LIS Alumna Ana Barreto appointed by the ALA Office for Diversity as field recruiter for Discovering Librarianship

USF SI-LIS Alumna Ana Barreto has been appointed by the ALA Office for Diversity as a field recruiter for the Discovering Librarianship project - a recruitment initiative focused on introducing ethnically diverse high school and college students to careers in libraries. More than 100 applications were received, and field recruiters were selected based on demonstration of leadership potential; interest in recruitment; and committed support from current employer, including time to participate in training and recruitment events. Ana currently works as a librarian at the Miami Dade Public Library. You can read more about this project and the others that were selected here. ~JV

USF SI at the 2010 Miami Book Fair International

USF SI's East Coast Coordinator Maria Treadwell and Communication and Information Officer Jessica Voss attended the 2010 Miami Book Fair International this past weekend. USF SI's booth was a hit this year at the fair. The interest in our programs by fair goers was very high. Many LIS adjuncts, alumni, and current students were excited to see our presence at the fair and stopped by to catch up with the staff. Over 75 prospective students were anxious to stop and get information on our master's program.


Alumni Anthony Verdesca (1999) and Maria Treadwell

2008 grad, Katia Nunez (center) with her sister (left) and Maria Treadwell (right)

The Street Fair included the Festival of Authors, with more than 350 authors reading and discussing their work and the more than 250 publishers and booksellers exhibits. Thousands of South Florida schoolchildren kicked off the Street Fair, making the trip downtown Friday to hear authors and participate in Children's Alley activities. The street fair was full of surprises with performers on stilts and mariachis singing. Here are a few pictures we captured. To view more photos from the fair click here.

Dr. Sonia Wohlmuth, former USF LIS Instructor, Publishes "From Dialect to World Language: The Trajectory of Castillian"

USF World Languages Instructor, Dr. Sonia Wohlmuth has published an article titled, "From Dialect to World Language: The Trajectory of Castillian" in the 2010 issue of Cultural Perspectives on Film, Literature, and Language: Selected Proceedings of the 19th Southeast Conference on Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Film. You can download the article here. Dr. Wohlmuth was member of the IS faculty from 1993-2010 and an active member of REFORMA.. ~JV

Christine Wigfall Morris Signing at North Greenwood Library Branch

Christine Wigfall Morris

This Friday, Nov 19 from 3-6 pm, the Clearwater Library System will host a book signing for Christine Wigfall Morris, the first Black Librarian in the Clearwater Library System, at the North Greenwood Library Branch in Clearwater. Christine started working as a librarian in Clearwater, Florida, in 1949. She had never stepped foot in one of the city's libraries before accepting the position. She has published her life story about family, community, and history. To see the event registration click here. ~JV

USF SI-LIS Graduate Assistant is ACRL Member of the Week

USF School of Information's Library and Information Science Graduate Assistant Sylvia Martinez is the Association of College and Research Librarie's Member of the Week. Sylvia has been an ACRL member since 2010. You can read her interview here. Congratulations Sylvia!! ~JV

USF SI at FAME 2010 Annual Conference

The Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) is the professional organization at the state level for librarians who work in educational settings. FAME's President, Cecelia Solomon, is a graduate of the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science program. Last week, school media specialists from all regions of Florida congregated once more for their Annual Conference at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Hotel in Orlando. Conference Logo

The theme for this year's conference was Team Work, and many of the sessions and notable speakers referred to this need of working together during the difficult times that libraries and schools are experiencing. Some of the speakers and authors who contributed to the discussion were Margaret Peterson Haddix, Gayle Forman, Caroline Cooney, Toni Buzzeo, M. H. Herlong, Brian Skerry, and many others.

The School of Information at the University of South Florida (USF SI) was, as always, present in different venues during the event. The School's booth in the Exhibits area attracted not only alumni and well-known faces, but also many professionals interested in the programs provided at USF.


Communication and Information Officer Jessica Voss and Graduate Assistant Alicia K. Long working the exhibitor booth.

Some of the programs including USF faculty members and students were:

TEaM: Technology Education and Mentoring,a session presented by Professor Diane Austin and LIS students Bill Harris, Nicole Rideout, and Kristine Smith.


USF SI Student Kristine Smith shared some of the technological skills learned in her classes.

A Professor, a School Media Supervisor, Media Specialists, and SLIS Students: A Winning Team! Presented by Dr. Cora P. Dunkley and Dr. Henrietta M. Smith.


Dr. Smith, Prof. Austin, Dr. Dunkley, and Prof. Treadwell get ready for their respective presentations.

Game Time: Teamwork and the Community. Presented by Bobbi O'Brien from WUSF.

On Thursday evening, the School hosted a reception where many alumni and friends of the school enjoyed a moment of socializing. Several former students told us that they look forward to seeing their former professors and USF SI staff at these receptions.


Dr. Cora P. Dunkley with some of her former and current students

With many people in attendance, interesting sessions, speakers, and the USF SI presence, this year's FAME Conference was a home run! More pictures of FAME 2010 can be found here. AKL

LIS Adjunct Penny Beile Named EBSS Distinguished Librarian

School of Information LIS Adjunct Penny Beile was named the 2010 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award. Penny is currently the interim department head for reference services and department head of the Curriculum Materials Center at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries. To read more about this honor click here. You can also check out her personal website -http://pennybeile.net/Home.html. ~JV

Project ALFA Site is Launched

Accessible Libraries For All (ALFA) Project ALFA is a partnership between the University of Alabama, the University of South Florida, the Alabama Public Library Service, and the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services. Project ALFA is an ALA-accredited Master's degree program centered on a philosophy of service to a diverse community. It was designed to do so by providing 30 masters degree fellowships. Project ALFA includes design, development, and deployment of:

School of Information hosts ICPE 2010

On October 20th through October 22nd, 2010, faculty and students of the School of Information (SI) and University of South Florida administrators welcomed domestic and international presenters at the 2nd International Conference on Information Capital, Property, and Ethics (ICPE).

Presented by USF's School of Information and Shih Hsin University - Taipei's Department of Information and Communication, the conference was held at USF's Gibbons Alumni Center and brought together scholars and professionals interested in intellectual property issues, information studies, and international politics. The theme of the conference was "Globalizing Intellectual Property: The Geopolitics and Ethics of Information Rights", and served as part two of the same theme as the 1st Conference that was held in Shih Hsin University, Taipei in 2008. The conference's ultimate objective was to strengthen international academic and cultural exchange in the information studies discipline, and to promote information ethics in the knowledge service profession.

At the conclusion of the conference, it was announced that the 3rd International Conference on ICPE will take place next year in mainland China.


Photo taken at the Opening Reception on Wendesday, October 20th.

When asked her opinion on the significance of having this conference at a location in the United States, Dr. Chihfeng P. Lin, Associate Professor in the Department of Information & Communications at Shih Hsin University -Taipei and Co-Convener of ICPE 2010, explained it was an example of sister-school relationships where faculty members of the two schools are given an opportunity to exchange and share their expertise. She further argued that interaction between the two schools provided an opportunity for faculty members and hopefully students "to learn from each other in culture, lifestyle, and language proficiency in additional to academic development."

Additional comments about the conference:

"We cannot over-emphasize the significance of having the ICPE 2010 here at USF. Having a conference of this stature promotes not only the university, but the whole State of Florida as well. The Mayor of Tampa acknowledged as much, when she thanked USF for bringing the conference to Tampa."

John N. Gathegi, Ph.D., J.D. - Conference Co-Convener Professor, School of Information, University of South Florida Co-Convener, ICPE 2010

"I think that the multifaceted nature of the topic and the intimate inherent structure of the venue (i.e. limited to 50 participants) attracted me to ICPE 2010. From the time that I first began communicating with Dr. Gathegi to when I was befriended and assisted by Yvette Harden - USF Alumni Center Reservations Manager -- I felt as if I were sitting in the comfort of a good friend's living room talking about important intellectual property/rights/ethics issues. In my nearly 20-year career as a librarian, I've never had such a rich conference experience."

Tom Adamich - Presenter MA LIS Alumnus, School of Information Head of Metadata Services at Muskingum College President at Visiting Librarian Service


Photo taken at conclusion of ICPE 2010 on Friday, October 22nd.

"I got a lot out of the conference. Meeting the visitors from Taiwan and talking with them about the state of libraries over there was fascinating. Conditions there are remarkably similar in some aspects, but quite different in others. Since it was my first time attending an academic conference, I was also surprised by the communal, friendly nature of the event. I was sad when it was over. During our coffee breaks and meals, I received lots of great informal advice and suggestions from fellow students, colleagues and presenters, and was also able to get a window into the world of current information policy discussions."

Zachary English - Presenter MA LIS Student, School of Information Class of 2011

"This conference was exceptionally well organized. I had the opportunity to network with upcoming and established Library and Information Science Professionals in the United States and also from other countries such as Taiwan. Presentations were captivating and enlightening because they were thought provoking especially findings of many of the empirical research papers that were presented and projects that some of the professionals were working on."

Dr. Musa Wakhungu Olaka - Presenter University of Missouri, School of Information Science and Learning Technology


MA LIS Graduate Students Reema Mohini and Alive Graves welcome registrants for ICPE 2010. - DVTZ