Six New Council Members Named

Acting Public Printer William H. Turri is pleased to announce the appointment of six new members to the Depository Library Council: Gwen Sinclair, Victoria Trotta, Dr. Christopher Greer, Kathryn Lawhun, John Shuler, and Kendall Wiggin.

The Depository Library Council (DLC) is composed of 15 members, each of whom serves a three-year term and advises the Public Printer on policy matters relating to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The DLC meets at a minimum of twice each year. Meet the new Council members, as well as the new chair, Geoff Swindells, at their introductory meeting at the Fall DLC Meeting, which runs from October 15-17, 2007.

Acting Public Printer William H. Turri is pleased to announce the appointment of six new members to the Depository Library Council, saying, "I am very pleased to announce the appointment of these accomplished and dedicated individuals who will advise us on crucial issues relating to public access to U.S. Government information. The breadth of their experience will benefit the Federal Depository Library Program as it continues to evolve from print to digital media."

At a glance, the six new members are:

Gwen Sinclair is a librarian in Government Documents & Maps at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Library. Sinclair has served for eight years as a government documents librarian, of which five have been as head of the department. She has presented on depository issues at library conferences and published articles and brochures on various library topics, including government secrecy and libraries. Sinclair is the first DLC member to have ever been appointed from the Pacific Island region. She also has significant experience in library collection disaster planning and recovery.
Victoria Trotta is the Associate Dean for Information Technology and the Ross-Blakley Law Library at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. She has directed the Ross-Blakely Law Library since 2000, and has been in her current position for five years. In addition to her responsibilities for the oversight and planning for all aspects of the Law Library and Information Technology, Trotta provides oversight of the library's federal depository library program. She has published extensively on topics relating to legal research, provided legal instruction, and has extensive public speaking experience.
Dr. Christopher Greer is a senior advisor for Digital Data at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Greer is a member of the permanent staff at the National Science Foundation. His current responsibilities include strategic planning for digital data activities in the newly-formed Office of Cyberinfrastructure. Dr. Greer recently served as Executive Secretary for the Long-lived Digital Data Collections Activities of the National Science Board and is currently Co-Chair of the Digital Data Interagency Working Group of the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Science.
Kathryn Lawhun is the Chief of Main for the San Francisco Public Library. Lawhun instituted changes in the way San Francisco's Government Information Center collects, stores, and provides access to the collection. She aptly dealt with the shift from print to virtual documents by providing computers, free printing, training, databases, additional indexes, and audio-visual and microform equipment in order to keep her staff and customers better equipped to access information in this age of changing technology. Lawhun continues to actively work with San Francisco Public Library's document librarians to plan for the future of preserving government documents in every form of media.
John Shuler is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the Bibliographer for Urban Planning and Government Information/Documents Librarian in the Library's Collections Development Department. Previously he was head of the documents department at Colgate University. Shuler has published extensively on the policy implications of government information in electronic media, and is a strong advocate of virtual reference. He worked with GPO to create our first ever formal partnership with the FDLP, and spearheaded a 30 library virtual reference collaboration that GPO is taking steps to endorse through a formal partnership.

The following 2-year appointment fills the position vacated by Richard Akeroyd, completing the remainder of Akeroyd's term:

Kendall Wiggin is the State Librarian for Connecticut State Library, and was previously Director of Libraries at the New Hampshire State Library. He has also served on the board of directors of the New England Document Conservation Center and Libraries for the Future. As the head of a State Library that serves as a regional depository library, he is a strong advocate for public access to government information and at the same time very aware of the opportunities and challenges presented by the inevitable transition to electronic documents. Responsible for a large historic collection of government documents, he plans to work with GPO on the digitization and preservation of these collections.