MEDIA RELEASES

Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) will present its annual Follett Lecture on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. in the Eloise Martin Recital Hall, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. Steven L. Herb, visiting professor and 2007-2008 Follett Chair in the GSLIS, will speak on “Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Importance of Libraries in the Lives of Young Children.”

Herb will provide a snapshot of our nation’s less-than-stellar support of literacy in the lives of young children, and will address the important role that public libraries can play in the development of a fully literate generation.

The head of the education and behavioral sciences library and affiliate professor of language and literacy education at Penn State University, Herb also directs the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. He holds degrees in special education, early childhood education, library science, and curriculum and instruction.

The author of several books, including Using Children’s Books in Preschool Settings (1994) and Connecting Fathers, Children and Reading (2002), Herb’s research includes oral language development in infants and toddlers, print literacy in preschool and elementary school, and computer and information literacy across all ages. His work focuses on the role of libraries and traditional library materials on these emergent literacies, and on the influence of new technologies on the relationship between libraries and literacy learning.

Herb is the third holder of Dominican University’s Follett Chair. One of only four chairs in library science in the country, it is bestowed upon a master researcher and scholar who has achieved renown in the profession, and is endowed through a gift of the Follett Corporation.

The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. To reserve a space, please contact the GSLIS at (708) 524-6845 or gslis@dom.edu.

Accredited by the American Library Association, Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science has been educating future librarians and information professionals since 1928. GSLIS offers master’s degrees in library and information science and in knowledge management.