Jessamyn Charity West is an American library technologist and writer known for her activism and work on the digital divide. She is the creator of librarian.net. She is the Vermont Chapter Councilor of the American Library Association, and was Director of Operations at the group blog MetaFilter from 2005 to 2014. West owns MetaFilter.
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities.
REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, more commonly known as REFORMA, is an affiliate of the American Library Association formed in 1971 to promote library services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking. It is registered in Washington, D.C. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Arnulfo Duenes Trejo was a writer and Professor of Library Science at the University of Arizona. He was a leader in the movement to increase library collections of Latino literature and Spanish-language materials in the United States. He was also instrumental in efforts to train more Latino and Spanish-speaking people as professional librarians.
Robert Sidney Martin is an American librarian, archivist, administrator, and educator. He is Professor Emeritus, School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University, where he was the Lillian M. Bradshaw Endowed Chair until his retirement in 2008.
Lucia M. Gonzalez is a children's author and librarian. In 2020 she was elected as president of the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association. She was president of REFORMA in 2010-2011.
E-Science librarianship refers to a role for librarians in e-Science.
Henrietta M. Smith was an American academic, librarian, and storyteller, who edited four editions of the Coretta Scott King Award collection published by the American Library Association. In 2008, she was honored with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes significant contributions to library service to children and ALSC. She is also the recipient of the 2011 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement for her body of work as a significant and lasting literary contribution. She was honored during the 2014 Carle Honors Celebration by the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art for her life's work as a champion of diversity in children's literature.
Lotsee Patterson is a Comanche librarian, educator, and founder of the American Indian Library Association. She has written numerous articles on collection development, tribal libraries and Native American Librarianship. A Native American, Lotsee Patterson first became interested in collecting Native American objects, as her mother was a collections director. In the late 1950s, she read the 1983 publication The Museum Handbook of Native American History. She saw that Native Americans were less well documented than other cultures and often paid exorbitant prices for materials that were soon obsolete. Patterson is a University of Oklahoma Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Studies.
The Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture presented at the annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) is tribute to the work of Jean E. Coleman to ensure that all citizens, particularly Native Americans and adult learners, have access to quality library services. Dr. Coleman directed the ALA, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) which served the Association by identifying and promoting library services that support equitable access to the knowledge and information stored in our libraries. OLOS focused attention on services that are inclusive of traditionally underserved populations, including new and non-readers, people geographically isolated, people with disabilities, rural and urban poor people, and people generally discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identification, age, language and social class. The Jean E. Coleman lecture is now sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS).
The Florida Library Association (FLA) is a regional, non-profit organization that promotes professional discourse and opportunities for the library community in Florida. The FLA publishes the Florida Libraries Journal.
Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a library scholar and librarian. Much of her work centers around human rights, First Amendment issues, and the freedom of information.
Mary Lou Harkness was a librarian and a university library director, the first woman to hold that title at any Florida university. She was the fourth employee hired by the University of South Florida.
Dr. Vicki L. Gregory is professor emeritus at the School of Information at the University of South Florida (USF). She and was director of the School from 1999 until 2007. Her fields of specialization include: academic libraries, digital librarianship, technical services, information science, library networking, library automation, and collection development. Prior to teaching at USF Dr. Gregory was Director of Systems and Operations for the Auburn University at Montgomery Library. She is currently President of Beta Phi Mu. She was Treasurer for the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) and the winner of the 2014 Watson Davis Award. She is also the author, co-author, or editor of seven books and has published numerous articles.
The Department of Information Studies is a department of the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Andrew S. Breidenbaugh is an American librarian and director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System. He has worked to bring online databases, eBooks, streaming media, music, and courses to the system.
Angie Drobnic Holan is the director of the International Fact-Checking Network and editor for PolitiFact and was part of the Pulitzer Prize winning team of journalists noted for their fact-checking of the 2008 presidential elections in the United States.
The Robert W. Saunders Sr. Public Library is a member of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System (THPL) and the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative (HCPLC).
The University of South Florida Tampa Library is the main research library for the University of South Florida. Housing over 1.3 million books, academic journals and electronic resources, including 52,000 e-journal subscriptions, 443,000 e-books, and over 800 databases, the library has more than 2 million visitors each year. The library offers tutoring and writing services, laptops, a career resource center, and course reserves. The facility houses several special and digital collections, including literature, oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and the university archives. The current Dean of USF Libraries is Todd Chavez.
F. William Summers was an American librarian and educator in library and information science. Summers held a number of leadership positions in the American Library Association, including serving as the organization's president from 1988 to 1989.
