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 This year’s distinguished panel of judges included a diverse list of accomplished library professionals, representing a wide range of institutions, interests, backgrounds, and experience. As the biographies reveal, many of the judges are award-winning bloggers in their own right. We thank them for their invaluable time, insight, cooperation, and enthusiasm. THE 2011 JUDGES 
Andy Woodworth is a librarian in New Jersey. He is the blogger behind the nationally recognized, award-winning blog Agnostic, Maybe, the co-author of the eBook Reader's Bill of Rights, and the creator of the Facebook group People for a Library Themed Ben & Jerry's Flavor. When he's not writing about libraries and library issues, he's either playing video games or drinking beer. Possibly both. (Andy was the 2010 First Place Winner in the Public Library Blog category.)
Sue Polanka is head of reference and
instruction at Wright State University Libraries, Dayton, OH. In her 20 years
of library service, she has experienced the changing reference environment in public,
state, and academic libraries. She has also served on Booklist’s Reference Books Bulletin Editorial Board for over ten
years and was Chair from 2007 to 2010. She moderates the award-winning eBook
blog, No Shelf Required and
edited the 2011 ALA Editions book of the same name, No Shelf Required: E-Books in Libraries. In March 2011, she was named a 2011 Mover and Shaker by Library Journal. Her new book, E-Reference
Context and Discoverability in Libraries: Issues and Concepts (IGI Global) is due out in early Fall
2011. (Sue was our 2010 First Place in the Academic blog category.)
Holly Hibner is Adult Services Coordinator at Plymouth District Library, MI. She received an
MLIS from Wayne State University in 1999. Since then, she has published and
spoken on a variety of topics and received the 2007 Loleta Fyan Award from the Michigan Library Association for
innovation in library service. She loves all things techie and the challenge of
a good reference question. In collaboration with Mary Kelly (below), Hibner created the popular Awful
Library Books blog and has co-authored the book Making a
Collection Count: A Holistic Approach to Library
Collection Management (Holly was Salem's 2010 First Place in the Quirky blog
category.)
Mary Kelly is a Youth Services Librarian at
the Lyon Township Public Library, MI. She has worked in a variety of library
jobs for more than ten years. She has also published and presented on topics
such as computer instruction, Reader’s Advisory, and providing tech support.
Mary received both an MBA and an MLIS from Wayne State University. Her passions
include collection quality and technology. In collaboration with Holly Hibner (above), Kelly created the popular Awful
Library Books blog and has co-authored the book Making a
Collection Count: A Holistic Approach to Library
Collection Management. (2010 First Place in the Quirky blog
category.)
David Booker is a web designer for the College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) in
Tallahassee, FL. For more than 20 years, CCLA has served Florida’s 28 colleges
with a comprehensive suite of online library management and information
services. College students use CCLA’s online library portal, LINCCWeb.org, for research, while college
librarians rely on CCLA’s automated library management system to maintain their
library’s collections and streamline delivery of library services to students.
David has blogged at the Centered Librarian for over six years. (2010 Second Place in
the Academic blog category.)
Carolyn Foote is the lead librarian for Eanes ISD in Austin, TX. She has been published in School Library Journal, Library Media Connection, Multimedia Schools, and TechEdge and
presents frequently on the intersection between technology and libraries. She’s
been recognized as a two-time finalist for the Texas Computer Educator
Librarian of the Year Award and her blog, Not So Distant Future, has also received notable recognition. Her interests range
from library design and legislative action to the effect of ebooks
on libraries. (2010 Second Place in the School blog category)
Jessamyn West is a community
technology librarian and moderator of the massive group blog MetaFilter.com.
She lives in a rural area of Central Vermont where she teaches basic computer
skills. She assists tiny libraries with technology planning and implementation,
helping them with wifi and web sites and making sense
of their systems. She maintains an online presence at jessamyn.com
and librarian.net
and has had her address and phone number on the Internet for a decade. Her
favorite color is orange. (2010 Third Place in the General blog
category.)
Traci Avet is Virtual Reference Coordinator
for Ask a
Librarian, Florida’s virtual reference service, at Tampa Bay
Library Consortium. Traci coordinates statewide scheduling of over 100
participating library systems and training for more than 1000 library staff.
She has public and medical library experience and has published in ForeWord Magazine, The Reference Librarian, Library Journal, neuropsychology journals, and iBooks for
fiction. She was the columnist for LJ’s
former “For Future Reference” column and authored the Health and Medicine
section of the Library Journal
Guide to E-Reference Resources (Neal-Schuman, 2009).Stacey Hayman started her career as a teen librarian. She has since moved to full-time reference and Reader’s Advisory but will always have a soft spot for young adult patrons. A book reviewer for over four years for Library Journal and over five years for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), Stacey has also had the opportunity to chair the VOYA’s Nonfiction Honor List committee for two years, contribute to the online database Reader’s Advisory Online, and start a blog for her library, Readitorweep.org. She’s also the author of the forthcoming book Libraries and Blogging: Social Media Outlets and Tools (IGI Global, 2011.) 
Jennifer Krivickas is Head of the University of Cincinnati's Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) Library. Jennifer began her library career at Harvard's Widener library, where she was the Supervisor of the Phillips Reading Room, a space designed for patrons' use of Widener's non-circulating materials. There, Jennifer also helped establish the groundwork for a database of images found in books, pamphlets, documents, and manuscripts scanned for the Harvard Open Collections project, Women Working, 1870-1930 . After receiving her MLIS from UIUC-LEEP in 2005, Jennifer took a museum library position at the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA). In her capacity as the Assistant Librarian of the YCBA, she contributed to the University-wide Collections Collaborative project, Primary Sources at Yale. Jennifer is an active member of the Art Libraries Society of North America, chair of the Art Libraries Society of North America/Ohio Valley, and a regular art book reviewer for LJ.
Terry Bosky is a collection development librarian at Palm Beach County Library System, FL.
In addition to selecting nonfiction for the system, Terry also purchases
graphic novels and oversees the database and serials subscriptions. He writes
for the library’s graphic novel blog, ToshokanComix, as well as his
personal videogaming blog, GameCouch.com. His library experience began 15 years
ago, when he started as a student shelver.
Larry T. Nix is a retired librarian from Wisconsin who was previously affiliated with the Wisconsin State Library Agency. His primary interest is the promotion of library history. He has maintained a web site devoted to library history since 2002 which is now called The Library History Buff. He has also published a blog by the same name since November 2008. Larry is Chair of the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center and maintains the Center's combination web site and blog. In his capacity as a library history buff, Larry looks at hundreds of library history related web sites each year. (2010 Second Place in the Quirky blog category.)Ari Sigal received his MLS in 1985 and has since done reference and administrative work in public, academic and special libraries. Since 2004, he has worked for Catawba Valley Community College, Hickory, NC as Library Director (to 2009) and currently as Director of the Accessing Scholarly Knowledge Program, an innovative service providing research to students, faculty and staff as well as the community. From 2003-2006, he reviewed nonfiction books for Library Journal. Since 2007, Ari has been an adjunct instructor for the Program in Library Science at Appalachian State University. He is currently editing Advancing Librarian Education: Technological Innovation and Instructional Design (IGI Global), due out in 2012. Albert C. Vara started his library career five decades ago at the University of Pennsylvania and has since held library positions in a range of institutions, including the Free Library of Philadelphia, St. Joseph's University, Rafael Landivar Universidad, Guatemala City, the Defense Services Library of RCA (Radio Corporation of America), and, more recently, Temple University. He is currently research librarian at The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, one of the nation's leading research facilities for the study of the history and culture of people of African descent. Albert has also been a member of several library associations. 
Debora Stewart serves as Learning Resources Consultant & Reference Librarian at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a private university, in West Palm Beach, Florida. She provides instruction in the use of library services and is heavily involved in virtual reference services. She also participates in collection development for the library in the areas of business and leadership. In her work as library liaison to the schools of Business, Leadership, Online Programs and Dual Enrollment Programs, as well as campuses in Wellington and Orlando, Debora started an internal blog to communicate with her liaison faculty.
Renee Patterson is Librarian for the Alachua County Library District (ACLD) in Gainesville, FL. She is also Virtual Reference Provider for Florida's virtual reference service, Ask a Librarian. Renee received her MIS from Florida State University in 2001. She has presented workshops on topics from Readers Advisory to Virtual Reference. She also blogs for ACLD. Her earlier training was in archaeology, but she found digging for answers through computers involved fewer reptiles and biting insects than digging in the great outdoors.
Lynn Elliott is Head of Reference and Information Services for Northwest Regional Library Services (NWRLS), serving Bay, Gulf, and Liberty counties in Florida. The headquarters for NWRLS are at Bay County Public Library in Panama City, FL. With nearly 15 years of reference librarian experience under her belt and previously serving as the system's webmaster, Lynn has seen the evolving informational needs of her community.
Mirela Roncevic is an experienced editor, writer, and content developer. She is Editor of IGI Global’s Advances in Library Information Science (ALIS) book
series and Editor of ALIS Newsletter.
Between 1998 and 2010, she was Senior Editor, Book Review, at Library Journal, where she directed the
magazine’s coverage of print and online reference sources, managed art,
literature, and philosophy book
reviews, and wrote extensively on book publishing,
reference publishing, and librarianship. She was Editor Judge at Salem's 2010 Library Blog Awards and editor of Neil-Schuman’s 2009 title Library Journal's Guide to E-Reference Resources. |
General: Blogs providing broad discussions of library topics and trends, including reviews of books and products.
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