91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – The 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is welcoming Keri Cascio as the new executive director designate for one of its divisions, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS).

She will become ALCTS executive director with the retirement of Charles Wilt, who has been ALCTS executive director since April 30, 2001. Charles came to 91´«Ã½ in 1999 as the deputy executive director of both ALCTS and LAMA (now LLAMA) from a position of budget and planning manager at the University of Texas, Arlington. He will retire in February 2015. Keri Cascio will join 91´«Ã½/ALCTS on Jan. 12, 2015, and will work with Charles Wilt to ensure a smooth transition.

Cascio is currently the director of Innovative Technologies and Library Resource Management at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City (Missouri), where she has worked since December 2011.

Prior to joining the Linda Hall Library, Keri was a branch manager at the St. Charles City-County Library District in St. Peters (Missouri) and a librarian/trainer at the Missouri Library Network Corporation in St. Louis. Earlier positions included stints with the St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis County Library, Data Research Associates (DRA) and Sirsi Corporation.

In addition to her varied work experience, Cascio brings a strong record of volunteer activity with 91´«Ã½/ALCTS and the Missouri Library Association (MLA). She was a 2007 91´«Ã½ Emerging Leader. She is currently a director-at-large on the ALCTS Board of Directors and has served on numerous ALCTS committees, most notably the Continuing Education Committee. In addition to her 91´«Ã½/ALCTS work, Cascio served on the Executive Board of the Missouri Library Association from 2011-2013, acting as its secretary in 2013, as well as several MLA committees. She has also been a frequent presenter on topics ranging from leadership to preservation of digital images.

Keri Cascio received a Master of Arts in Information Science and Technology, with an emphasis in Library Science, from the University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri). She also received a Master of Arts in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Washington University (St. Louis) and a Bachelor of Arts with High Honors in German Language and Literature from Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut).

Thanks for a productive search go to the search committee, chaired by Brian Schottlaender, Audrey Geisel University librarian at the University of California, San Diego. Members of the search committee included Mary Case (university librarian, University of Illinois – Chicago), Mary Page (associate director for collections and technical services, University of Central Florida Libraries), Erica Findley (cataloging/metadata librarian, Multnomah County Public Library), Martin Kurth (director, knowledge access and resource management services, New York University), Genevieve Owens (director, Williamsburg Regional Library), Michelle Harrell Washington (director, Office for Diversity/Office for Literacy & Outreach Services, 91´«Ã½) and Dan Hoppe (director, Human Resources, 91´«Ã½). Early assistance on the search was also received from Barb Macikas (executive director, Public Library Association). Thanks also go to the ALCTS staff, for their ongoing support and participation in the search process, and to other 91´«Ã½ staff who supported this process. Thanks to all for an effective and collegial search.