Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference 2002
Libraries...a basic freedom"
Featured Speakers
Matthew
Rothschild, Keynote Speaker
Mathhew
Rothschild, editor of The Progressive magazine http://www.progressive.org/, will now deliver
the conference keynote address, "Libraries and the New McCarthyism."
Mr. Rothschild has been at The Progressive since 1983, working his way up from associate editor to managing editor to publisher, and finally to editor in 1994. Prior to his work at The Progressive, he was an associate editor and then editor at Multinational Monitor, a magazine founded by Ralph Nader.
From November 1994-May 1999, Rothschild hosted the syndicated radio program "Second Opinion." He currently directs the Progressive Media Project http://www.progressive.org/mediaproj.htm, which distributes opinion pieces to newspapers around the country. He has appeared on "Nightline," C-SPAN, MSNBC, NPR, has been a commentator on Wisconsin Public Television since 1998, and frequently appears on Wisconsin Public Radio's "The Tom Clark Show."
Note: U.S. Senator Russell Feingold, who was to be the keynote speaker at this year's WLA Conference, will not be able to attend. He sends his regrets and hopes that he can address the Association at a future conference.
Siva
Vaidhyanathan, President’s Luncheon Speaker
A media scholar and former journalist, Dr. Vaidhyanathan is the author
of Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property
and How It Threatens Creativity. His next book, Life in a Distributed
Age, is about Napster and the ways we regulate our information
ecosystem. Before joining the Department of Culture and Communication
of New York University, he was an assistant professor at the UW-Madison
School of Library and Information Studies.
Mary
Babula
Mary Babula is the Director of Membership Services and Outreach for
the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, the largest membership organization
in Wisconsin for the early childhood care and education work force.
She has worked for WECA for 20 years, and previously worked for ten
years in a child care center. She is the Chair of the Wisconsin Child
Care and Education Coalition. Mary has her master’s in Continuing
and Vocational Education and her bachelor’s in Social Work, both
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jim
Bahler
Jim Bahler was born and raised in upstate New York, moving to Wisconsin
to attend Milton College. He graduated in 1973 with majors in English
and Sociology. He has been employed for 26 years by Rock County Human
Services. A lifelong student of the graphic arts, Jim opened his retail
business, Jim’s Comics, in 1990. A resident of Janesville, he
also sells comic books and related merchandise at weekend flea markets
throughout Wisconsin. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of this contemporary
art form.
Susan
Campbell Bartoletti
Susan Campbell Bartoletti is the author of the award-winning nonfiction
photo-essays Growing Up in Coal Country (an ALA Notable Children’s
Book) and Kids on Strike! (a School Library Journal Best Book
of 1999). Her most recent work, Black Potatoes: The Story of the
Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850, is the result of many years of dedicated
research through library, museum, and newspaper archives, as well as
diaries and letters. Ms. Bartoletti spent 18 years teaching eighth grade
English, and has also taught creative writing at Binghamton University,
New York. She is a visiting professor of creative writing at the graduate
program in children’s literature at Hollins University, Virginia.
Marylaine
Block
Marylaine Block was the head of reference at St. Ambrose University’s
library for 22 years, as well as creator of their Web site, Best Information
on the Net.
As one of the earliest librarian guides to the Internet, it garnered
her a reputation as a “guru,” and indirectly led to her
writing a weekly online column, “My Word’s Worth,”
for a British online magazine. Now a freelance writer and speaker, she
publishes two e-zines for librarians, Neat New Stuff I Found This
Week and ExLibris. She’s written articles for many
library publications, and is currently working on another book, Planning
for Side-Effects: How Librarians are Managing the Unintended Consequences
of Our Technologies.
Susanne
Bunkers
Suzanne Bunkers is professor of English and director of the honors program
at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her newest work, Diaries
of Girls and Women: A Midwestern American Sampler, is published
by the University of Wisconsin Press. She was a general editor and consultant
for a middleschool-oriented series on adolescents’ diaries, letters,
and memoirs for Capstone Press. Dr. Bunkers speaks internationally on
the topics of autobiography, critical thinking, women writers, and multicultural
literature. She received her doctorate at UW-Madison.
Nick
Glass
Nick Glass has thoroughly enjoyed his circuitous professional route
to the founding of TeachingBooks, an Internet resource for connecting
educators to children’s book authors and curricular resources.
After six seasons as an executive in Major League Baseball, he studied
education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received
a masters and completed his PhD coursework in the history of multicultural
education. He became a bookseller for the independent Pooh Corner bookstore,
and was their Events Coordinator. It was in this capacity—working
with thousands of educators —that his vision for TeachingBooks.net
was formed.
Kathleen
T. Horning
Kathleen Horning is a librarian and coordinator of Special Collections
at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center of the School of Education
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For nine years she was also
a children’s librarian at Madison Public Library. She is the author
of From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s
Books (HarperCollins, 1997) and is a regular reviewer for Horn
Book magazine. She edited Alternative Press Publishers of Children’s
Books: A Directory and co-authored both volumes of Multicultural
Literature for Children and Young Adults. She has chaired and served
on many children’s book award committees, and frequently lectures
to librarians on issues in evaluating literature for children and young
adults.
Debra
Wilcox Johnson
Debra Wilcox Johnson is a partner in Johnson & Johnson Consulting,
a firm specializing in management, evaluation, literacy, and training.
Dr. Johnson consults and trains throughout the U.S. on topics such as
planning, customer service, coping with technology, and creating an
effective workplace. Her clients have included the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
ALA, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, and various library
agencies. Dr. Johnson has taught at the University of Wisconsin and
currently teaches for the University of Illinois via the Internet. She
holds a doctorate from UW Madison. Dr. Johnson is known for her practical
(and sometimes humorous) approach to library work.
Stevan
P. Layne
Stevan P. Layne, is a nationally recognized leader in library protection,
security management, emergency preparedness, and workplace violence
prevention. He is a Certified Protection Professional and Certified
Institutional Protection Manager. A former police chief, criminal investigator,
and public safety director, Steve now operates a successful international
consulting firm. He has conducted his workshops at ALA, PLA, the Smithsonian
Institution, and dozens of state and local library associations.
James
N. Morrison
Jim Morrison is president of James N. Morrison & Associates, a speaking
and leadership training program. He provides speeches and workshops
to business and community groups on topics such as goal setting, effective
meetings, time management, leadership, motivation, and giving your own
presentations. He is a member of the National Speakers’ Association,
and was awarded the Spirit of Service Award by the Wisconsin Professional
Speakers’ Association. He is past president of Wisconsin’s
largest Optimist Club, and plays in a “50’s” rock
band (no, he’s not that Jim Morrison).
William
R. Mott
William Mott is the senior partner in the firm Library Funding Associates.
He serves on the faculty for the Association of Research Libraries Development
Institute, an intensive training program held periodically for library
development officers. Bill has served as Director of Development for
the Vanderbilt University Libraries, and was Director of Library Services
at Greensboro College. He is the author of the chapter on “Public
Relations” in the book Raising Money for Academic and Research
Libraries. He has a PhD in educational administration and an MLS
from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.
Marion
C. Smith
Marion C. Smith is the Director of Labor Research in the Milwaukee office
of Michael Best & Friedrich. Marion’s background includes
extensive experience in collective bargaining, contract proposals, and
management and personnel issues. Her work includes numerous union election
campaigns. A frequent speaker on collective bargaining strategy and
management issues, Marion personally serves as the coordinated bargaining
adviser to the Wisconsin Technical Colleges. She has co-authored several
books, including the Strike Prevention and Control Handbook.
Stuart
Stotts
Stuart Stotts has performed throughout the Midwest since 1985, delighting
audiences in schools, libraries, festivals, conference and community
concerts. He uses humor, song motions, group singing, storytelling,
and original songs to create a sense of fun, belonging and community
with every audience. His songs have been recorded by acoustic artists
around the country, and he has made several recordings himself. Stuart
co-authored a book of Wisconsin ghost stories, The Bookcase Ghost.
David
J. Ward
David J. Ward is President of NorthStar Economics and Senior Vice-President
Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-System. During his career as
a professor of finance, Professor Ward was active as a financial and
economic consultant and worked for a number of private sector firms
including Kimberly Clark, Honeywell, and Lands End. He also worked extensively
as a forensic economist testifying in numerous cases in federal and
circuit courts. He was the co-author of a college level text on personal
finance and the author and host of two educational television series.
Mary
Jane Wiseman
Dr. Mary Jane Wiseman is on the faculty at the School of Library and
Information Science at The Catholic University of America in Washington,
D.C. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Wiseman has extensive classroom experience in teaching required
and survey courses in literature for children and young adults. Dr.
Wiseman was the Youth Services supervisor at the Neenah Public Library,
and was awarded the Charles Scribner Award.
Anna
Yackle
Anna Yackle is a Resource Sharing Consultant at the North Suburban Library
System in Illinois. She has worked as both a paraprofessional and a
professional in a variety of library settings, including two law firms,
a government documents department of a large academic library, three
public libraries, and a library system. She received her master’s
from the University of Illinois.
Fran
Zell
Fran Zell, this year’s Banta Award winner for The Marcy Stories,
grew up near Cleveland, Ohio. She lives in Madison, where she teaches
and writes fiction, poetry, plays, radio essays, and other nonfiction.
She is a former feature writer and restaurant critic for the Chicago
Tribune. Fran has been a resident writer at Ragdale, the Anderson
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, and the Dorset Colony. The
Marcy Stories, a series of inter-connected short stories, is her
first novel.
Last revised: October 1, 2002
© 2002 - Wisconsin Library Association