Executive Council Bios
PRESIDENT
Sheila Merrigan has been a USAIN member since 1997. She served as president-elect from 2008-2009; USAIN Director from 2004-2008; USAIN Contributed Paper & Poster Sessions Committee, 2006-2008; USAIN Pre-conference Committee, Chair; 2003-2005; USAIN Native American Scholarship Committee, 2004-2005; USAIN Contributed Paper and Poster Sessions Committee; 2002-2003; USAIN Awards and Honors Committee, 2000-2001; and Arizona SLA Student Liaison/Advisor, University of Arizona, 2000-2004.
Sheila grew on a farm and has been around agriculture her whole life. She has worked in Cooperative Extension for 16 years, the last 10 years of which have been as an information specialist in the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension State Office. She works with approximately 200 faculty, staff, and administrators. In addition to Extension experience, she has worked in the profession as a web designer and as a librarian in an academic library and a special library. The skills she used most often in the latter two positions are similar to those she will use as an information specialist for Cooperative Extension. Thus, her current position integrates a lifetime of personal and professional experiences in a rewarding and interesting manner.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Allison Level is the Natural Resources College Liaison Librarian at Colorado State University. She has a BSPA from the University of Arkansas, an MEd from Kent State, and an MLS from Emporia State University. Prior to joining CSU, Allison worked in science and technology reference at the Library of Congress and as Head of Reference at Southwest Missouri State University. She has been active in USAIN since 2000. She was a USAIN Director from 2005-2009. Previous USAIN activities include: Convener of the AgNIC Interest Group, Co-Convener of the Collection Management Interest Group, member of the USAIN Awards Committee, member of the Communications Committee, Chair of the USAIN 2003 Pre-Conference Planning Committee and was a member of the 2001 Pre-Conference Planning Committee.
Allison has been active in state and national library organizations including ACRL-STS and IS. Some of her activities include: membership on the STS Oberly Award Committee, membership on the IS Research and Scholarship Committee, STS Conference Programming Committee, and as member then chair of the Legislation and Government Information Committee. During 1996-1998 she served as Vice-Chair then Chair of STS. Her research interests include information literacy, scholarly communication, and science education. She works collaboratively with three AgNIC websites on topics of wildlife damage, Colorado Rangelands, and agricultural water conservation. Additionally she is on the Editorial Board for the open-access refereed journal: Communications in Information Literacy.
PAST-PRESIDENT
Katie Newman has been the Biotechnology Librarian at the University of Illinois since Fall 2001, where she holds the rank of Associate Professor of Library Administration. Previously she was the Assistant Life Sciences Librarian at Purdue University for eight years. She has a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Kansas, a MS in Agronomy and BS in Biology, both from the University of Nebraska, and an MLS from the University of Illinois.
Katie has been a member of USAIN since 1994 and has served in the following positions: President, 2008-2009. Director, 2004-2006. Communications Committee, 1998-2007; Chair, 2005-2007. Program Planning Chair for the 2003 USAIN national meeting held in Champaign, Illinois. Nominations Committee, 2000. Contributed Papers Committee, 1998-1999.
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Anita Ezzo is the Science Collections Coordinator/Food Science and Technology Librarian at Michigan State University. In that capacity she oversees the science materials budget; supervises several science librarians; serves as liaison to the University's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Institute for Food Laws and Regulations, and School of Packaging; co-teaches a Research Methods course for MSU's online Professional Masters Program in Food Safety; and is responsible for collection development, reference, and library instruction in food science/human nutrition, packaging, and clothing/textiles.
Anita has been a member of USAIN since 1996, doing stints as Director (1998-2000) and member of the Preservation Project Committee (2000-2004), the Communications Committee (2005-2006), and the Task Force for the Assessment of a National Agricultural Information Infrastructure (2005-2007) and Co-Chairing the 2008 Conference in Wooster, Ohio. She served as Co-PI and Project Manager for Michigan's Phase III and IV participation in the National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature, compiling the bibliography and overseeing the microfilming effort. Anita has also been active in the Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition (FAN) Division of the Special Libraries Association, holding a variety of leadership positions--including Chair-Elect/Chair/Past-Chair (2000-2003)--and earning the FAN Distinguished Member Award in 2006.
Additionally, Anita serves on the CABI Publishing North American Library Advisory Board and as Editor for the Journal of Agricultural & Food Information.
NAL REPRESENTATIVE
Mike Esman is Head of Cataloging at the National Agricultural Library He has held that position since 1995. He received a B.A. from Eisenhower College, an M.L.S. from the State University of New York at Albany and an M.A. in Russian and East European Studies from George Washington University. His past positions at NAL have been Head, Special Materials Section, Cataloging Branch (1991-1995) and serials cataloger (1986-1991). He also was a non-print cataloger at George Washington University (1977-1986). He was President of the On-Line Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc. (1998-1999) and Vice-President/President-Elect (1997-1998). He served as chair of the ALCTS Audiovisual Committee (1988-1990) and as a member (1986-1988).
DIRECTORS 2008-2010
Connie Britton is the librarian for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the agricultural research arm of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, a position she has held since 1981. She has a BA from Kalamazoo College, an MLS from Western Michigan University and an MS (Education) from Central Michigan University.
She has been a member of USAIN since 1988 and previously served as a Director from 1999 to 2001. Recently, she co-chaired the conference planning committee and chaired the local arrangements committee for the 2008 USAIN conference that was held in Wooster Ohio. She was the co-PI on the Ohio portion of the USAIN agricultural literature preservation project, phases 4 and 5. She is also involved in AgNIC, representing Ohio State University on the coordinating council, serving as a member of the Executive Board, 1999-2002 and as Chair, 2005/06. She manages the Bees and Pollination site for AgNIC. She was awarded the OARDC Outstanding Staff Award in 2005.
Eboni A. Francis is a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Oberlin College. She earned her BA degrees in English and African American Studies from Oberlin College in 1997, and her MLIS from Kent State University in 2003. She has been a USAIN member since 2005 and since then she has served on the Membership Committee, as co-chair of the USAIN 20th Anniversary Banquet Committee, and member of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2008 USAIN Conference.
Eboni's current research interests include Blacks in American Agriculture since 1974 and she will soon be working on a project to document former all-Black settlements in Ohio. She is a reviewer for CHOICE and Library Journal.
Patricia Neenan is the Business Development Manager for CABI in North America. Prior to moving to the US in 2000, Patricia worked for 16 years an editor in the Animal and Human Health Division of CABI. She earned her B.Sc (Hons) in Zoology and Botany from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 1981 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Science) in 1982. Patricia’s first experience of USAIN was at the 2003 conference in UIUC and she has been a firm supporter ever since. She was on the Pre-Conference Planning Committee for the 2006 meeting in Ithaca.
DIRECTORS 2009-2011
Nan Hyland is the Digital Collections Librarian for the Albert R. Mann Library at Cornell University. She served as program chair for the 2006 USAIN national conference held in Ithaca, Ny. Nan has served as the project manager for the USDA Economics Statistics and Market Information System since 2003. Nan is also a committee member of the Government Information and Official Publications section of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Her research interests include web design and usability.
Julie Kelly is a science librarian at Magrath Library on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, where she has been since 2000. She co-coordinates the AgEcon Search, a subject repository. Previously, she was served as librarian and Head of Public Services at the Bio-Medical Library at the University of Minnesota, librarian at Rosemount Inc in Eden Prairie, MN, and microbiologist at the University of Minnesota. She has a BA in biology from St. Olaf College, an MS in biology from the U of Minnesota-Duluth, and an MLIS from UW-Milwaukee.
Julie has been a member of USAIN since 2003, and has been active in the local ASIST, SLA, and ACRL chapters in Minnesota. She served on the editorial board of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 1996-1999, and with Louise Letnes and Pat Rodkewich, received the ACRL/STS Oberly award for AgEcon Search in 2007.
Marianne Stowell Bracke is the Agricultural Sciences Information Specialist at the Purdue University Libraries, where she holds the rank of Associate Professor. She has been at Purdue since 2006, and has held similar positions at the University of Arizona, University of Houston, and University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign prior to this. She received both her B.A. and her M.L.I.S. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is the co-chair of the USAIN 2010 Conference which will be hosted in May 2010 in West Lafayette, IN, on the Purdue campus.