I have been at the helm of the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University since July 1, 2016, and in that time I have had the privilege of meeting many of our students, alumni and colleagues here in "The Library State" — Ohio — as well as on the other side of the world.
In August 2016 we hosted a new student reception for local members of the incoming class – our students in library and information science, health informatics and user experience design. From September through November, I enjoyed mingling with alumni at conferences around the state, including the Ohio Library Council, Ohio Educational Library Media Association, Association of Academic Libraries of Ohio, and the local UXPA's World Usability Day.
Over these months I also have traveled to Columbus, where Kent State SLIS has faculty and classrooms, to meet with State Librarian and alumna Beverly Cain, and many of her staff who are also our alums. I have visited with directors of several public libraries in the state, with many more to go, including public, academic and special libraries. I also had a fascinating tour of OCLC, located in Dublin, just outside Columbus, where again I was impressed with the work our students and graduates are doing.
Kent State SLIS faculty, alumni and students are certainly helping to keep Ohio at the forefront of advances in the information profession!
I also was thrilled to meet Kent State alums and friends at the 2016 IFLA conference in Columbus and at the ASIS&T conference in Denmark; a number of our faculty were engaged in presentations and panels at both conferences, testifying to the school’s global impact.
I can say with certainty, after just under a year, that Kent State lives up to its reputation of having internationally distinguished scholars, award-winning teachers, talented professionals and a thriving student body.
Among the highlights of 2016 are the following:
- Kent State SLIS was accepted into the international iSchools alliance.
- We hosted four conferences – the international Archival Research Education Institute and the Church and Synagogue Library Association – as well as our own Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth and the inaugural Marantz Picturebook Research Symposium.
- Our faculty received numerous awards for teaching and research, and many of them traveled far and wide to share their research.
I invite you to learn more about our School and all the exciting things happening here by exploring this annual report.
Kendra S. Albright, Ph.D.
Professor and Director