship 7, no. 4 (November 2013).

Links to Further Information

http://www.varnum.org/