McCook presents 2010 Dr. Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture

The School of Library and Information Science’s own Professor Kathleen de la Peña McCook presented the 2010 Dr. Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture as part of this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Washington D.C.  In her lecture “Librarians and Human Rights” McCook  explored the philosophical basis of librarians’ commitment to human rights and human development as grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

[2010 Jean E. Coleman Outreach Lecture. 6. 28. 2010. People recognized for special commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Librarians and Human Rights”. 6. 28. 2010.  Washington, D.C.

Back Row: L to R: Satia Orange, past director of ALA OLOS- ;Dr. Cora P. Dunkley, USF-SLIS Professor and Coretta Scott King TF ;Barbara J. Ford, Mortenson Center distinguished professor, first Coleman lecturer and past.ALA President;Kathleen de la Peña McCook, 2010 Coleman Lecturer; distinguished university professor, University of South Florida, Beta Phi Mu,honoree, Futas honoree, Equality honoree.
2010 Coleman Lecturer “Librarians and Human Rights.”
Bill McCook, 47 year member of United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Ann Sparanese, past Futas Honoree, Head of Adult and Young Adult Services, Englewood Public Library, NJ, Coleman Committee;
Alicia Long, SPECTRUM Scholar at USF SLIS;
Diane Austin, asst. director, USF,SLIS.
Front Row: L-R
Dr. Barbara Immroth, professor at UT-Austin,past president of ALSC, Beta Phi Mu honoree;
Dr. Henrietta M. Smith, Professor Emerita, USF-SLIS, ALSC Honoree,
Coretta Scott King TF;
Dr. Alma Dawson, Russell Long professor at LSU,SLIS, Equality Award Honoree.

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More specifically, McCook described: instruments that provide the foundation for the librarians’ role as primary promoters of the rights detailed in the UDHR and the MDG; international statements and declarations on peoples, regions, situations  and specific rights; and the eighteen public library service responses used by the Public Library Association informed by a human rights philosophy and the IFLA Multicultural Manifesto.

By presenting U.S. public library practice in comparison to the goals and guidelines of IFLA McCook provided U.S. public librarians with the context and documentation for the development of an expanded commitment to the service of human capabilities.

The Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture is sponsored by ALA’s Office of Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) and presented each year during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference.  Dr. Coleman was the first director of OLOS, and spent her career ensuring that all citizens have access to quality library services.

Kathleen de la Peña McCook is distinguished university professor at the School of Library and Information Science in Tampa; the author of  “A Place at the Table: Libraries and Community Building” and “Introduction to Public Librarianship”; editor of the blog Union Librarian; and serves as a member of the Coordinating Council of the Progressive Librarians Guild.  Previously, she served as chair of the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services Advisory Committee.  In 2002, McCook was honored by REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking Community, as the recipient of the Trejo Librarian of the Year Award.  She was the inaugural honoree of the ALA Office of Diversity’s Achievement in Library Diversity Research in 2004.  She has received the ALA Equality Award, the ALA Catalyst for Change Award and the Beta Phi Mu Teaching Award.  Currently, Prof. McCook is working with Katharine J. Phoenix on developing a framework for public library services through the lens of human rights and human development.

Prof. McCook’s lecture, “Librarians and Human Rights”, took place on Monday, June 28, 2010 between 8:00-10:00am in the Washington Convention Center, Room 209 A/B.

-VTZ