Candidate for Director for Special Interest Groups

Don Latham, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

School of Library and Information Studies, Florida's iSchool

Florida State University

Candidate’s Statement:

I am very pleased to be nominated for the position of ALISE Director for Special Interest Groups. I have been a member of ALISE since 2000, and have been honored to serve in a number of positions, including Co-chair of the Conference Planning Committee for the 2013 Conference, Chair of the Juried Papers Committee (2012), Chair of the Nominating Committee (2009), and Co-Convener of the Youth Services SIG (2007). ALISE has played an important role in my own professional development, and I cherish the relationships that I’ve developed through conference participation and committee work.

I believe that the SIGs are the backbone of ALISE and that they represent the wonderful diversity of our membership that helps keep ALISE a vital and relevant professional association for the 21st century. As Director of Special Interest Groups, I would encourage a greater web and social media presence for the SIGs, work to enhance communication within and among the various SIGs, and facilitate conference participation by all of the SIGs. It would be a privilege and a pleasure to serve on the ALISE Board and to have an opportunity to contribute to an organization that has meant so much to me in my academic career.

Biography

Don Latham is an associate professor in the School of Library & Information Studies at Florida State University. His research focuses on information behavior of
young adults, information literacy, and literature for young adults. He has published extensively on information literacy and young adult literature. In collaboration with
Melissa Gross, he has conducted research projects funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, OCLC/ALISE, and Florida State University’s Council on Research
and Creativity. His current research projects include information literacy among first-year college students, collaborations among teachers and librarians to teach 21 st century
skills, and constructions of literacy and identity in young adult literature. He is a member of the Association for Library and Information Science Education, the American Library
Association, and the American Society for Information Science and Technology.