Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke and affiliated faculty member Clara Chu have been appointed to serve on a new American Library Association (ALA) task force on LIS accreditation.
The Task Force on the Context of Future Accreditation is charged with drafting a white paper describing the fields and context for which ALA will be making accreditation decisions in the future. Based on their conclusions, the group may also make recommendations to the ALA Executive Board. Specific topics the members will examine include the relationship between skills needed by professionals and the current LIS curricula, values in LIS, and institutional changes, such as pedagogical innovation.
Cooke is an assistant professor at GSLIS who holds a PhD in communication, information, and library studies from Rutgers University, where she was an ALA Spectrum Doctoral Fellow. Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context; eLearning; and diversity and social justice in librarianship. Named a Mover & Shaker in 2007 by Library Journal, Cooke is active in ACRL, ALISE, and several other professional library organizations. She holds an MLS degree from Rutgers University and an M.Ed. in adult education from Penn State.
Chu is director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at Illinois. Her research interests include multicultural library and information services, information seeking behavior, critical information studies, international and comparative librarianship, and LIS education. She has published in leading international journals, presented at conferences around the world, and held successive leadership positions in several professional associations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia and master’s and doctoral degrees in library science from the University of Western Ontario.