Leading Librarians: Highlighting Elected Service by Illinois Library Faculty

University of Illinois Library faculty shape the profession not only through their research but through their service to state, national, and international organizations. This service includes elected offices that reveal the high regard other library and information science professionals have for the work of our librarians.

Here are just some of the Illinois librarians trusted by their colleagues to lead the profession forward. Each has provided a brief description of their organization’s mission and their role within it.

Name and job title at the University of Illinois Library: Karen Hogenboom, Numeric and Spatial Data Librarian

Elected position and organization: Chair, Publications Committee, ALA Government Documents Round Table (GODORT)

Start and end date of appointment: Incoming Chair, 2012-2013; Chair, 2013-1014

Duties of the elected position in the context of the organization’s mission:

The Publications Committee of GODORT is responsible for selecting editors for and overseeing the Round Table’s journal; overseeing the occasional papers series and the Notable Documents panel that selects documents for promotion in Library Journal, the Round Table’s web presence and wiki; reviewing and approving publications that are published or co-published by GODORT; and helping GODORT authors to navigate their publication options.  The rallying cry of GODORT is “Documents to the People!”  The Publications Committee plays a crucial role in this mission by creating places where specialists can create awareness of government information and government information librarianship.

 

Name and job title at the University of Illinois Library: JoAnn Jacoby, Head, Reference, Research and Scholarly Services

Elected position and organization: Chair, Library Research Roundtable, American Library Association

Start and end date of appointment: July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Duties of the elected position in the context of the organization’s mission:

The Library Research Roundtable‘s mission is to contribute toward the extension and improvement of library research and provide public program opportunities for librarians of all types to share and discuss their research findings. My responsibilities of the LRRT Chair have included providing leadership for the LRRT Steering Committee, chairing the proposal selection committee for the LRRT Research Forums at ALA Annual, and helping to revive the LRRT Research Mentorship program. This year, I have also had the pleasure of helping to plan the Library Research Seminar VI, a semi-annual research conference sponsored by LRRT, which will be hosted by the University Library and the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science in October 2014.

 

Name and job title at the University of Illinois Library: M. Kathleen Kern, Reference Librarian and Associate Professor, Library

Elected position and organization: President, Reference and User Services Association

Start and end date of appointment: July 2013 through June 2014

Duties of the elected position in the context of the organization’s mission:

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is a division of the American Library Association national organization. RUSA serves over 3,600 member librarians from a wide range of library types (public, academic, government, etc.) who work directly with patrons to support their research, their lives as readers, and their daily information needs in areas as far ranging as genealogy and financial literacy. As President I provide leadership to move forward RUSA initiatives, mentor committee chairs, and work with the RUSA Board and Executive Committee to define goals and strategies to meet member needs in the areas of programming, continuing education, advocacy, and professional engagement.

 

Name and job title at the University of Illinois Library: Lori Mestre, Head, Undergraduate Library

Elected position and organization: Secretary of EMIERT  (Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table of ALA)

Start and end date of appointment: July 2013 through June 2015

Duties of the elected position in the context of the organization’s mission:

EMIERT provides information on recommended ethnic collections, services, and programs. As secretary, I participate in all monthly Board meetings and ALA conference meetings, where I take minutes and post to ALA connect and the EMIERT listserv. I contribute to the development and decision making process of matters brought to the Board, as well as for annual conference programs, webinars and symposia, and  the development and dissemination of  promotional materials and publications with the key issues of ethnicity and librarianship. I am also now web manager, and in that role I update and maintain the web page, including finding significant resources that highlight EMIERT’s recommended collections, services and programs.

 

Name and job title at the University of Illinois Library: Mara Thacker, South Asian Studies Librarian

Elected position and organization: Librarian representative on the Executive Board of the Committee of South Asian Libraries and Documentation (CONSALD). CONSALD is organized as a committee of the South Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc.

Start and end date of appointment: April 2014 through March 2017

Duties of the elected position in the context of the organization’s mission:

CONSALD develops South Asian library resources in North America. It supports library cooperation, collection development, bibliographic control, access and preservation to benefit the use of South Asian research and teaching materials. The Executive Board manages the activities of CONSALD and responsibilities include setting meeting agendas, approving new members, discussing policies and new projects, and various other activities as needed.

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