Libraries and education are community endeavors, and often that community is state-, nation-, or world-wide. University of Illinois Library Faculty are key members of groups doing cooperative work that shapes local practice and the public good. The future of digital libraries, digital preservation, and outreach to Spanish-speaking populations are just some of the ways our faculty help libraries move into the future.
Librarian: Paula Kaufman, Professor and Mortenson Center for International Library Programs Librarian
Appointed Positions: Non-Voting Advisory Member, Digital Preservation Network Board; Member, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Advisory Board (appointed by Gov. Quinn); The Buros Center for Testing, National Advisory Council
Mission: The Digital Preservation Network (DPN) was formed to ensure that the complete scholarly record is preserved for future generations. DPN uses a federated approach to preservation. The higher education community has created many digital repositories to provide long-term preservation and access. By replicating multiple dark copies of these collections in diverse nodes, DPN protects against the risk of catastrophic loss due to technology, organizational or natural disasters. The Board’s role is to provide leadership, set strategic directions and activities (including business models, succession rights, and technical infrastructure issues), establish governance structures, and address other related issues.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Advisory Board recommends programs for implementation in support of the mission and goals of the Lincoln Presidential Library, such as seminars, symposia, or other conferences as may be necessary or advisable to the Lincoln Presidential Library and the Board of Trustees of the Historic Preservation Agency. As one of the few librarians on the Board, Paula Kaufman’s role is evolving to provide assistance to the ALPLM’s Executive Director and Library leadership as needed, in additional to her oversight role as a member of the Advisory Board.
The Buros Center for Testing is an independent organization within the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln that functions as the world’s premier test review center, as well as a provider of outreach efforts related to its mission to improve testing, assessment, and measurement practices through consultation and education, with special emphases in psychology and education. It comprises three complementary functions: test reviewing (published in print and electronically, psychometric consulting, and assessment literacy. The National Advisory Council’s role is to keep the Institute responsive to the varied needs of test users, test publishers, and the public. Their input assists the Buros Institute in meeting present responsibilities, creating new products and services, and planning for future roles and programs. At present, they are engaged in reviewing self-study documents preparatory to a regular program review.
Librarian: Lori S. Mestre, Professor and Head, Undergraduate Library
Appointed Position: REFORMA Board of Directors
Mission: REFORMA is the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. As a member of the Board of Directors, Lori Mestre contributes to the strategic planning and decision making of the organization.
Librarian: Sarah Shreeves, Associate Professor and IDEALS Coordinator and Scholarly Commons Co-Coordinator
Appointed Positions: Digital Library Federation Advisory Committee (selected by the CLIR Board); Open Repositories Steering Committee
Mission: The Digital Library Federation Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Program Director of DLF. We advise on short and long term strategic goals of the organization and provide guidance on resource allocations and growth. The committee is made up of three members from the CLIR Board, and five members from the DLF community who are initially nominated and voted on by the DLF community, and final selection is made by the CLIR Board. As a long time and active member of the DLF community, it’s a great honor and pleasure to serve in this capacity.
Open Repositories is the premier international conference (now in its ninth year!) on digital open source repositories (particularly Fedora, DSpace, Eprints, and Invenio), and brings together developers, repository managers, policy makers, researchers, and others. The Steering Committee selects hosts for the annual conference, works closely with the program and local committees in the planning process, and sets the long term goals for the conference.
Librarian: Thomas H. Teper, Associate Professor, Associate Dean of Libraries & Associate University Librarian for Collections and Technical Services
Appointed Position: ProQuest North American Advisory Board
Mission: Members of the panel advise ProQuest, a major provider of electronic resources to libraries, about issues ranging from the evaluation of existing products and new product development to broader strategic issues which affect the library / publishing sectors in the North American region.
