From The Desk Of The Chief Librarian

Each academic department of the City College is periodically reviewed by outside experts.  This year it is the library's turn, and the external review team will visit the campus March 25th and 26th.

As part of the Middle States re-accreditation visit to the college last May, library staffing, funding, maintenance and collections were closely critiqued. Since the upcoming external review follows so closely after re-accreditation, its goals center on teaching and research, fundraising, and diversity. Review team members were selected for their expertise in these areas. Visiting the campus for the external review will be:

Camila Alire, Dean of Libraries at Colorado State University, is the first Hispanic head of an Association of Research Libraries facility. Her work and extensive publications on library service to ethnic groups earned her the 1997 ALA Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change National Award and the 1997 REFORMA Librarian of the Year Award.  A 1984 Ph.D. in Education from the University of Northern Colorado, Dr. Alire has devoted much of her career to promoting the recruitment and retention of minorities in higher education.  She is an experienced fund-raiser, a member of the Colorado Council on Library Development which sets state-wide policy, past president of REFORMA, and a member of the ARL Cultural Diversity Committee.  Dr. Alire served as an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Library and Information Services in 1991.

Maureen Pastine, University Librarian, Temple University, is a strategic planner with a successful record in fundraising and development, library construction and renovation, and creative use of new information technologies.  In her earlier position as central university librarian at Southern Methodist University, she established a Center for Media and Instructional Technology/Digital Commons, and played a leading role in the passage by the Texas Legislature of the TexShare regional academic library consortium program.  She was director of libraries at Washington State University and university librarian at San Jose State.  She received her MLS  from Emporia State University, and is chair of the University Libraries Section of ACRL.

Mohamed Mekkawi, Director of Libraries, Howard University, has addressed the problems of shrinking budgets and costly resources by emphasizing an entrepreneurial attitude and the need to restructure the ways in which the library meets the needs of the college in a rapidly changing technological environment. He has promoted the use of the library's web server for faculty electronic publishing, developed effective partnering relationships with the faculty, and instituted the use of a development and public relations administrator to attract the sponsorship of the corporate world.  He was formerly head of the School of Architecture and City Planning Library and Media Center at Howard.  He holds MAs from American University of Beirut and Georgetown, and an MLS from  Pitt.  He is a member of the ARL Cultural Diversity Committee.

Comments, suggestions, and feedback regarding the Library’s services are always welcome and should be addressed to me by calling x7271, sending email to prgcc@scisun.sci.ccny.cuny.edu, or by dropping by NAC 5/333 (Cohen Library).

Pamela Gillespie
Chief Librarian
prgcc@scisun.sci.ccny.cuny.edu
 
 
 

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