Head, Education and Social Science Library and Professor of Library Administration
Campus Address:
Education and
Social Science Library
100 Main Library
1408 W. Gregory
Urbana, IL 61801
Campus Mail Code 522
Telephone: 217/333-2305
Email: npobrien@uiuc.edu
Division: Social Sciences Division
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
As Head of the Education and Social Science Library, my work entails making sure that consistent, high quality library service is provided to students and faculty in the College of Education, the School of Social Work, and the Departments of Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Speech Communication, as well as to other users of the unit's resources. I also serve as Education Subject Specialist, responsible for the collections of children's literature, curriculum, testing, and education materials, and provision of instructional sessions and expert reference assitance in these areas.
OTHER UIUC ACADEMIC POSITIONS HELD
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Visiting Instructor. Taught Introduction to Information Services (LIS 320), Fall 1992.
Acting Library and Information Science Librarian, September 1989-March 1990
Project Director, Title II-C Grant, "Strengthening Elementary and Secondary Curriculum and Textbook Resources at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Education and Social Science Library to Improve National Access." October 1987-December 1988.
Social Science Bibliographer. Collection Development Division, 1979-1981.
Serials Bibliographer. Serials Department, 1977-1978.
AWARDS
In 1997, received the Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award from the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries within the American Library Association.
LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS
"Finding, Saving, and Relocating Dick, Jane, Alice, Jerry, Janet and John." Paper presented at the annual conference of the Special Libraries Association, June 10, 2002, Los Angeles, California.
"Tensions in Identifying Historical Textbook Collections." Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian History of Education Association, October 17, 1998. Vancouver, British Columbia.
"Battling the Warehouse Syndrome: Promoting Educational History Resources." Paper presented at the International History of Education Symposium, July 20, 1994. DeKalb, Illinois.
"Preserving Our Educational Heritage: The Need to Establish Regional Historical Curriculum Collections." Paper presented at the 5th National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries, April 8, 1989. Cincinnati, Ohio.
GRANTS
In 1990-91 received from the American Library Association a Whitney-Carnegie Award to compile a bibliographic catalog of historical curriculum materials: "Alice, Jerry, Dick and Jane: Catalog of Historical Curriculum Materials at the University of Illinois Library, 1821-1940."
PUBLICATIONS (listing of additional publications available upon request)
Books:
Collins, John W. III and Nancy Patricia O'Brien, eds. The Greenwood Dictionary of Education. (Westport, CT Greenwood Press, 2003). 431 p.
Fehrmann, Paul G. and Nancy Patricia O'Brien, eds. Directory of Test Collections in Academic, Professional and Research Collections. (Chicago: ACRL/ALA, 2001). 130 p.
Education: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources, 2nd ed. (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000). 189 p.
Core List of Books and Journals in Education. With Emily Fabiano. (Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1991). 125 p.
Test Construction: A Bibliography of Resources. (New York: Greenwood, 1988). 299 p.
Testing Information Sources for Educators (ERIC/TME Report 94). With Emily Fabiano. (Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 1987). 61 p.
Guide for the Development and Management of Test Collections: With Special Emphasis on Academic Settings. Ad hoc Subcommittee on Test Collections, Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. With Emily Fabiano, Ray Gerke, Inge Kauffmann and Susan Klingberg. (Chicago: ACRL/ALA, 1985). [69] p.
Chapters in books:
"Battling the Warehouse Syndrome: Promoting Educational History Sources" in A Meere Scholler: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Our Educational Heritage (Proceedings of the 1994 International History of Education Symposium). (DeKalb, Ill., LEPS Press, 1996), pp. 21-23. Analyzes the need to promote special collections, particularly education collections, in libraries, and advocates methods to publicize and make these resources widely accessible.
"Preserving Our Educational Heritage: The Need to Establish Historical Curriculum Collections" in Building on the First Century: Proceedings of the Fifth National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries. Edited by Janice C. Fennell. (Chicago: ACRL, 1989), pp. 227-230.
Reports:
Developing a planning and implementation model
for bringing USEIN (United States Education Information Network)
into operation. 1997. Paper commissioned by the National Library
of Education, U.S. Department of Education. Later issued as an
ERIC document (ED 414 903).
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Operations/index.html
Articles in journals:
"A comparison of the development, organization, management and preservation of old school book collections in New Zealand and the United States" Paradigm 2, no. 6 (August 2003): 2-8.
"Journals of the Century in Education" Serials Librarian 39(3): 95-102, 2001. Also published under the same title as Chapter 2 in Journals of the Century, edited by Tony Stankus, (New York: Haworth Press, 2002), pp. 19-27.
"Treasures and Tribulations: Merging Children's Book Collections" Bookbird: World of Children's Books. 33(3-4): 104-107, 1996. Provides a description of the process of merging historical collections of children's literature, the triumph of discovering unique resources, and the trials of increased staff time spent in comparing editions.
"Children's Book Collection: Progress and Priorities" Focus (Center for Research Libraries) 14(5-6): 1-2, 1994. Provides a historical overview of the UIUC Library's collections of children's literature, including the recent acquisition of 58,000 books from the Center for Research Libraries, and plans for improving access to this collection.
"Textbooks at the Center for Research Libraries: Repository of United States Education History" Paradigm (The Textbook Colloquium, Cambridge, Eng.) No. 15: 39-41, 1994. Provides background and description of the CRL textbook collection, and how researchers may utilize these unique uncataloged resources. Article is directed primarily to the European education community.
"Professional Connections: Resources for Librarians and Teachers" The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 47(4): 138-139, 1993. Bibliographic essay on selected sources and collections related to children's literature of interest to teachers and librarians.
"Resources for Educational History: Emerging from the Warehouse" Journal of Curriculum Studies 25(1): 95-98, 1993. Essay eschewing the "warehouse syndrome" of maintaining K-12 textbooks as second class collections. Highlights the value of these collections to educational history.
"Selected Test Collections in the United States: A Survey of Organization." With David Ginn. Behavioral and Social Sciences Librarian 4(2/3): 9-20, 1985.
Research in progress:
Alice, Jerry, Dick and Jane: Catalog of Historical Curriculum Materials at the University of Illinois Library, 1821-1940. Book catalog of a special collection. Work in progress.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
My research focuses on the history, organization, and management of education and testing resources in libraries. In recent years, I have placed special emphasis on the preservation of education collections in libraries as part of our cultural heritage. My research, publishing and presentations at conferences have been devoted to this area, as have many of my job-related activities.
SERVICE TO ASSOCIATIONS
National Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education. National Education Network, Executive Committee Chair, 1998-2002.
ACCESS ERIC. U.S. Department of Education. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Advisory Board, Member, 1989-1991.
Membership in professional organizations:
American Educational Research Association
AERA Special Interest Group on Communication of Research
AERA/Division F: History & Historiography/History of Education Society
AERA/Division B: Curriculum Studies
American Library Association
Association of College and Research Libraries
Education and Behavioral Sciences Section
Library Administration and Management Association
History of Education Society
Textbook Colloquium, United Kingdom
Significant contributions or active involvement in professional organizations
American Library Association:
Association of College and Research Libraries. Access Policy Task Force,
Appointed Member, 1990-1995. Responsible for reviewing and revising the
1975 Access Policy Guidelines. Hearings were held at the December 1993
midwinter conference regarding this proposed policy. A revised policy was
submitted to ACRL for approval, and published in College and Research
Libraries News.
ACRL Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS):
Elected Vice Chair 1993/94, Chair 1994/95, Past Chair 1995/96. Responsible
for appointing members to EBSS committees, planning the 1995 conference
program, and submitting Section budget. EBSS has 1400 members and a large
number of committees. Responsible for coordinating and leading the section
as well as chairing its Executive Committee meetings. As Past Chair,
responsibilities included development and provision of a workshop on
necessary skills and information resources for newly
appointed committee chairs.
ACRL EBSS. Ad hoc Committee on the Test Collection Directory, Appointed
Co-Chair, 1996-2001.
Responsible for planning and producing a directory of test collections in
libraries and special collections.
ACRL EBSS. Ad hoc Historical Textbook and Curriculum Collections Directory
Committee, Appointed Chair, 2000-.
Responsible for planning and producing a directory of historical textbook
and curriculum collections in libraries, agencies, and special collections.
ACRL EBSS. Membership and Orientation Committee, Appointed Member, 1996-2000.
Proposes and provides strategies for recruitment, retention, and
orientation of members and officers in EBSS. Promotes active interest in
and support for the section and members' effectiveness.
ACRL. Status of Academic Librarians Committee, Appointed Member, 1995-2000.
Recommend appropriate policy and/or action on matters in academic libraries
insofar as such matters affect the status of academic librarians; and,
develop standards, guidelines, procedures and programs for the attainment
and protection of appropriate status.
Library Administration and Management Association. Orientation Committee,
Appointed Member, 1995-2000.
Responsible for developing and implementing a formal orientation program
for all division and section officers and committee members.
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