June 05, 2012

Moore appointed dean of Library Affairs

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The dean of libraries at the University of South Dakota brings more than two decades of experience in university and community college libraries to her new position as dean of Library Affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Anne Cooper Moore is currently dean of libraries for University Libraries at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D., director of Wegner Health Sciences Information Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and associate professor of educational administration in the school of education at the University of South Dakota.  She is also adjunct faculty for the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College of Boston and South Hadley, Mass.  She will begin her duties at SIU Carbondale on July 16 pending approval by the SIU Board of Trustees.

“Dr. Moore’s deep understanding of the role and importance of academic libraries, along with her research and teaching experience, will be of great benefit to the University community,” Chancellor Rita Cheng said in announcing the appointment.  “I am confident that she and the faculty and staff of Library Affairs will continue to enhance the many valuable services they offer.”

Moore earned her doctorate in educational management and development with a concentration in higher education administration and technology integration at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces in 2001.  She also worked toward a master’s in education with counseling concentration at Boston University and completed her master’s in library and information science in 1983 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and English earned in 1979 at Duke University at Durham, N.C. 

“I’m thrilled to join the outstanding faculty and staff of Morris Library as well as the administration and faculty of the University, in serving the students of SIU Carbondale.  I am looking forward to leading Library Affairs forward to a bright future of service and innovation for the University, local, state and national communities,” Moore said. 

She said her connection to and respect for the University goes back some time and she is pleased to become part of the faculty and administration.

“For more than 25 years, I moved around the U.S. and abroad with my fighter pilot husband (retired Col. David A. Moore) and children to a variety of Air Force bases.  I took and taught courses through the Base Education Centers and worked in one as well for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  I became friends and colleagues with the gracious and welcoming staff who represented the SIU programs in the Base Education Centers and grew to respect the institution and its programs,” Moore said.

Moore said she wants to continue to enhance the quality and “excellent tradition” of Library Affairs at SIU Carbondale with all faculty and staff working together to develop a vision and plans for the future.

Among her goals, Moore cites continuing the exceptional stewardship of the library’s unique and deep collections, ensuring access to the best library materials in support of teaching, research and service, organizing library services and programs to meet ongoing campus needs, maximizing the potential of Morris Library as a center for student collaborations and campus activity, assisting faculty with grants and other research efforts, and participating in the University’s mission in new and creative ways.

“Library faculty and staff have developed a strong foundation that will serve as a springboard to even greater contributions.  The Special Collections Research Center and OpenSIUC are just examples of how Library Affairs can make a difference.  Morris Library, a beautiful and heavily used building in the heart of the campus, is a center of community activity and culture.  Planning the upper two floors will be an exciting and important project, hopefully in the near future,” Moore said.

Moore has served in the dean’s position at USD since 2008 and a year later became associate professor and director of the Wegner Health Sciences Information Center.  She manages a $1 million collections budget and $1.5 million operating budget while overseeing a staff that includes 27 faculty, staff and librarians and 42 student/graduate assistants.  During her time there, she also guided the planning, implementation and maintenance of an Academic Commons that opened in March 2011 in the I.D. Weeks Library Building, and she has handled restructuring and reorganization efforts to enhance service while saving resources. 

She has taught research methods and academic libraries for the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science since 2004.  Her research interests include assessment of library services and collections, effective instruction in information literacy skills, development of learning commons and the organization and staffing of academic libraries.

“I enjoy mentoring those who are interested in pursuing the exciting and constantly evolving field of librarianship and information studies.  I also enjoy supporting librarians in achieving their potential in the world of information management,” Moore added.

Moore’s experience also includes serving as associate director for user services and head of reference services at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, as branch librarian/library director at New Mexico State University at Alamogordo and as electronic resources librarian for New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.  She was also Prince William Librarian at George Mason University Libraries, a substitute teacher and tutor, center director for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at RAF Bentwaters, UK, and catalog librarian/assistant librarian at the University of Arizona Library in Tucson.  She also held employment in other university library positions and as a copywriter and media buyer.

Moore is fluent or has knowledge of the Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and German languages.   She has three grown children:  Rider Scott Moore of San Francisco; Ian Lee Moore of Corvallis, Ore.; and Cassandra Nicole Lodore (husband Chris) as well as a sixth-month-old grandson, Loren Lodore, of Lincoln City, Ore.  An exercise enthusiast, Moore enjoys running, biking and hiking and said she is looking forward to getting involved in the University and regional communities.