The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs was created in 1991 with a gift from C. Walter and Gerda B. Mortenson to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Center promotes international peace through library training programs. [1] [2]
The Mortenson Center has worked with several grant agencies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to develop training programs for librarians in developing countries. [3] They have also worked with the Carnegie Corporation and Mellon Foundation to support education efforts in African libraries. [4]
In 17-28 October, 2016 Mortenson Center for International Library Programs organized the "Innovative management methods of libraries" training programs for the librarians in Armenia. [5] The trainings were attended by 100 librarians of public libraries of Armenia, 60 from the regions and communities of Armenia, 40 from the public libraries of Yerevan. [6]
Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population is estimated at 42,214 as of July 1, 2019. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members.
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libraries there are worldwide. An academic and research portal maintained by UNESCO links to 3,785 libraries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an estimated 3,700 academic libraries in the United States. In the past, the material for class readings, intended to supplement lectures as prescribed by the instructor, has been called reserves. In the period before electronic resources became available, the reserves were supplied as actual books or as photocopies of appropriate journal articles. Modern academic libraries generally also provide access to electronic resources.
Evan Ira Farber was Faculty Emeritus and former Head Librarian at Earlham College. Throughout his career, he was active with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), holding positions that included Chair of the ACRL College Library Section from 1968 to 1969 and President of the ACRL from 1978 to 1979. He was also active with the ACRL College Leadership Committee and the ACRL College Libraries Mentor Program.
The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award, is awarded by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association. The award was established to honor the memory of Paul N. Banks and Carolyn Harris, two early leaders in library preservation. The award consists of a citation and a $1,500 grant, donated by Preservation Technologies, L.P.
Robert Wedgeworth is an American librarian who was the founding President of ProLiteracy Worldwide, an adult literacy organization. He is also a former executive director of the American Library Association, served as president of IFLA, served as Dean of the School of Library Service at Columbia University, and was university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has also authored and edited several major reference works, and has won many awards over the course of his career. In 2021 the American Library Association awarded him Honorary Membership, its highest award.
James G. Neal is an American librarian, library administrator, and a prominent figure in American and international library associations.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improving learning, teaching, and research. The association serves librarians in all types of academic libraries at the community college, college, and university level and also serves librarians that work in comprehensive and specialized research libraries.
Loriene Roy is an American scholar of Indigenous librarianship, professor and librarian from Texas. She was the first Native American president of the American Library Association when she was inaugurated in 2007.
Megan Lotts is an American academic art librarian who is known for her research with Library makerspace, engagement, and academic library exhibition spaces.
The Beta Phi Mu Award is an annual award to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship. The first award was made in 1954 to Rudolph Hjalmar Gjelsness, Dean of the University of Michigan's Library Science Department from 1940 to 1964. The Award is sponsored by the International Honorary Society, Beta Phi Mu.
Maria T. Accardi is an academic in the field of library science at Indiana University Southeast.
The University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is the network of libraries, including both physical and virtual library spaces, which serves the University's students, faculty, and staff, as well as scholars and researchers worldwide. The University Library continues to evolve to serve the needs of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign campus.
John W. Berry is an American librarian. Berry served as president of the American Library Association from 2001 to 2002, leading the profession's response to the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Barbara J. Ford is an American librarian who served as President of the American Library Association from 1997 to 1998. She earned a bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master's degree in International Relations from Tufts University and a master's degree in library science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Loida Garcia-Febo is a Puerto Rican American librarian and library consultant. Garcia-Febo served on the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) 2013-2015 and 2015-2017 and she was a member of the Executive Board of the American Library Association 2015-2020 serving as a board member and president. She was President of the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA) from 2009-2010.
Clara Chu is a Chinese-Canadian library and information science scholar. She is the Director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interest is in multicultural library and information services.
Maureen Sullivan is an American librarian, educator, and organizational consultant who served as the president of the American Library Association from 2012 to 2013.
Spencer Gilbert Shaw was an American librarian and educator specializing in library services to children. He taught at the Information School of the University of Washington (1970–1986) and served as president of the Association for Library Services to Children (1975–1976).
Nicole Amy Cooke is an African-American librarian and the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair at the University of South Carolina. Her research focus on critical cultural information studies in libraries and her advocacy for social justice have earned recognition in the library profession.