Category: SLIS News

Faculty Spotlight – June 2021

Dr. Laurie Bonnici recently co-authored an article regarding vaccination information on Facebook and the application of Speech Act theory as it relates to pro- and anti-vaccination perspectives from various groups. The work is entitled, “What are the saying? A speech act analysis of a vaccination information debate on Facebook” and can be found here.

Dr. Jamie Naidoo was recently featured as a guest speaker on the podcast hosted by Reach Out and Read. He discusses the portrayal of “rainbow families” in children’s books and why LGBTQ+ children’s books continue to be the most challenged genre. The link to the podcast can be found here.

Dr. Bob Riter co-authored an article with Kevin Bailey (Archival Studies Certificate program graduate) and Dr. Jeff Hirschy (MLIS ’16, PhD ’20). Entitled “Exhibitions as Public Health Interventions: The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society,” the article highlights the work being done at the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society to provide social and historical context of tobacco products. The article appeared in the American Behavioral Scientist journal and can be found here.

Dr. Steven Yates presented at the 2021 Alabama School Library Association Virtual Conference on June 15, 2021. He and Susan Zana (MLIS ’08) presented “Strategic Planning for School Libraries.” He also presented “Packing Your Toolkit with Free and Cost-Friendly Resources: UA SLIS Students Share Their Favorites” with current MLIS students Meredith Felton, Minda King, and Catherine Shipp.

James L. “Jim” Baggett (MLIS ’97) Named the 2021 Outstanding MLIS Alumnus

Jim Baggett is the 2021 recipient of the School of Library and Information Studies MLIS Alumnus of the Year. Jim graduated in 1997 from the Master of Library and Information Studies program with a concentration in special collections. He is currently the Head of the Birmingham Public Library Archives and Archivist for the City of Birmingham, Alabama. Some of his responsibilities include supervision over employees and projects, collecting and actively preserving material on the history of Birmingham and Birmingham city records, and assisting researchers who visit or contact the Archives from around the globe. He also represents his institution in professional organization, directs digitization projects, and curates exhibits.

Baggett elaborated on how COVID-19 has impacted the services provided at his institution. “For much of 2020 we were unable to serve researchers in person, so we expanded the services that we offer remotely, including digitizing items for researchers. All of our programming is being done online and we plan to keep the online component after we return to in-person programming because we are drawing hundreds more views online that we would draw in-person visitors.”

If he could come back to UA and take any class, Jim said he would probably take a book arts class. “I was never able to work that into my schedule years ago, but I always suspected they were having more fun than the rest of us.” Some advice he has for current students is to “get as much hands-on experience as you can through internships and volunteering. It’s the only way to know for sure that this is the career you want, and it will make you much more employable.”

Baggett said the American Library Association (ALA) Core Value that most inspires the work he does is diversity. “Diversity is a core value that guides how we build and operate the Archives. While we focus on preserving the history of a fairly small geographic area—Birmingham and the surrounding area—within that we have a diverse collection that includes letters, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, and oral history interviews from a wide variety of Birmingham’s communities. These include the African American community, Jewish community, Birmingham women, the Hispanic community and other immigrant communities, and most recently our LGBTQ+ communities. We hold records of large corporations, prominent families, and political and community leaders, but we also hold the papers of homemakers, schoolteachers, musicians, athletes, activists, labor organizers, environmentalists, and the diaries of a shoe salesman.”

 

Dr. Cathleen Baker (MFA ’00, PhD ’04) named Book Arts Outstanding Alumna for 2021

Dr. Cathleen Baker is the 2021 recipient of the School of Library and Information Studies Book Arts Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Baker graduated in 2000 with a Master of Fine Arts in Book Arts. In 2016 she retired from University of Michigan Library, Conservation Department, where she was a designated Conservation Librarian Emerita. Currently, she is the proprietor of The Legacy Press (1997–present) where she serves as editor/copy editor, designer, and overall supervisor of activities related to The Legacy Press. “I cannot say the pandemic has affected my publishing, though it did change how I shipped orders for much of April through June 2020 when sales also dropped precipitously,” Dr. Baker explained. If allowed to come back to UA and take any class, Dr. Baker said she would retake letterpress printing on the handpress to acquire more experience and though understanding of the processes. Her words of advice for current and prospective students are “Set your expectations high, beyond what you think you can learn and do.”

Dr. Baker was celebrated on campus during Honors Week and was a featured speaker at the SLIS Honors Day virtual recognition on April 9. Thank you, Dr. Baker, for your contributions to the field of book arts!

 

Makiba Foster (MLIS ’07) Named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker

Makiba Foster, a 2007 MLIS graduate of UA SLIS and our 2017 Outstanding Alumna, was recently honored in Library Journal’s 2021 Movers and Shakers in the Digital Developers category. She currently works as the Regional Library Manager for the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has been a trailblazer and innovator with actively preserving and archiving Black history, leading projects such as Archiving the Black Web and the Documenting Ferguson archive. A link to the Library Journal article featuring her can be found here. Congratulations, Makiba, on this exceptional achievement and we wish you continued success in the important work you are doing in the library field!

Dr. Nancy Pack, SLIS Advisory Board member, Honored as UT Distinguished Alumna

Dr. Nancy Pack, Executive Director of the Alabama Public Library Service and member of the SLIS Advisory Board established by Dr. Elmborg in 2019, was recently awarded the 2021 SIS Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences. Her position oversees all public libraries in Alabama, as well as the Alabama Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. We congratulate her on this outstanding achievement!
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