Off the Shelf, GSLIS Newsletter
Summer/Fall 2008 Issue
GSLIS Home Dear Dominican GSLIS Community, Colleagues, and Friends,

The Summer and Fall 2008 Issue of Off the Shelf is dedicated to the amazing students, faculty, staff, alumni, advisory board members, colleagues and stakeholders whose presence and support make this program so dynamic.

Though Dominican GSLIS has a long and lively history, we have just come off of what may be an unprecedented period of stimulating programs, inspiring lectures, and rousing workshops. With our expansive class offerings and faculty and student-led symposia during the day and special events occurring almost every night of the week, I’m considering, as one of our alumnae who found herself at Dominican three evenings one week this Spring suggested, “keeping a cot and a change of clothes” on hand for occasions when the flow of ideas is just too intoxicating to pull away.

In addition to a steady offering of events, 2008 was made all the more exciting by our ALA accreditation review this Spring. The team of four onsite external review panelists met with every segment of the GSLIS community, observed classes, toured facilities, and reviewed administrative practices. Though the review requires intensive preparation, it can be an illuminating experience as well. I think the whole process has brought our community even closer together and has encouraged everyone associated with this program to dream even bigger and reach deeper when it comes to the mission and goals of this school.

Looking back on the collective accomplishments of the year thus far which you’ll read about in this edition of Off the Shelf, I can tell you that I am, as both alumna and Dean, incredibly proud of my association with this amazing program. I am also incredibly grateful for the talent and dedication of the individuals who comprise the GSLIS community. As we prepare to welcome a Fall semester already packed with inspiring events, I’d like to personally invite you to take part in some of our enlivening, enriching, engrossing, completely free, and only semi-addictive offerings.

Don’t worry, you can borrow my cot.

Susan Roman, Dean
Dominican University
Graduate School of Library
and Information Science

Headlines

Dominican GSLIS Welcomes Spring Accreditation Visit by American Library Association External Review Panel

This spring Dominican GSLIS hosted a three day visit by an assigned American Library Association Committee on Accreditation External Review Panel (ERP). Comprised of six people altogether, two ERP members worked offsite while the four onsite panelists met with faculty, staff, students, alumnae/i, employers of DU GSLIS graduates, university administrators, heads of supporting departments, and interested members of the larger community from March 29 through April 1, 2008.

Preparation for the accreditation review required intensive effort, particularly around the drafting of a four-volume program presentation edited by Associate Professor, Karen Brown, and compiled by GSLIS faculty and staff with much input from students and program stakeholders.

Impressive in its comprehensiveness, the program presentation highlighted the school’s progress since its 2005 Accreditation review. Specifically, the presentation underscored the vital role the school plays in educating and training LIS professionals for work in greater Chicago, Illinois, and the Midwest in general. Also reflected was the program’s noteworthy success in attracting and supporting an increasingly diverse student body, and its regard as a critical regional resource for post-MLIS professional development and continuing education. The program presentation and site visit observations form the foundation of the ERP’s report to ALA’s Committee on Accreditation.

GSLIS received notification of the Committee’s decision to continue the program’s full accreditation in early July! The program extends much gratitude to all who participated in and supported this successful process.

To learn more about Dominican University GSLIS’s Accreditation visit: www.gslis.dom.edu. Highlights of the program’s accreditation activities can be found under the “Accreditation” button.

Educating Library Leaders" More Than Just a Tagline as GSLIS Students Gain Recognition as Accomplished Researchers in Local and National Arenas

Regarded for its history of graduating students who go on to key professional roles, GSLIS proved that it’s reputation for leadership development—crystallized in the school’s motto—is well deserved as students’ abilities as researchers garners increasing attention.

Joy AustriaFormer GSLIS students Joy Austria (pictured right) and Tracy Hartman had their research published in Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services in late 2007. Joy Austria's paper "Developing Evaluation Criteria for Podcast" (volume 57, number 4. December 2007, pp. 179-207) was the winner of the 2007 Libri Best Student Paper Award and wasselected from over 500 entries from students in library and information science programs around the world. The paper was based on research Joy completed in an independent study with Lecturer Ed Valauskas and can be found online at http://www.librijournal.org/pdf/2007-4pp179-207.pdf

Tracy Hartman’s research, undertaken in another independent study with Ed Valauskas, culminated in the publication of the article "The Changing Definition of U.S. Libraries" which was the lead paper in the March 2007 issue of Libri (volume 57, number 1. March 2007, pp. 1-8) or http://www.librijournal.org/pdf/2007-1pp1-8.pdf. Having both graduated from the MLIS program, Austria is now employed at the Newberry Library in Chicago and Hartman is pursuing the Juris Doctorate at George Mason University in Arlington, VA.

In April, students displayed wide-ranging research interests at Dominican’s annual GSLIS Research Symposium which highlights some of the most compelling student research projects of the year. First year GSLIS student Rick Bessette opened the program with his paper, “Rethinking Information Work: Project Blog”. Other studies presented included Larissa Garcia, Paul Go, and David Greenfield’s “Dominican University's GSLIS Course Scheduling and GSLIS Student Needs, Preferences, and Attitudes”; “You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover” by Judy Sullivan Dainko”; Catherine Lantz, “Blogs in Academic Libraries”; and Naphtali Faris’ paper, “Order and Chaos: An Examination of the Bureaucratic and Chaos Theories and How They Work in Libraries.”

GSLIS students’ research activities were front and center at the Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX) Annual Conference held this May. Accounting for four of the ten poster sessions presented at LOEX, GSLIS was represented by Jennifer Ballinger and LeAnna Grissom who co-authored “Exploring Information Literacy and Faculty Outreach.” Kyle Jone’s poster session looked at the “Library as Widget,” while Katharine Johnson’s pondered “Filling the Academic Shopping Cart. “Catherine Lantz’s intriguing “Student Detectives Solve Research Crimes” rounded out the presentations.

Founded in 1971, LOEX has over 650 member libraries in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The organization seeks to connect libraries and librarians with best practices on aspects of instruction and information.

With Creation of Butler Literature Center GSLIS Set to Emerge as Key Site for Research on Youth Literature

Established in 2007 with a gift from the Butler Family Foundation, GSLIS’s forthcoming Butler Literature Center seeks to become one of the nation’s premier centers for the study of children’s and young adult literature. The Butler Literature Center will serve as an examination center for children’s and young adult books published annually in the United States, and as an historical collection of the best children’s and young adult literature published nationally and internationally. The Center will also serve as an evidence-based, best practices professional collection in support of the application and integration of children’s and young adult literature in classrooms, libraries, childcare centers, and homes. Open to educators, scholars, researchers, librarians, teachers, parents, and other care providers for children, the Center plans to offer a robust selection of programs, conferences, continuing education courses, web resources, and research opportunities. University partners include the School of Education and the Rebecca Crown Library. To be located on the main River Forest campus and administered by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science the Center’s opening festivities are tentatively scheduled for late Fall 2008.

2nd Annual eChicago Symposium Looks at Technology as Socio-economic Leveraging Agent

Nearly 100 attendees came together over two days this Spring for the second annual eChicago symposium, an event designed to raise discussion between those who work in libraries and community technology centers, researchers, students, and public stakeholders interested in the possibilities of technology as a community development tool. Sponsored by Dominican GSLIS in conjunction with the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign GSLIS, the event was co-chaired by new GSLIS faculty member, Christine Hagar (Dominican) and Kate Williams (UIUC), formerly on faculty at Dominican. Both leading researchers in the area of community informatics, Chris and Kate shared convener duties of the critically received conference which included keynotes by Karen Danczak Lyons, First Deputy Commissioner of Chicago Public Library, and Shireen Mitchell, President of the national Community Technology Centers Network headquartered in Washington, DC.

In addition to Lyons and Mitchell, more than a dozen other distinguished panelists addressed such topics as assessing community technology needs and gaps and rising reliance on e-government. Speakers included Daniel F. Bassill, President of the Cabrini-Green based Cabrini Connections; GSLIS alumna Kathleen Bethel, now African American Studies Librarian at Northwestern University Library; Ann Peterson Bishop, UIUC Associate Professor and associate editor of the international Journal of Community Informatics (http://www.ci-journal.net); award winning journalist and radio talk show host Ray Hanania; and Douglas Hurdelbrink, Deputy Chief Information Officer for the City of Chicago. The lively symposium culminated with a book-launch of the monograph of the 2007 eChicago proceedings, edited by Kate Williams which featured such key community informatics figures as Doug Schuler, founding member of the Seattle Community Network and Salvador Rivas whose talk looked at digital inequality among Latinos in the U.S.

With such a strong start and sophomore effort, next year’s eChicago scheduled for Thursday and Friday, and April 2-3, 2009 promises to be even more expansive. Stay tuned for what will certainly be a stellar lineup of thinkers and doers at next year’s symposium.

Does Your Computer Have a Heart? Celebrated MIT Researcher Ponders Instilling Emotional Intelligence in 'Things' at 2008 Lazerow Lecture

Attendees of this year’s annual GSLIS Lazerow lecture, “From Tin Man to Cyborg:  Technology and Emotional Intelligence” caught a glimpse of the future when Rosalind Picard, founder of the Affective Computing Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory demonstrated her recent latest efforts at trying to equip robots with emotional intelligence.

Co-director of the Things That Think Consortium, Picard, whose work has been featured in Time Magazine and Wired, reflected on her experimentations with building computers and mobile devices that are able to recognize and respond appropriately to human emotion. With the help of a GSLIS student who volunteered to serve as subject, Picard demonstrated a computer system with the ability to recognize complex cognitive states based on the student’s facial movements. The system is able to discern when a person looks like he or she is concentrating, interested, agreeing, disagreeing, or even confused. A wearable version of this system is under development for possible use with individuals with autism.

For more information on affective computing (a term coined by Picard in 1994) and the efforts of Picard’s research group, visit: http://affect.media.mit.edu/press.php.

Follett Chair, Steven Herb Issues Wake-Up Call on the Nation's Growing Literacy Divide at Spring Lecture

Steven Herb In his rousing talk, “Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Importance of Libraries in the Lives of Young Children” current Follett Chair Steven Herb (left), past president of the Association for Library Service to Children and a three-term chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee offered a frank portrait of our nation’s inconsistent support of literacy development among young children.

Preparing pre-school age children to read can fall into a ‘haves vs. have nots’ dichotomy where income level is often predictive of early literacy development. Poverty is a key factor in lack of access to resources that support reading and educational achievement. According to Herb, this is a reality whose implications and repercussions our nation has yet to collectively comprehend.

Citing research finding that parents in impoverished households often speak fewer words per hour than even young children in middle to upper class households, and are more likely to issue directives than engage in extended dialogues with their offspring, Herb contemplated the reverberating effect that growing up in a household where young children have limited opportunities to build literacy through language experimentation can have.

Pointing out the critical role public libraries can play in developing literacy among children, Herb advocated for increased study and evaluation of the impact of early-childhood pre-reading activities in libraries (lap-sits, story times, activity-based programs, interactions with and support of parents and guardians of young children) on subsequent reading and general education performance. Asserting that educational outcomes might be more satisfactory if the current obsession with testing was refocused on preparing children to enter school already reading and writing, Herb stated that a more proactive approach to early literacy development would require that public libraries play and even more active partnering role with schools.

Co-author of two children’s literature textbooks and head of the education and behavioral sciences library at Pennsylvania State University and director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Dr. Herb was appointed Follett Chair in Library Science at Dominican University GSLIS in August, 2007. An early product of his tenure with GSLIS was the creation of the newly approved course “Enhancing Language and Literacy Development in Young Children through Children's Literature” which will be offered for the first time in the Fall 2008 semester.

Who's In Your Network? GSLIS Alumni-hosted Career Day Focuses on the Power of the Personal Connection

Newly graduated and veteran librarians turned out for the 11th Annual GSLIS Career Day, “Taking the Lead: Career Development and Networking,” hosted in February. Illinois Institute of Technology Library Director, Christopher Stewart who also chairs the Alumni Council welcomed attendees. Featured presenters included Betsy Adamowski, Itasca Community Library Director; Paula Dempsey, coordinator of document delivery at DePaul University Libraries; Consortium Archivist for the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty; Greg Gosselin of the Ex Libris Group; and Toby Rajput, Youth Librarian at National Louis University.

Supplying the opening keynote Paul Whitsitt, Dominican GSLIS alumnus and director of the Department of Libraries and Information Services for Chicago Public Schools recounted his decision to make the switch to K-12 education in the middle of a successful law career. When the program that recruited he and other executive-level professionals for work in Chicago’s public school district revealed the dire need for school media specialists, Paul decided to answer the call and applied to library school. He had only been graduated from Dominican a few years when he went to work for the district’s LIS department, moving into the directorship not long thereafter. Looking back on the early days of his LIS career to his work at Chicago’s DuSable High School, Whitsitt remembered the challenges and highlights of working with a dynamic student body in a community known as much for its tough streets as for the talented artists and musicians it has produced. Noting that his own passion for recruiting the best and the brightest to school librarianship, which has born fruit through two highly successful Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded grants on which DU GSLIS served as partner “Generation TL: Teacher Librarians for Chicago Public Schools“ and “Chicago Teacher-Librarians for the 21st Century” was inspired by the support he received throughout his LIS education, Whitsitt encouraged listeners to seek opportunities to learn, grow, and give service through professional organizations and networks.

Closing the program former ALA president Barbara J. Ford, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, confided that her activist work and abiding personal interest in peace and international collaboration prompted many of her career choices. Regaling the audience with the wonderful twists and turns her career path has taken, Ford also stressed the value and impact that professional networking and the subsequent friendships and alliances formed through the process can have on one’s career development. ‘Let your passion lead’ and ‘seek out a community that will support you’ seemed to be the day’s rallying ideas. Judging by the one-on-one conversations observed and number of business cards exchanged, 2008 Career Day participants took those marching orders to heart. The date of the February 2009 GSLIS Annual Career Day will be announced early Fall term.

Inaugural "Poetry NOW!" Conference Showcases the Power of Written Word

Michael LeonardGSLIS full-time lecturer Michael Leonard (pictured left) children’s library services expert and noted former Chicago Public Library (CPL) Children’s Librarian, believes that poetry may be one of our most effective means at reaching at-risk youth and underserved populations. Creator of CPL’s Annual Poetry Fest, now in its ninth year, Leonard had a vision of bringing programming designed to build community and dialogue among poets, educators and librarians to River Forest and Oak Park.

Under Leonard’s direction GSLIS applied for and received a 2008 Library Services and Technology Act for “Poetry NOW! Engaging Library Users Through Poetry Programming and Collection Development.” True to the mission of seeking to better connect local libraries and educational institutions to the communities they serve through imaginative poetry programming the Concordia University Library, Oak Park Public Library, River Forest Public Library, Oak Park-River Forest High School, and Trinity High School served as active partners on the grant.

Between March and April 2008, more than a dozen programs, workshops, open mikes, and poetry concerts were held as part of the “Poetry NOW!” events calendar. Highly successful was the inaugural poetry contest for middle school through college aged students attending area schools which attracted nearly 100 entrants.

Culminating the “Poetry NOW!” series of events was the April 26, Festival of Poetry which showcased some of the region and nation’s most renowned poets. Writing contest awardees read their prize-winning poems to an eager audience during the opening session. On hand later in the day to perform, provide workshops, or give seasoned and aspiring writers insights into their own work were: acclaimed author and poetry teacher Carlos Cumpian; poet, musician, and radio host Richard Fammereè; poet and visual artist Krista Franklin, whose collages have graced book and album covers; author Cynthia Gallaher; former public librarian Janice Harrington whose children’s books have won several prestigious citations and whose first book of poetry won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award; gifted teachers and poets Joseph Heininger and Father Larry Janowski both of Dominican; Toni Asante Lightfoot, winner of the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize; Erin Teegarden, poet and host of one of Chicago’s most popular poetry series; and Avery R. Young whose breath-drawing performances have appeared on MTV, VH1, and at Lollapalooza.

Encouraged by the caliber of performances, the response of young writers, and the work of an indefatigable committee, which included Jill Bambenek (Dominican University Library); Marty Breen (Concordia University Chicago Library), Mary DeBruin and Don Vogel (Oak Park River Forest High School Library), Molly Klowden and Sue Tindall (Trinity High School); Tracie Hall (Dominican GSLIS) and three GSLIS alums: Blaise Dierks (River Forest Public Library), and Alan Jacobsen and Jim Madigan (Oak Park Public Library), Poetry NOW! 2008 Chair Michael Leonard has already begun plans for a follow-up event.

New Library Leadership Series Features Challenging Thinkers and Ideas

The GSLIS program’s enterprising “Emerging Library Leaders for the 21st Century” (ELL-21) lecture series got off to a raring start in the 2007-2008 academic year. Spring term 2008 added to the series’ visibility bringing a medley of accomplished figures in the library world to eager audiences of students, alums, and LIS community members. Indeed many topics drew interested individuals from all over the university and a from a variety of fields to hear Bleue Benton, Collection Development Manager at the Oak Park Public Library, speak about her work building a transgender resource collection for her community, a collection development process which ultimately required a great deal of staff development. “Shifted Librarian” blogger and American Library Association Internet Development Specialist and Strategy Guide, Jenny Levine, offered a look into gaming and the ways that libraries are learning to harness its power as a tool for reaching otherwise hard to reach audiences. GSLIS’s own Assistant Dean, Tracie D. Hall, offered a LIS-tailored workshop for beginning grant-writers that covered everything from the aim to the score. Library Journal editor-at-large, John Berry III, entranced his audience with tales from his storied career covering the library beat as he expounded on the necessity of finding and using one’s own voice through writing, blogging, and speaking out to make a difference in the field and the wider world. In his “Blatant Berry” editorial in the May 15, 2008 issue of LJ, Berry responds to and affirms an “enlightened comment” from GSLIS’s own Sarah Dribin who reflects on her frustration as a LIS student with a profession that often favors the tried and true over experimentation and innovation. Respected facilitator and trainer, Kathryn J. Deiss, currently Content Strategist at the Association of College and Research Libraries, deftly tackled the challenge of leadership in today’s LIS environments with an audience of managers and aspiring managers who kept the conversation going hours past its posted end time. With her talk “Libraries, Advocacy, and the Power of the Personal Connection,” Emily Sheketoff, Associate Executive Director of the American Library Association and Manager of the Washington Office, ended the series on a fitting note when she stressed the amazing impact that one individual can make if they understand and effectively use their power. “We have to make ourselves and our issues known,” Sheketoff reminded the audience, “Libraries and librarians can’t afford to be silent.”

Jennifer gradyMary PerganderThe Fall 2008 ELL-21 lecture series promises to be just as exciting. The focus for Fall term will be on careers as Dominican GSLIS opens its series with an enlivening session featuring Jenifer Grady (far left), Director of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association and Mary Pergander (near left), American Libraries ‘Working Knowledge’ Columnist and Director of the Deerfield Public Library. The two LIS career experts will co-present “You vs. Your Dream Job: What You Need to Know to Find and Land the LIS Position that Fits You Like a Glove” on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 from 6-7:30 pm, in Dominican University Rebecca Crown Library Springer Suites. Part presentation, part workshop, this program is perfect for soon-to-be and experienced librarians looking to jumpstart their careers or just rev them up. Look for other ELL-21 offerings at www.gslis.dom.edu. RSVP by calling (708) 524-6845.

MacArthur "Genius" Award Winner Terry Belanger, founder of the Rare Book School to give 2008 McCusker Lecture

This October Terry Belanger, founding director of the Rare Book School (RBS) and University Professor and Honorary Curator of Special Collections at the University of Virginia will present the 2008 McCusker Lecture. In 2005 Belanger became only the second librarian to receive the MacArthur Foundation’s "genius" award for his work as "a rare book preservationist raising the profile of the book as one of humankind's greatest inventions."

Founded as an institute in New York City in 1983 the Rare Book School has been located at the University of Virginia since 1992, when Belanger accepted an academic appointment there. Reflecting on the mission to conserve rare books to Library Journal shortly after being named a MacArthur Fellow Belanger stated, “We must not deprive the future of the past. We have no right to hand the future a CD-ROM and call it Monticello. Because it's not. It's been a predisposition of the profession for 100 years to think that photography or film or microfiche or digitization completely satisfies our need for the original…We've lost all sorts of original copies of major papers. I hope we can do better with the rest of it.”

Belanger will present the 2008 McCusker Lecture, “Bibliography by any Other Name: Books as Physical Objects ” on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 6 pm in the Martin Recital Hall on Dominican University’s River Forest campus. The lecture is open to all and will be followed by a reception in the Slate Lobby. Call (708) 524-6845 to RSVP.

The Annual McCusker Lecture honors Sr. Lauretta McCusker who served as founding dean of Dominican’s Master of Arts in Library Science program’s transformation into the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

GSLIS to Offer Knowledge Management Certificate Completely Online

Responding to the international demand for professionals with the ability to analyze, reorganize, and deliver information to meet organizational need, Taverekere Kanti Srikantaiah, Director of the Center for Knowledge Management (KM) has announced that the post-baccalaureate Knowledge Management Certificate will be offered online beginning this Fall with the offering of two KM prescribed courses. The KM certificate program which requires that students complete four of seven approved courses will be fully online by 2009. A highly respected thinker in the KM world, Srikantaiah has authored several articles and textbooks on the subject. Having had a distinguished career at the World Bank prior to joining the Dominican GSLIS faculty in 1997, Srikantaiah recognizes the need for an educational program that is accessible to information managers worldwide. “We have the ability to bring students from around the world together to tackle these issues, why not use it? The international component will only add to the value of this certificate.”

With its focus on knowledge management, competitive intelligence, information policy, organizational analysis, and related areas, the Knowledge Management certificate’s online offerings make accessing the discipline’s central learnings convenient for information managers wherever they may be. Supported in conjunction with Dominican’s Brennan School of Business, the Center for Knowledge Management is housed in GSLIS and offers a full Master of Science in Knowledge Management in addition to the certificate program. For more information on the online KM certificate or on the program in general, contact Dr. Srikantaiah at (708)524-6944 or srikant@dom.edu.

School Library Media Program Expands Outreach to Aspiring School Librarians

Responding to rising demand for school library media certification brought on by expanding suburban school districts and state mandates for certified teacher-librarians, Dominican’s School Library Media Program (SLMP) is actively reaching out to aspiring school librarians. Says SLMP director Donald Adcock who began his own career in school libraries more than three decades ago, “Now that the state has mandated that media specialists complete 24 hours of coursework for the school media endorsement on a teaching certificate, we wanted to get word out that not only can you complete those courses here, but with an additional twelve hours, you can earn a Master’s degree and expand your options.”

Already seeing an increase of MLIS holders who now seek to practice at the K-12 grade level, the SLMP program is ramping up its efforts to demystify the certification process through a series of informational sessions and orientations. Whether pursuing the full MLIS with School Library Media Certificate option or just an endorsement; current and aspiring educators will encounter a curriculum that focuses on materials selection, services, management, and technology in the school library environment. “Frankly, our schools need skilled librarians like never before,” says Adcock, “Through this process I hope we can reach people who may have never given school libraries a second look. Our children and schools deserve all the talent they can get.” To learn about GSLIS’s School Library Media educational offerings contact slmp@dom.edu or (708) 524-6855.

PhD Feasibility Study Yields Enthusiastic Response and Encourages Continued Planning Around LIS Doctorate at GSLIS

In spring 2007, GSLIS commissioned Library Communication Strategies, Inc. a marketing and consulting firm headed by Peggy Barber and Linda K. Wallace, to gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data as part of exploring the feasibility for a proposed doctoral program. In addition to review and analysis of key Dominican GSLIS documents and data on other Library and Information Science Programs, research for this report included discussion with Dominican GSLIS faculty and staff, interviews of more than one dozen nationally regarded library administrators and educators, focus groups made up of library administrators and mid-career librarians, and an online survey via two state library associations that netted a larger than expected return from more than 1,400 respondents.

Forty percent of those surveyed expressed interest in a LIS PhD program, saying they were somewhat or very interested in obtaining an LIS doctorate in the next five years. Currently Chicago is among the largest metropolitan areas without a LIS PhD since the University of Chicago closed its program in 1990. The report found that those most likely to be interested in acquiring a PhD are early to mid-career librarians.

While encouraged by the feasibility report’s findings and the support of the LIS community, Dean Susan Roman noted that the building of a doctoral program requires tremendous effort. “Whatever we do, we want to feel that we are strengthening our entire program” she added, noting that a committee would be appointed in the Fall to begin preliminary investigation of possible doctoral models. Contact (708)524-6845 or gslis@dom.edu for more on doctoral program development at Dominican GSLIS.

Archival Training Comes Into Focus as Greater Number of Students Pursue Librarian-Archivist educational track

A growing number of students interested in archives have inspired GSLIS to take a fresh look at its archives curriculum. A meeting held late last year convened a group of archivists to talk about current educational offerings in the field and ways that Dominican might play a more pivotal role in the provision of archival education in the region. Meeting participants pointed to the proliferation of archival holdings in the Chicago area and the need to educate a professional workforce with the skillsets necessary to leverage new technologies and best practices in the organization and access of archived documents. Representing the program’s aspiring archivists, GSLIS students Mary Dietrich and Adam Girard have been co-organizing the relaunch of the program’s student archivists chapter. GSLIS full-time lecturer Ed Valauskas, rare books curator at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and adjunct faculty member Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty, archivist of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, have agreed to serve as advisors to the newly revived chapter and to support the archives curriculum review effort. It is hoped that efforts may lead to the creation of a formal certification program and/or Continuing education offering for MLIS students and practicing librarians and archivists.

Rebbecca Crown Library Director Inez Ringland Retires After 23 Years of Service

Inez with groupDominican University’s Rebecca Crown Library Director, Inez Ringland (front row, second from left) is retiring after 23 years of service. In her honor Dominican GSLIS faculty and staff join Crown library faculty and staff on the front steps of Lewis Hall. A double alumna of Dominican University (then Rosary College), Ringland earned both her Bachelors degree and Master of Library Science at this institution before going on to DePaul University where she completed the PhD. Having ably served Dominican, the entire GSLIS community wishes Ringland the very best as she writes the next chapter of her story.

Dean Susan Roman named to Reading Is Fundamental's National Literature Advisory Board

In recognition of her career-long commitment to literacy, GSLIS Dean, Dr. Susan Roman has been named to the National Literature Advisory Board of Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF). Formerly Executive Director of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), Roman helped develop ALSC’s highly visible “Born to Read” initiative and has served on the national advisory committee for the PBS series, “Reading Rainbow” in addition to holding other key consultancies to organizations dedicated to children’s literacy and education.

The National Literature Advisory Board is charged with the task of establishing standards for the selection of quality children’s literature and provision of programs for the over 3,500 RIF programs located in every state and U.S. territory. Founded more than 40 years ago, and serving over 4 million children annually, RIF is the oldest and largest literacy organization in the nation.

GSLIS "Excellence in Teaching Award" Honor Awarded to Mary Pat Fallon

This spring, full-time lecturer Mary Pat Fallon was awarded the “2008 Excellence in Teaching Award” by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. The award, which is given every three years, includes a $1,000 honorarium, and is supported by the Follett Corporation. A Dominican GSLIS alumna, Fallon was Assistant Director of the university’s Crown Library from 2000-2006, before being appointed to the library and information science program faculty.

Faculty and Administration News

Associate Professor Karen Brown delivered a presentation, “How Does Your Assessment Measure Up?” at the November 2007 Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois’ “Best Practices in Library Instruction” Forum.

She was also a member of the implementation team for Libraries as 21st Century Technology Leaders, a LSTA project coordinated by the North Suburban Library System to provide opportunities for Illinois libraries to explore the potential of technology and to foster its use in libraries.  Brown participated in a panel presentation about the project at the Illinois Library Association Annual Conference last fall, assisted with the development of online resources, and co-authored with Dawne Tortorella, a publication that highlights findings of the statewide study conducted in connection with the project.

Professor Bill Crowley’s latest book, Renewing Professional Librarianship: A Fundamental Rethinking was published in March 2008 by Libraries Unlimited. His article “Lifecycle Librarianship” examining the library’s “legislative and organizational responsibilities to address fundamental reading and literacy issues” appeared in Library Journal, in April 2008.

Janice Del NegroJanice Del Negro, Assistant Professor and 2007 Caldecott Committee Chair, published her third children’s book, Passion and Poison: Tales of Shape-Shifters, Ghosts, and Spirited Women (Marshall Cavendish Children's Books) last Fall. Del Negro has also written two previous books for children, Lucy Dove (DK Publishing, 1998) and Willa and the Wind (Marshall Cavendish, 2005) which was distinguished as an ALA Notable Children’s Book).

Tracie D. Hall, Assistant Dean for Admissions, Marketing and Recruitment accepted keynote invitations this Spring at the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association annual meeting, the University of Connecticut Libraries, and the Westchester County Library Association annual conference where her themes touched on emerging literacies and learning styles among youth, diversity and inclusion, and new paradigms for library services. Hall will present a workshop on rethinking reference services at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June.

Senior Fellow, William Jackson toured Sydney, Australia where he spoke on various library service issues late last year. As well Dr. Jackson was interviewed by Mark Grove, Latin American Bibliographer, about his work during the early years of SALALM (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials). He is celebrating fifty years of work and teaching in the LIS field this year.

GSLIS Dean Emeritus Tze-chung Li attended the Sixth Conference of the International Society for the Study of Overseas Chinese held in Peking University, Beijing where he delivered a paper, “Unification of Taiwan: Chinese Americans Challenges.” He was also invited by the Chinese Government to attend the Sixth Conference of Overseas Association Presidents sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, last September. Dr. Li also presented a talk on Overseas Chinese at the US-China Friendship Association lunch meeting.

Adjunct professor, John Shuler, was recently one of six new members appointed to the Depository Library Council. The Depository Library Council, composed of 15 members altogether, advises the Public Printer on policy matters relating to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Dating back to 1813, the FDLP provides public access to the published information of all three Branches of the U.S. Government through partnerships with more than 1,250 libraries. Shuler, who will serve a three year term, is Bibliographer for Urban Planning and Government Information/Documents Librarian at the University of Illinois, Chicago Libraries.

Kanti Srikantaiah, Professor and Director of the Center for Knowledge Management, and former GSLIS Dean, Michael E. D. Koenig have co-edited Knowledge Management in Practice: Connections and Context (2008) the third volume of their well regarded Knowledge Management book series. Their previous works Knowledge Management for the Information Professional (2000) and Knowledge Management Lessons Learned (2004) are widely taught. All three books are published by Information Today, Inc.

Michael StephensMichael Stephens, Assistant Professor and creator of the popular Tame the Web Blog was interviewed by Kirkus Reviews in its November 1, 2007 Issue (Vol. 75 21, Special Section). In the interview Stephens discusses the effectiveness of social networking tools in libraries. Other recent activities include a presentation to staff at the New York Public Library on the “The Hyperlinked Library” and keynote talks at the Hawaii, Nevada, and Illinois Library Associations. Stephen’s recent publications include the chapter, "Web 2.0" in Information Tomorrow, edited by Dominican alumna Rachel Singer Gordon;  “Five Technologies for Hospital Librarians” The Journal of Hospital Librarianship 7(1); and “Web 2.0 for Libraries, Part 2: Trends & Technologies” in Library Technology Reports (American Library Association, 2007). Stephens continues to write the monthly “Transparent Library” Column with Michael Casey for Library Journal.

GSLIS lecturer Ed Valauskas wrote the preface to Eugene Field’s A Gentle Obsession: Eight Poems about Bibliomania, published by Kopwit Press of the Netherlands in 2007. Field (1850-1895) was a Chicago journalist, best known for his poems for children as well as essays. He wrote a humorous column entitled “Sharps and Flats” for the Chicago Daily News. He is well known among bibliophiles for his book The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac originally published in 1896.

Valauskas will also put his experience as editor of pioneering e-journal, First Monday, to use when he attends an invitational visioning meeting of eIFL in Cupramontana, Italy, this July. eIFL.net (Electronic Information for Libraries; see http://www.eifl.net/) is a non-profit organization that supports and advocates for the wide availability of electronic resources by library users in transitional and developing countries.

Free Audit Option a Boon for GSLIS Alumnae/i Seeking to Stay Current

For alumnae/i seeking to gain new knowledge and skills, the GSLIS policy of allowing graduates to audit classes that have not reached maximum enrollment for free represents a potentially extraordinary return on their original investment in the MLIS degree. Though the GSLIS Bulletin lists this benefit, alums may not be aware of it until a new career opportunity or desired skill enhancement spurs them to return to the program to take additional classes. As one alumna effused when told that a professional writing course that caught her interest might be available to her for free, “Wow, does everybody know about this?” before laughingly adding, “No, wait. Don’t tell anybody else until I get into this class.”

Alumnae/i interested in enrolling in a course should contact the GSLIS office at (708) 524-6845 or gslis@dom.edu to request an “audit form.” Auditing a course is contingent on enrollment and instructor permission. Auditors are required to attend every class session but do not usually complete graded assignments or examinations and do not receive final grades.

Alumnae/i Update

Melissa Aho, 2001, is the new Evening and Circulation Supervisor at the University of Minnesota’s Bio-Medical Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dave Caravella, 2004, is now a full-time bilingual (Spanish/English) general reference librarian and computer literacy instructor at Dundee Township Public Library District.

Stephanie Carlile, 2001, is the Head of Circulation and Interlibrary Loan Services for Northlake Public Library District. She is also a candidate for a Masters in Public Administration degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology, specializing in Public Finance.

Jan Chinlund was named library director at Columbia College. Chinlund was previously manager/head librarian of the global consumer and business insights information center at McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook, IL.

Though Fran Corcoran, 1970, retired from her post as Elementary Librarian at St. Andrew's Priory School for Girls in Honolulu; her continuing enthusiasm for the profession has led her to the Branch Manager position at Kahuku Public and School Library in Kahuku, Hawaii. Says Corcoran, “I guess I wasn't meant to retire yet.”

Ruth E. Faklis, Director of the Prairie Trails Public Library District, recently became the first librarian to be elected as a Trustee of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).

Lori GoetschLori A. Goetsch, 1982, was elected vice-president/president-elect of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Dean of libraries at Kansas State University since 2004, she will become president-elect following the 2008 American Library Association (ALA) and will assume the presidency in July 2009 for a one-year term.

In response to her election Goetsch stated, “I plan to use my presidential year to give special focus to exploring issues and opportunities for library workforce development and the changing skill sets we need in our libraries. Our ability to recruit and retain talented staff for this ‘new work’ is clearly an issue of growing interest in the profession and is now part of the ACRL Strategic Plan. What is the ‘new work’ for academic librarians as we see it and as our users see it?  I look forward to exploring these questions during my term in office.”

In addition to her work within ACRL and ALA, Goetsch is a member of the State Library of Kansas Board. Before accepting her position at Kansas State University libraries, Goetsch was director of public services at the University of Maryland Libraries; head of reference services at the University of Tennessee; head of information and reference at Michigan State University (1987-93), where she received the ‘Distinguished Librarian Award’ in 1992 for contributions that began with her work there as an information and reference librarian; and assistant reference librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Information TomorrowRachel Singer Gordon,1996, has just published a new book: Information Tomorrow: Reflections on Technology and the Future of Public and Academic Libraries (ITI, 2007).
With a foreword by Stephen Abram, the edited collection contains the insights of 20 of today's leading thinkers on the intersections between libraries and technology and offering ideas for using technology to meet patrons where they are. More information on Information Tomorrow and Gordon’s other titles is available at: http://www.lisjobs.com/infotomorrow/.

Laverne GrayLaVerne Gray, 2005, is now Assistant Reference Librarian/Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.   Previously she was a Minority Resident Librarian/ Research Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. In 2007 Gray was selected as a 2008 ALA Emerging Leader. The Emerging Leaders program began in 2007 as one of ALA Past President Leslie Burger’s initiatives. The program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in work groups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity.

Bonnie Hohhof, 1975, recently completed her third book, Conference and Trade Show Intelligence which is published by the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals.

Janet Kerschner, a Certified Archivist, is now Archivist at the Theosophical Society in America headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois.

In-lan Wang Li, 1968, was granted a 2007 Friendship Award on September 28 in Beijing. The "Friendship Award," initiated in 1991, is the supreme award the Chinese government confers annually to foreign experts for their outstanding contributions to China's economic and social progress. Li also received a State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China Award for International Cooperation. Li has devoted much of her professional activity to promoting exchange and cooperation between the US and China. Li retired as associate dean of library and information services at The John Marshall Law School (JMLS) and now serves as co-chair of the JMLS Asian Alliance. Li is married to of Dean Emeritus, Tze-chung “Richard” Li.

Elizabeth “Beth” Broadrup Lieberman, 1999, gave birth to her second daughter, Anna Ruth, last year. Big sister Helen is now 4 years old.  Until her children were born, Broadrup worked part-time as a youth services librarian at Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, Michigan.  Beth recently gave a lecture on Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and the graphic novel genre at the Montague (Michigan) Public Library during its summer lecture series.

Becky Lowery, 2007, sent word that she has started her first post-MLIS library job. Last fall, she became the Map and Data Services Librarian at the University of Illinois Chicago.  She says the position “so perfectly fits my interests and background…that friends have accused me of writing my own job description!”

Charles E. Malone, 1993, was promoted to the rank of professor at Western Illinois University.  Malone is the unit coordinator for Government and Legal Information at WIU Libraries, where he has been employed since 1998.

Molly Nesbitt, 2005, married Christopher Maka on May 26, 2007 at the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Molly is the Adult Services Librarian at Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Margaret "Peggy" Northcraft, 1968, reports that after nine months as Interim Director of the Hannibal Free Public Library, she is “delighted to be ‘just’ the Children's Librarian again.” Northcraft allows that though, “Doing both jobs was very hectic and challenging. At this point my three daughters are all grown up and on their own and I am looking forward to retirement in 4 years!”

Kim Opfer, 2000, reports that her family moved from Antwerp, Belgium to Hong Kong last summer where she is now working at the Hong Kong International School as the Lower Primary Teacher-Librarian. 

Lisa Pappas is now Assistant Library Director at the Plainfield Public Library District.

Tusin librarySarah Passonneau, 2008, library services supervisor for Tustin Unified School District in Orange County, California was awarded a $275,000.00 SAFE NET private sector grant. The grant proposes to develop to an information literacy and communication technology curriculum across kindergarten through twelfth grade.  The grant will extend over the next five years.  Issues such as the ethical use of technology and privacy concerns will be embedded in the curriculum. This grant initiative seeks to encourage students to understand the importance and power of digital resources including Web 2.0 technologies.  SAFE NET provides elementary and secondary students with an ongoing learning opportunity to use technology in a safe and ethical manner. Passonneau, who stands left in a photo with her supervisor Kathie Nielsen, Director of Elementary Education, says that advisement and support from Professor Bill Crowley, her advisor, and Assistant Dean Tracie Hall helped focus her “passion for information literacy in the educational arena.”

Jay Peterson joined the staff of the Iowa State Library on March 31.  He will serve as e-rate coordinator, manage the annual school library survey and statewide database programs, and participate in the Iowa Educator's Consortium in addition to other duties. Peterson previously worked as the consortium librarian for the Kansas City Library Consortium and as a copy cataloger at Midwestern University, an osteopathic medical school in Downers Grove, IL. Jay is originally from Bolingbrook, Illinois. 

Ellen Pioro, 1980, sends greetings from Duluth, Minnesota where she is a librarian at the Duluth Public Library.

Mary Redmond, 1969, has retired from the New York State Library after 25 years of service. She has since started her own consulting firm, Mary Redmond Associates.

Cynthia Romanowski has left the College of DuPage Library for Triton College, where she has been appointed Director of Library Systems and Technical Services.


Leighton ShellLeighton Shell (receiving award from ILA’s Cyndi Robinson), Digital Collections Librarian at the Pritzker Military Library was selected as the 2007 Crosman Memorial Award recipient by the Illinois Library Association for his exemplary efforts at making the Pritzker Military Library a national resource through innovative use of podcasting and web-based technology which has resulted in a surge of traffic to the Library’s website. Virtual visitors can observe presentations by renowned historians and hear oral histories told by Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. The award committee praised Shell’s initiative and technical expertise. Shell has been an employee of the Pritzker Military Library since 2005. He has ten years of military experience in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Wisconsin National Guard. He lives in Berwyn with his wife, Sabine.

The Pritzker Military Library is a state-of-the-art private research library located at 610 North Fairbanks Court in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. The library’s holdings feature over 25,000 historical, reference, biographical and rare books on military subjects, over 800 original antique military posters and prints, and other military artifacts from private donors and the collection of Colonel James N. Pritzker.

Anne Slaughter, 2007, is now a Readers Advisory librarian at the Oak Park Public Library.


Donald Smeeton, director of libraries at Eastern Mennonite University, checked in to assure us that though DU GSLIS graduates are on the move, they are seldom "all work and no play." As evidence Smeeton invites the GSLIS community to check out the "Don and the Dewey Decimals" video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whoL0m15rE4). The clip created for a faculty talent show “has taken on a life of its own.” Smeeton warns, “Enjoy! But don't fault the program at Dominican for our dancing! I (the only Dominican graduate) did not include a course in dance or library truck choreography in my MLIS program, but many there is a need.”

M. Claire Stewart, 1995, has been appointed Head of Digital Collections at the Northwestern University Library.

Along with his duties as a cataloger for the Gary Public Library Daniel S. Weinberg, 2000, is assisting with GPL’s 2008 Centennial Year Fundraising Campaign.

Upcoming Events

Don’t forget to Save The Date for Rare Book School Founder and MacArthur “Genius Award: winner Terry Belanger’s 2008 McCusker Lecture, ““Bibliography by any Other Name: Books as Physical Objects.” Scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 6 pm in the Martin Recital Hall on Dominican University’s River Forest campus, the lecture is free and open to all and will be followed by a reception in the Slate Lobby. Call (708) 524-6845 to RSVP.

Keep up with other program happenings by regularly checking our website at: www.gslis.dom.edu.

Share Your News

Dominican GSLIS alumnae/i and current students are encouraged to share your news in future editions of “Off the Shelf”. Contact Tracie D. Hall at thall@dominican.edu with recent accomplishments, new jobs, career changes, or life events.