Archives

Prellwitz, Wendy

September 1, 2021

Gwendolyn “Wendy” Prellwitz, assistant director for recruitment and retention in the Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services (ODLOS), left ALA June 4.

Strowder, Kevin

September 1, 2021

Kevin D. Strowder began as director of ODLOS June 21.

Croft, Betty Mary Ellen

September 1, 2021

Betty Mary Ellen Croft, 94, former head of the cataloging department at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and director of Northwest Missouri State University Library in Maryville, died April 9.

Haas, Leslie

September 1, 2021

Leslie M. Haas, 54, dean of library services at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) in Hays, Kansas, died June 10. Haas joined FHSU in 2020 after working at Georgia Southern Uni-versity in Statesboro; Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Loyola University Chicago; University of Utah in Salt Lake City; Kent (Ohio) State University; … Continue reading Haas, Leslie →

Henderson, William

September 1, 2021

William T Henderson, 90, who served as acquisitions librarian at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and preservation librarian at UIUC, died June 11, 2020. Henderson was an American Library Association (ALA) life member and an early implementer of automation for bindery efforts. He and his wife Kathryn (also an LIS instructor) team-taught preservation courses at … Continue reading Henderson, William →

Minudri, Regina

September 1, 2021

Regina Minudri, 84, director of Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library from 1977 until her 1994 retirement, died June 18. After California’s Proposition 13 in 1978 reduced public library financing, she became the first library director in the state to secure tax funding through voter approval in 1980. She also started Berkeley’s Tool Lending Library, developed a … Continue reading Minudri, Regina →

Mueller, Elizabeth

September 1, 2021

Elizabeth Ann Mueller, 86, director of Appalachian Regional Library in North Carolina until retiring in 2000, died May 24. She previously served as consulting services director for Chicago Suburban Library System in Burr Ridge, Illinois, and was named the Illinois Library Association’s Librarian of the Year in 1993.

Parker, Marie

September 1, 2021

Marie Antonella Parker, 63, librarian for North Londonderry (N.H.) Elementary School for 10 years, died April 3.

Pendergrass, Devona

September 1, 2021

Devona Pendergrass, 63, district library team leader at Mountain Home (Ark.) Public Schools, died May 2. Pendergrass was a board member at large of the American Associa-tion of School Librarians from 2016–2018, a charter member of the Arkansas Rural Education Association, and 2014 president of the Arkansas Association of School Librarians.

Sánchez, Jane

September 1, 2021

Jane Sánchez, 72, deputy librarian for library collections and services at Library of Congress (LC), died March 26. Sánchez joined LC in 2014 as chief of the Humanities and Social Sciences division. She was appointed the 25th law librarian of Congress in 2017. She had previously served as head of history and culture libraries at … Continue reading Sánchez, Jane →

Shepherd, Anne

September 1, 2021

Anne M. Shepherd, 68, a library director for more than 35 years at libraries in Florida, Louisiana, and Rhode Island, died January 13. Most recently, she founded Shepherd and Associates, a library consulting and executive search firm.

Ubel, James

September 1, 2021

James Ubel, 83, executive director of Shawnee Library System in Carterville, Illinois, until his retirement in 2000, died February 7.

Latest Library Links

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Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9
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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

College & Research Libraries News, Dec.
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ALA has selected 46 participants for its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. ELs will take part in a day-long session during the 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 4
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On December 9, ALA announced a $25 million bequest by James W. Lewis, of Washington, D.C. The gift, the largest individual bequest in ALA’s history, will fund scholarships for aspiring librarians with demonstrated financial needs. Throughout Lewis’s career at Merrill Lynch, where he leads the Lewis Group as senior vice president and senior relationship manager, he has demonstrated his commitment to libraries and their communities by generously volunteering his time, including as a member of the Board of Visitors at the library of his alma mater, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He also served as a Library Trustee Board member at District of Columbia Public Library for 10 years.”

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 9
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Tess Prendergast writes: “I will never forget the surprised look on one mom’s face during storytime when I dropped a tip—technically called an aside—about how rhyming helps babies differentiate sounds and prepares them for reading. “You mean that all this singing will help her in school?” she asked. “I thought we were just doing this for fun!” Early literacy activities are certainly fun—but also valuable. Many parents and caregivers aren’t aware that simple, everyday activities can benefit their child’s early language and literacy development and have a lasting positive impact on their learning.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Joel Thornton, associate dean, collections and scholarly communication at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, has withdrawn his candidacy for 2025–2028 treasurer of the ALA. Larry Neal, director of Clinton-Macomb (Mich.) Public Library, is the remaining nominated candidate for ALA treasurer. Members who are interested in running by petition for ALA treasure may do so by completing a petition form with the signatures of no fewer than 200 current personal ALA members, and a Candidate Biographical Information Form, by December 13.

ALA Governance Office, Dec. 9
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Catherine Savage, Roz Topolski, and Ashley Johnson write: “In a healthy democracy, voters have confidence in the electoral process, are well informed about the issues, and know that their voice matters. Unfortunately, rampant misinformation and disinformation have left voters unhappy and confused these days about what to believe and whom to trust. Providing a space for civic engagement is an important part of what public libraries do. To that end, the community engagement team at Vernon Area Public Library District in Lincolnshire, Illinois, retained a political scientist in residence as a key component of a yearlong series of election-related offerings.”

American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.

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