The Library is central to the intellectual life of the university. By stewarding knowledge and offering expert services, the Library supports discovery, learning, and innovation while ensuring broad, reliable access to information. Our faculty are an integral part of our success. The University Library is proud to recognize two faculty members who have been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure.

Kate Lambaria is a Music & Performing Arts Librarian and Associate Professor at the University Library. She coordinates the Music & Performing Arts Library’s (MPAL) instruction, reference, and outreach efforts; participates in collection development for dance, music, and theatre; and supervises MPAL’s graduate assistants. She holds an M.S. in Library & Information Sciences and a B.A. in Music, both from Illinois. Her research centers on library services designed to facilitate access to collections, from reference to repositories, and how the creative output from music and the performing arts requires us to adapt our practices.

Jennifer A. Maddox Abbott is the Head of Collection Management Services (CMS) and the Oak Street Library and is an Associate Professor at the University Library. She holds an M.S. in Library & Information Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as well as an M.A. in English from Iowa State University and a B.A. in English from Western Illinois University. As the high-density storage facility for the University Library, the Oak Street Library has the unique role of maximizing preservation of the over four million items it houses, while simultaneously shelving them efficiently. Additionally, CMS is central to the Library’s participation in two major endeavors with the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the Shared Print Repository and the Google Book Search Project. Maddox Abbott is an expert in high-density storage and organizing complex workflows.