People

Appointments & Retirements

Jackson, Seneca

In May, Seneca Jackson joined Morgan State University in Baltimore as information literacy librarian.
Grant, Carl

The University of Oklahoma Libraries in Norman promoted Carl Grant to interim dean of libraries July 1.
Gray, Allison

In April B. Allison Gray became director of Goleta (Calif.) Valley Library.
Martinez, Garrey

Garrey Martinez was named building operations coordinator at University of Colorado–Denver’s Auraria Library in September.
Martino, William

Clark County (Ohio) Public Library appointed William Martino as director, effective May 14.

At ALA

Akins, Pam

Pam Akins moved to the new position of technical services specialist for Information Technology and Telecommunication Services (ITTS) August 16.
Alderson, Danielle

Danielle Alderson was promoted to program manager for ALA Round Tables in the ALA Offices and Member Relations Department in September.
Bires, Sean

Sean Bires left ITTS August 16.
Calvin, Beatrice

Beatrice Calvin has been promoted to manager of professional development for the ALA–Allied Professional Association (APA) and the Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR).
Cascio, Keri

Keri Cascio, executive director of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, left September 14 to become assistant chief of content, technology, and innovation at Chicago Public Library.

Cited

Walker, Rebekah

Rebekah Walker, digital humanities and social sciences librarian at Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology received a scholarship to attend the Digital Humanities Summer Institute in Vancouver in June.
Wisniewski, Rebecca

Rebecca Wisniewski, interlibrary loan manager at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, received a campus Outstanding Work Performance award.
Jones, Clara

Clara Stanton Jones was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame October 18. Stanton Jones became the first African-American leader of a major-city public library when she became director of Detroit Public Library (DPL) in 1970, and she was elected the first African-American president of the American Library Association (ALA) in 1976. She established DPL’s The Information Place service, providing guidance through social, legal, and governmental agencies, which became a model of informa-tion provision for other libraries.
Buckland, Michael

Michael Buckland, emeritus professor of the University of California, Berkeley School of Information, was honored as a research fellow at École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de l’Information et des Bibliothèques in Villeurbane, France, in May. Additionally, his book Information and Society (MIT Press) was named Best Information Science Book by the Association for Information Science and Technology in August.
Andreu, Frances

The Society for Scholarly Publishing has awarded Frances Andreu, digital initiatives librarian at Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology, an Early-Career Fellowship.

Obituaries

Bayard, Mary

Mary Ivy Bayard, 77, head of administrative services at Temple University Libraries in Philadelphia until her retirement in 2002 and a former president of the Pennsylvania Library Association, died August 1.
Toor, Ruth

Ruth Toor, 85, librarian at Southern Boulevard Elementary School in Chatham Township, New Jersey, for 29 years, died September 7. Toor served as 1992–1993 president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and is honored by AASL’s annual Ruth Toor Grant for Strong Public School Libraries. She was a member of the Caldecott Award Selection Committee in 1995. With collaborator Hilda Weisburg, she cowrote more than a dozen books on school librarianship, including New on the Job: A School Librarian’s Guide to Success and Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Becoming an Invaluable Leader. They also created and published the School Librarian’s Workshop newsletter.
Weatherford, John

John “Jack” Weatherford, 94, director of libraries at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant from 1970 until his 1988 retirement, died June 2. He had previously served as manuscripts librarian at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus and associate director of libraries and university librarian at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Aagaard, James

James Aagaard, 87, an alumnus, professor, and librarian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, for 63 years until retiring in 2011, died June 22. In 1970, Aagaard helped create the Northwestern Online Total Integrated System (NOTIS), a cataloging system for the library. NOTIS was installed at other sites beginning in 1979, and at its peak, more than half of the largest research libraries in the US used it. Sales of NOTIS funded two multimillion-dollar endow- ments at Northwestern, supporting library collections and library technology. Aagaard was awarded the Library and Information Technology Association/Gaylord Award in 1985.
Clark, Robert

Robert L. Clark, 72, director of Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) from 1976 until his 2000 retirement, died May 26. As state librarian, he headed two Governor’s Conferences on libraries and led a strategic planning process to redefine Oklahoma State Library’s role in the information age. Clark championed records preservation programs, government openness laws, literacy programs, and library technology. He and ODL made news in 1997 when a federal judge granted ODL intervenor plaintiff status in a court case surrounding the Academy Award–winning film The Tin Drum. When an Oklahoma County judge ruled the film contained obscenity, VHS copies of the movie were confiscated from the library system and area video stores. The Video Software Dealers Association (VDSA) sued, and ODL was granted standing in representing access and censorship concerns on the local level. The VSDA prevailed, and the film was ultimately returned to library and store shelves. Clark received Oklahoma Library Association’s Oklahoma Library Legend Award in 2007.

Latest Library Links

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Six outstanding writers are being recognized for their entries in PLA’s National Short Fiction Contest. This fall, more than 600 writers across the US entered the contest by submitting short stories on the theme of courage. The contest jury awarded the $1,000 first prize to Mim Eichmann, a folk musician from Wheaton, Illinois, for her story “Slomp.” Honorable Mentions went to R. L. Burke for “The Invitation” and Donald Ryan for “Call It What You Will.” Top vote-getters in the Readers’ Choice competition were “The Ship” by Jasmine Wheeler, “Bread Crumbs” by Jessica Normile, and “Quest” by Unoma Nguemo Azuah.

PLA, Dec .12
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Abigail Sparling, serials metadata librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries, has been selected as the ALCTS-sponsored Emerging Leader for 2018–2019. Each year, ALCTS sponsors one Emerging Leader who has chosen collections and technical services as a career. After her year in the Emerging Leader Program, Sparling will serve a one-year term as intern to the ALCTS board of directors.

ALCTS, Dec. 12
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Do you know of a state chapter or organization that has bravely defended the freedom to read or access information, successfully promoted intellectual freedom issues, or demonstrated exemplary coalition-building efforts? The Intellectual Freedom Round Table is accepting nominations for the 2019 Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award. The award consists of a citation and $1,000. The deadline for nominations is January 1.

Intellectual Freedom Round Table, Dec. 12
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Social tagging, hashtags, and geotags are used across a variety of platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, WordPress, Instagram) in different countries and cultures. Social Tagging in a Linked Data Environment, edited by Diane Rasmussen Pennington and Louise Spiteri, represents researchers and practitioners across different information professions, examining how social tags can link content across a variety of environments.

ALA Publishing, Dec. 12
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George Kafka writes: “Oodi is the new library for Helsinki designed by local firm ALA Architects. Viewed from the steps of the nearby Finnish parliament house, the library appears like an inverted boat, a great mass that is submerged beneath a wave of undulating glazing. Inside, Oodi (roughly ‘ode’ in Finnish) is best understood as three floors located within and around a bridge that spans over 300 feet of the ground floor, creating a column-free entry sequence. So how did Finland get a world-class facility in the heart of its city center that will enrich the lives of its citizens and visitors alike?”

Metropolis, Dec. 11
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Emily Temple writes: “It is December, and therefore I am inclined to ask: Which book covers were the best in 2018? As I did last year and the year before that, I asked the experts: 27 book designers who shared their favorite book covers of the year, with a bit about why. They came up with a whopping 75 different covers of note. But of course, some of them had similar ideas about the best of the best. Here are the stats.”

Literary Hub, Dec. 12
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Michael Manning writes: “Nearly every employer takes discrimination seriously and strives to keep it out of the workplace. But sometimes even the best intentions aren’t enough. A recent case from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Office of Administrative Hearings should serve as a stark reminder that the details are critical. If an employee alleges discrimination, your investigation should be thorough and consistent, and your remedy must be adequate.”

HR Daily Advisor, Dec. 5