Cooke receives ALA Equality Award

Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke is the 2016 recipient of the American Library Association (ALA) Equality Award. The annual award—$1,000 and a framed citation of achievement donated by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group—is given to an individual or group for outstanding contributions toward promoting equality in the library profession. Cooke’s award will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando on June 26, 2016.

The jury noted that throughout her career, Cooke has been a passionate advocate for equity and has spearheaded diversity initiatives within the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) and at her home institution. In particular, the members were impressed with Cooke’s extensive record of publications and dedicated social-justice oriented approach to her teaching, both of which indicate the far-reaching impact that her personal commitment to equality has on the rest of the profession, as well as future colleagues.  

As nominator Trevar Riley-Reid stated, "Dr. Cooke has been a staunch champion for inclusion and has led the charge in changing the education of librarians to make them better able to serve those, who to date, have been unserved or underserved—the rapidly emerging majority of Americans who are people of color."

In addition to her role as assistant professor at GSLIS, Cooke is a faculty affiliate in the Center for Digital Inclusion. Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context, eLearning, and diversity and social justice in librarianship. She has published articles in journals including The Library Quarterly, Library & Information Science Research, InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information, Polymath: An Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Journal, Information Research, The Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, The New Review of Academic Librarianship, and The Library and Book Trade Almanac 2013. Cooke also coauthored Instructional Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals (Chandos Press, 2012).

Named a Mover & Shaker in 2007 by Library Journal, Cooke is professionally active in ACRL, ALISE, and several other professional library organizations. She holds an MLS degree from Rutgers University, an M.Ed. in Adult Education from Penn State, and a PhD in communication, information, and library studies from Rutgers University, where she was an ALA Spectrum Doctoral Fellow.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Wang group to present at BigData 2024

Members of Associate Professor Dong Wang's research group, the Social Sensing and Intelligence Lab, will present their research at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (BigData 2024), which will be held from December 15-18 in Washington, D.C. BigData 2024 is the premier venue to present and discuss progress in research, development, standards, and applications of topics in artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics.

Dong Wang

Book co-edited by Sayuno wins national award in Philippines

A book edited by Postdoctoral Research Associate Cheeno Marlo Sayuno and Eugene Evasco has received a National Book Award from the Republic of the Philippines. The award, sponsored by the National Book Development Board and the Manila Critics Circle, is an annual prize that honors the most outstanding titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines. 

Cheeno Sayuno

Antwi grateful for Balz Scholarship

MSLIS student Victora Antwi is grateful for the financial support that she has received through the Balz Endowment Fund. An international student from the Mampong-Nsuta in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, Antwi earned her bachelor’s degree in information studies in 2020 from the University of Ghana. 

Victoria Antwi

Illinois researchers examine teens’ use of generative AI, safety concerns

Teenagers use generative artificial intelligence for many purposes, including emotional support and social interactions. A study by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers found that parents have little understanding of GAI, how their children use it and its potential risks, and that GAI platforms offer insufficient protection to ensure children’s safety.

Yang Wang

Bell receives Fulbright-Hays Fellowship for dissertation fieldwork in Brazil

Little did doctoral candidate Kainen Bell know in 2013 when he was an undergraduate studying abroad in Brazil that the country would play a major role in his future dissertation research. Since his first trip, he has returned to Brazil multiple times, even completing a Fulbright study and working for a community-based organization in the country. Now, Bell is preparing to return again, this time to spend ten months conducting research as a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship.

Kainen Bell