Your School, Your Site- Our Community
Join the OU School of Library & Information Studies Alumni Association to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, to support future generations of information professionals, and to learn more about the growth and activities of the university.
Membership dues are $25.00 annually or $10 for retirees and 1st year graduates. Your dues help support:
The Alumni Association finalized the current set of by-laws and the constitution in May 2015.
Board of Directors 2023-2024
President, SLIS Alumni Association Board
Senior Director, Research & Learning Services, University of Oklahoma Libraries (Norman Campus)
Vice President, SLIS Alumni Association Board
Programs and Reference Coordinator, Western Plain Library System
Secretary, SLIS Alumni Association Board
Cataloging & Metadata Librarian, Tulsa Community College
Treasurer, SLIS Alumni Association Board
Director, Schusterman Library, University of Oklahoma (Tulsa Campus)
Professor, Health Sciences Library and Information Management
Board Members 2023-2024
Alumni Association Board Member
Digital Services Librarian, Oklahoma State University
Alumni Association Board Member
Readers' Services Coordinator, Pioneer Library System
Alumni Association Board Member
Collection Development Librarian, Anythink Libraries
Alumni Association Board Member
SLIS Alumni Association Board Member
Executive Director for the Southern Oklahoma Library System
Alumni Association Board Member
District Communicatons/Library Services Coordinator, Shawnee Public Schools
Alumni Association Board Member
Teacher Librarian, Norman Public Schools
Caroline Dulworth is the 2024 OU SLIS Outstanding Alumni Award winner. Caroline graduated from OU SLIS in 1995, and she has been in the library profession for more than 28 years, all with the Pioneer Library System where she currently serves as the Director of Branch Services.
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced the results of its 2024 election. Members elected Amanda Kordeliski, Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology for Norman Public Schools in Oklahoma, as the 2024-2025 President-Elect. She will serve as the AASL President during the 2025-2026 term and immediate Past President in 2026-2027.
Amanda Kordeliski (SLIS '10) is seeking the office of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Presidency for 2025-26. Amanda serves as the director of libraries and instructional technology for Norman Public Schools and has remained an active member of the SLIS community since graduating in 2010. She resides on the SLIS School Library Advisory Board and was named the SLIS Outstanding Alumni in 2022.
The author of the winning paper will receive $250.00 from the OU SLIS Alumni Association and be recognized at the Oklahoma Library Association Conference. In addition, the paper abstract will be posted on the Alumni Web page.
At the OLA conference, the SLIS Alumni Association will host an informal OU SLIS Alumni meet and greet at the Hyatt Bar from 4-5 pm on Wednesday, March 6th.
Tim Miller has served as Executive Director of Western Plains Library System since 2013. Miller joined the Western Plains staff in 2004 as Acquisitions Coordinator and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2008. Prior to his arrival at Western Plains, Miller worked for three years as a graduate assistant in the Fine Arts & Architecture Branch Libraries at the University of Oklahoma. Miller also worked for two years as a student reference assistant at the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Al Harris Library.
See what our Alumni have accomplished this Fall 2023 semester.
Do you have a colleague that consistently goes above and beyond or know someone who has made their mark on the profession? If they are an OU School of Library & Information Studies alum, please consider nominating them for the OU SLIS Outstanding Alumni Award. Nominations should be submitted online. Nominations received by January 15, 2024 will be given top priority for the 2024 award.
The OU SLIS Alumni Association presents two awards and contributes to one scholarship for a SLIS master's student. Following is information about each award and past recipients.
Award recipients are chosen through a nomination and a committee review process. Once chosen, recipients' names are engraved on a plaque kept in the OU School of Library and Information Studies. A certificate of award will be presented to the recipient, and a $50 donation to the Irma Tomberlin Scholarship Fund will be made in the name of the recipient.
The Alumni Association begins taking nominations at the beginning of December. 2024 Nominations are now open!
Any person receiving a Master's degree in Library Science from the University of Oklahoma School of Library & Information Studies may be eligible for this award if:
The strength of the nomination letter is an important factor in the consideration of choosing an award recipient. Please consider the following criteria when making your nomination:
The Honors and Awards Committee shall be compromised of members of the Alumni Association and one faculty member of the school.
There were no honors awarded in 1991, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, or 2020
The Dr. Frances Laverne Carroll Student Paper Award (previously the Alumni Student Paper Award) is awarded every year to an outstanding paper written by a current OU SLIS student.
The author of the winning paper will receive $250.00 from the OU SLIS Alumni Association and be recognized at the annual Oklahoma Library Association reception. The name of the students, as well as the name of the paper, will be engraved on a plaque that is kept in the OU School of Library and Information Studies. In addiion, the paper abstract will be posted on the Alumni Web page.
The 2024 award period is now open, submission are due by January 15th, 2024.
Eligibility
Content
Format
Judging Criteria
Copyright and Publication
The paper submission deadline will be announced annually, and papers should be submitted by e-mail to the Chair of the committee.
The Dr. Frances Laverne Carroll Student Paper Award (previously the Alumni Student Paper Award) is awarded every year by the OU SLIS Alumni Association to an outstanding paper written by a current OU SLIS student.
2024 submissions are due by January 15th. Submit papers to: Gail Oehler via email at goehler@southernoklibrarysystem.org
| Year | Name | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kristi Hendricks | "Shifting Archives: Embracing Cultural Provenance and Community" |
| 2023 | Matthew Blanchard | "Makerspace and Access in School Libraries" |
| 2022 | Moses Munyao | "Personal Information Management" |
| 2021 | Caroline (Carly) O'Dell | "Reading and Teaching from a Screen: The Impact of Digital Media on Reading Comprehension and Proposal for Teaching Digital Literacy" |
| 2020 | Rachel Reid | “A space of their own: a literature review” |
| 2019 | Gail Currier (Oehler) | "Addressing Health Literacy: An evaluation and review of health literacy practices and education in libraries" |
| 2017 | Shannon Hawkins | “Information Behavior of Preteens” |
| 2016 | Hillarie Kuhn | "The Homeless: A Current Issue within Public Libraries" |
| 2014 | Lyssa Prince | "Information Grounds Observation:Goodreads.com Book Groups" |
| 2013 | Erin McLean | "How Technology Has Changed the Nature of Reading: And What We Read as a Result" |
| 2012 | Sarah Denton | "The 'Activist Archivist' in the Digital Age" |
| 2011 | Joseph Rector | "A Model of Research Pacing and Information Coaching: An Adaptation of Carol Kuhlthau's Information Search Process" |
| 2010 | Ruth Neal | "Meeting the Information Needs of People Over 50" |
| 2009 | Caleb Puckett | "Oh the Humanities: Understanding Information Behavior to Foster Information Literacy" |
| 2008 | Mary Holmes | "Current Issues: Robert Taylor’s Question Negotiation Framework and Melissa Gross’ Imposed Query Model in the Online Environment" |
| 2007 | Elizabeth Bolton | "Organization of Information in the Public Libraries of the Abbasid Caliphate" |
| 2006 | Jane E. Long | "Where is the Information Located? Navigating the Invisible Web" |
| 2005 | Amalia Strothmann | "Challenges to Privacy and Confidentiality Rights Presented by Virtual Reference" |
| 2004 | Amalia Strothmann | "Personality and Situational Factors Influencing Online Searching Behaviors and Effectiveness" |
| 2003 | Karen Antell | "Student Library Workers and Motivation: Theory and Practice" |
| 2002 | Douglas Valentine | "Gender and its Role on Effective Management" |
| 2001 | Deanna J. Hall Tirrell | "Digital Divide: How Will We Bridge It?" |
| 2000 | Jeanne L. Bishop | "Some Issues Regarding Equity of Access to Electronic Information" |
| 1999 | Robert L. Roddy | "Multicultural Librarianship: Changing the world One Patron at a Time" |
| 1998 | Karen Campbell | "The Fair Use Doctrine of The Copyright Act In The Electronic Information Environment" |
| 1997 | Robert L. Roddy | "AIDS in the workplace; a managerial perspective" |
| 1996 | Rebecca Graebner | "An examination of the 'PROFS' litigation and its impact on records management of electronic mail" |
| 1996 | Cecelia Brown | "Biomedical information searching with SCISEARCH and EMBASE on DIALOG" |
| 1995 | Carolyn G. Hanneman | "Like elastic: the library profession and African Americans strive for equality" |
| 1993 | Laine McCarthy | "The electronic book and the paperless society" |
The OU SLIS Alumni Association awards up to two Irma Rayne Tomberlin Scholarships per year. Students must be nominated by a SLIS faculty member and write an essay.
