ATLANTA – Elizabeth Hammond, Dean of University Libraries at Mercer University, has been elected to the SOLINET Board of Directors. Loretta Parham, CEO and Library Director of the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center, and John Szabo, Director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, have been elected as delegates to the OCLC Members Council.
In addition to Dean of University Libraries, Hammond has held numerous other positions at Mercer University, including Associate Director and Collection Development Librarian as well as Head of Collection Development. She has served on the Executive Committee for the 2007 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) National Conference in Baltimore. Hammond earned bachelor of arts and a master of library science degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“SOLINET is a critical player in our individual and collective success through a dynamic infra-structure for resource sharing, collection and technology management, and training,” Hammond said.
Parham has been re-elected to the SOLINET delegation to OCLC Members Council. She has been Director of the Harvey Library in Virginia, Deputy Director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, and District Chief of the Chicago Public Library in Illinois. She at-tended the Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians and was named a Mover and Shaker by Library Journal. Parham has a master of library science degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of science degree from Southern Illinois University. She is also a gradu-ate of the Frye Leadership Institute.
“SOLINET is the regional network on the OCLC map that makes a unique and significant contri-bution to the information landscape,” Parham said. “The Members Council is the means through which we can provide feedback to OCLC on its programs, products, and services.”
Szabo, Director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, also has experience as Director at two Florida public library systems: Clearwater and Palm Harbor. The Illinois Library Association honored him with the Alexander J. Skrzypek Award for Library Service to the Blind and Visually Impaired in 1994. Szabo has a master of library and information science from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of arts in telecommunications from the University of Alabama.
“Libraries of all types can count on SOLINET to be a leader in developing original and essential continuing education opportunities,” Szabo said. “I appreciate the importance of regional network representation in the midst of significant changes and expansion at OCLC.”
Others elected to the SOLINET Board of Directors are
• Rebecca Hamilton, Director and State Librarian of the State Library of Louisiana
• Sol Hirsch, Director of the Alachua County Library District in Florida
• Richard Madaus, Executive Director of the College Center for Library Automation in Florida.
The new Board of Directors elected these officers:
• Chair: Carol Pitts Diedrichs, Dean of Libraries at University of Kentucky Libraries
• Vice Chair: Willis Sheftall, Professor of Economics at Morehouse College in Georgia
• Treasurer: Bill Miller, Dean of Libraries at Florida Atlantic University
• Secretary: Laura Davidson, Dean of Library Information Services at Meredith College in North Carolina
Rosann Bazirjian, University Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is the third delegate elected to represent SOLINET institutions on the OCLC Members Council.
SOLINET
The Southeastern Library Network, Inc. (SOLINET) is an Atlanta-based not-for-profit library cooperative serving the Southeastern United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Lou-isiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia) and the Caribbean. A membership network of libraries and other information organizations, SOLINET works in col-laboration with many partners, from local to international, to provide leadership for cooperative action, improve access to information, and enable members to effectively anticipate and address the region’s needs for education, economic development, and improved quality of life. www.solinet.net.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; four regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial Health University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
