Carol M. Tobin is new RUSA president

Contact: Cathleen Bourdon


312-280-4395

ALA News Release


For Immediate Release


October 2001

Carol M. Tobin is new RUSA president

Carol M. Tobin, head of the reference department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is the new president of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). She assumed office in July.

"I want to focus on the role RUSA can play in developing a vision for the future of reference and user services," Tobin stated. "So much is changing in the way we provide service, but our core values of quality and service are the same. RUSA is the logical place to help practitioners plan for the future."

Tobin has served as the head of the reference department at the University of South Carolina, a reference librarian at Princeton University and as assistant reference librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has served as adjunct professor at the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel hill, twice teaching the reference course.

An active RUSA and ALA member, Tobin has served as the chair of the Machine Assisted Reference Section (MARS), the MARS Direct Patron Access to Computer Based Reference Systems and the MARS Planning Committee. She has served as a member of the RUSA Board of Directors, the Access to Information Committee and the Reference Sources Committee. Tobin also has served on conference program planning committees within sections of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).

Tobin contributed to "Innovative Web-Based Reference Services: A Selected List," and wrote "The Book that Built Gale Research: The Encyclopedia of Associations," published in Distinguished Classics of Reference Publishing. She has made numerous presentations on the future of reference services.

Tobin is a member of Beta Phi Mu and received Certificates of Appreciation from the Women's Studies Program at Princeton University and the Machine Assisted Reference Section of RUSA.

She has a bachelor's degree in history from Trinity College, a master's degree in history from Duke University and a master's degree in library science from the University of Chicago.

RUSA is devoted to supporting the delivery of reference/information services to all groups and of general library services to adults. Its 5,000 members represent all types of libraries.