KINGSTON, R.I. – November 1, 2013 – Since its inception in 1963, the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies has graduated more than 3,000 students with master’s degrees of library and information studies.
Alumni, friends, students, and library supporters will gather to celebrate the school’s success at the 50th anniversary gala, Friday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Warwick. All are welcome to attend.
They will not only be marking the school’s Golden Anniversary, but will be celebrating the roles of librarians and information professionals in transforming their communities as libraries are becoming the place where people go to seek information, gain knowledge, and connect with others virtually and physically.
“This academic program has helped create thousands of dedicated librarians and information professionals who provide people in communities across Rhode Island, New England and around the world with access to collections and services to meet people’s varied information and leisure needs,” said Renee Hobbs, professor and founding director of URI’s Harrington School of Communication and Media and interim chair of the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.
“Now that the program is part of the Harrington School of Communication and Media, we anticipate that future librarians and information professionals will become increasingly outward-facing as advocates and community leaders.”
Highlights of the night include Beta Phi Mu induction and ceremonies honoring five distinguished alumni for their leadership, innovation and service to the profession:
• Nancy Mattoon Kline, who earned her master of library science degree from URI in 1973, is a retired academic librarian and author of Technological Change and Bibliographic Instruction : A Delphi Study of American Academic Librarians’ Views.
• E. Gale Eaton, of Wakefield, a 1974 recipient of a master’s degree in library science from URI, is professor emerita and former director of URI’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.
• Fred Stielow, who earned his master of library science at URI in 1981,is vice president/dean of Libraries and Course Materials at the American Public University System: American Military University and American Public University.
• Janice McPeak, who earned her URI master’s degree from the school in 2000, is a public health advisor at the Food and Drug Administration. She previously worked as a technical information specialist and systems librarian at the National Library of Medicine.
• Ed Garcia of Cranston earned his bachelor’s degree from URI and his master’s from the University’s library school in 2008, and he is director of the Cranston Public Library and an American Library Association councilor.
Joan Ress Reeves will receive a special lifetime recognition award for her advocacy and support of libraries, library legislation, and the library profession locally and nationally. She is co-founder of Rhode Island’s Coalition of Library Advocates and has served on two White House Conferences on Library and Information Services and later chaired the taskforce formed from these conferences. Reeves also serves on American Library Association committees and other boards locally and nationally.
A keynote talk will be given by David Weinberger, co-director of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Weinberger’s writings and presentations focus on how the Internet is changing relationships, communication and society. He is the author of several books including The Cluetrain Manifesto, Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web, and Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder. His 2012 book is titled Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren’t the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room.
The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Beta Phi Mu induction, dinner, awards presentation and keynote Weinberger.
Tickets are $75 per person and $50 for current URI students. Tables can be purchased for $500. To register and purchase tickets online, go to http://gslis-uri-50th.com. Proceeds will benefit the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Scholarship Fund. If you can’t attend, but would like to contribute to the scholarship fund, check the box on the web page that says “unable to attend.” The Gala is sponsored by the Harrington School of Communication and Media where GSLIS is currently located.
For more information, contact Stefanie Metko at 401-874-2878 or stefaniemetko@uri.edu
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, kindly contact Paula Santos at pmsantos@uri.edu.