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Appointments & Retirements

Alston, Meaghan
April 6 Meaghan Alston joined University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as project archivist in the Wilson Special Collections Library.
July 13, 2020
Birch, Julia
In March Julia Birch joined Jefferson (Wis.) Public Library as children’s and youth services librarian.
July 13, 2020
Deyneka, Alexandra
March 30 Alexandra Deyneka became librarian for art and art history at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Sloane Art Library.
July 13, 2020
Frank, Jacqueline
Jacqueline Frank became instruction and accessibility librarian at Montana State University Library in Bozeman in February.
July 13, 2020
Hodge, Twanna
Twanna Hodge joined the George A. Smathers Libraries at University of Florida as diversity, equity, and inclusion librarian February 7.
July 13, 2020

At ALA

Aleck, Nick
Nick Aleck, IT user experience manager, left ALA May 29.
July 13, 2020
Skwarczynski, Robert
Robert Skwarczynski, building services technician, left ALA’s maintenance department May 29.
July 13, 2020
Valentin, David
David Valentin, building services technician, left ALA’s maintenance department May 29.
July 13, 2020
Dixon, Don
Don Dixon joined ALA’s IT office in April as database administrator.
June 1, 2020
Eberhart, George
George Eberhart, American Libraries senior editor and an ALA employee since 1980, will retire June 8.
June 1, 2020

Cited

Hutchens, Chad
Chad Hutchens, associate librarian and head of digital collections at University of Wyoming Libraries in Laramie, received the university’s 2020 Agnes Milstead Distinguished Librarianship Award April 27.
July 13, 2020
Hayes, Nichelle
Nichelle M. Hayes, leader of Indianapolis Public Library’s Center for Black Literature and Culture, received the Indianapolis Center for Leadership Development’s Achievement in Arts and Entertainment Award May 7.
July 13, 2020
Jefferson, Rebecca
In May Rebecca Jefferson, curator of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at University of Florida in Gainesville and a joint faculty member of the university’s Center for Jewish Studies, was named to the Florida Commissioner of Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education.
July 13, 2020
Margolis, Deborah
Deborah Margolis, Middle East Studies Librarian at Michigan State University, received a Fulbright US Scholar Program award to conduct research in partnership with Tomorrow’s Youth Organization in Palestine and University of Jordan Libraries American Corner to encourage youth development and relationships among college-age youth and professionals around the world.
July 13, 2020
Christine Morris and Traces Murphy
Christine Morris, deputy director of OhioNET in Columbus, and Tracee M. Murphy, director of Wellsville Carnegie Public Library, were selected as members of the Leadership Ohio Class of 2020.
July 13, 2020

Obituaries

Van Deventer, Barbara
Barbara Van Deventer, 82, assistant director for collection development at University of Chicago (UC) until retiring in 1999, died April 22. At UC, her duties included public services for humanities and social sciences, and she was noted for her skills in cultivating donors and incorporating digital materials into the collection. She previously worked at Stanford University Libraries as government documents librarian, head of Cubberley Education Library, and social sciences curator.
July 13, 2020
Bobick, James
James Bobick, 76, a science librarian for 35 years, died May 3. He worked at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Temple University in Philadelphia; and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland before serving as head of the Science and Technology Department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for 16 years. He coauthored and edited The Handy Science Answer Book and Science and Technology Resources: A Guide for Information Professionals.
July 13, 2020
Garrison, William
William Garrison, 70, dean of University of South Florida (USF) Libraries in Tampa from 2008 until his 2015 retirement, died April 28. Before joining USF, Garrison had more than 30 years of library experience at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; Stanford (Calif.) University; University of Colorado in Boulder; and Syracuse (N.Y.) University. He was instrumental in creating and supporting the LGBTQ Collection at USF and oversaw major renovations of the library’s first and second floors. He also taught cataloging throughout his career, published numerous papers, and was an Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellow (2004-2006).
July 13, 2020
Moran, Barbara
Barbara Burns Moran, 75, faculty member and former dean of the School oflnformation and Library Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died May 2. She was a member of the faculty from 1981 until her retirement in 2017. During her time as dean (1990-1998), she enhanced technical resources, added an undergraduate minor program, increased graduate enrollment by 32%, and began the school’s London and Prague summer seminars. She published more than 85 journal articles and book chapters, and coauthored Library and Information Center Management.
July 13, 2020
Potter, Lillian
Lillian E. Potter, 87, longtime head of monographs cataloging at University of Texas at Austin Libraries, died April 30.
July 13, 2020

Send notices and photos to Amy Carlton, acarlton@ala.org.

Latest Library Links

4h
On August 4, ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. paid a virtual visit to the Jemez Pueblo (N. Mex.) Community Library to discuss the dire need for broadband access among tribal communities and the central role libraries can play in connecting diverse populations with high-speed internet access. This event, “The Imperative of Broadband for Tribal Libraries,” was one of the stops on Jefferson’s 12-stop virtual tour, Holding Space.
ALA Communications and Marketing Office, July 31
4h
The Institute of Museum and Library Services released the latest data from its 2018 Public Libraries Survey on July 31. The Public Libraries Survey collects information on key indicators of public library use, financial health, staffing, and resources. Explore the FY 2018 data and documentation or query the Library Search and Compare Tool. Each year since 1988, the survey has provided a national census of America’s public libraries. The data are collected from approximately 9,000 public library systems composed of more than 17,000 individual main libraries, branches, and bookmobiles in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories.
Institute of Museum and Library Services, July 31
4h
Much has been happening behind the scenes to prepare for Core’s upcoming launch on September 1st, and the Core Transition Committee provided an update. Core staff members have been working with ALA staff to build new systems and structures so that we can start the day on September 1 as a (relatively!) organized Core community. So far work has been done on changes in the member database, budget lines, new sections, and membership dues. During August, staff will be working on the new website, Connect site, committee rosters, online learning setup, new communication channels, and other infrastructure pieces.
ALCTS. Aug. 3
7h
University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries has been digitizing the largest collection of historic Mexican cookbooks in the US. The pandemic has brought that project to a halt, but the library is now releasing recipes from the collection in free ebooks. Postres: Guardando Lo Mejor Para el Principio, or Desserts: Saving the Best for First, brings recipes in English and Spanish from generations of Mexican cooks to foodies at home looking to whip up some historic sweets.
Gastro Obscura, July 29
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Thor Benson writes: “Back in February, the World Health Organization called the flood of misinformation about the coronavirus flowing through the Internet a “massive infodemic.” Since then, the situation has not improved. While social media platforms have promised to detect and label posts that contain misleading information related to COVID-19, they haven’t stopped the surge. But who is responsible for all those misleading posts?”
IEEE Spectrum, July 29
1d
A new Pew Research Center analysis of surveys conducted between October 2019 and June 2020 finds that those who rely most on social media for political news are less likely to follow major news stories, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, and tend to be less knowledgeable about these topics. Demographically, US adults who rely most on social media for news tend to be younger, are less likely to be white, and have lower levels of education than those who mainly use several other platforms.
Pew Research Center, July 30
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Maggie MacPherson writes: “Public library buildings are safe shelters and economic drivers that quietly operate within every community. They live in the bricks-and-mortar space as well as the virtual, assisting patrons with such life basics as finding employment, starting their own businesses and teaching their kids to read. During the pandemic, libraries had to close their buildings to the general book-reading public, but facilities were used in different ways, for example, as food bank distribution centers and emergency computer labs for low-income groups. In recent weeks, they have slowly started to reopen, with a renewed understanding of the unique and essential role libraries play within the physical community.”
Toronto Globe and Mail, July 28

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