October 2012

Elissa Miller, associate director for collections of District of Columbia Public Library, has been named the Librarian of the Year by America Reads Spanish. The award, sponsored by the Federation of Publishing Guilds of Spain and the Institute of Foreign Trade, is given to an American librarian who has promoted Spanish books and reading in the United States, increased the Spanish holdings of a library, and worked to disseminate the Spanish language in the United States. In addition to Miller’s award, the D.C. Public Library Foundation received a $1,600 donation to be used for the purchase of books in Spanish.

 

October 23 James Greene was named implementation consultant for EnvisionWare, a provider of self-service and  library-efficiency solutions in Duluth, Georgia.

September 16 Jenna Kahly was welcomed as regional youth services coordinator for Lake Agassiz Library in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Effective December 31 Rhea Joyce Rubin will retire after 38 years as a librarian, with the last 32 years as an independent consultant. She recently served as consultant of outcome management for the California State Library, Connecticut State Library, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and the New Jersey State Library.

October 15 Kenning Arlitsch became dean of the Montana State University Library in Bozeman.

Esther Dombrowski, 81, a retired librarian who worked for Bel Air (Md.) High School for 31 years, died October 8 of pneumonia.

In August Felipe Castillo became business librarian of the New Mexico State University Library at Las Cruces.

In August Josefine Smith became government documents and maps librarian at the New Mexico State University Library in Las Cruces.

Shali Zhang

In October Shali Zhang was appointed professor and dean of libraries for the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Lois Smith, 84, former celebrity publicist and trustee for Newbury Town Library in Byfield, Massachusetts, died October 7 from a brain hemorrhage. She had recently been working to launch a new library Friends group and had a long-term goal of creating an endowment for steady funding.