The College of Human Sciences and Education recently named Carol Barry as the new Interim Director for the School of Library and Information Science.
Much of Barry’s extensive professional history took place at the University.
She served as a board member, vice president and president of the University’s Faculty Senate; chaired several University committees; served as a board member on the Association for Information Science and Technology and worked as associate editor for the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology.
Dean of the College of Human Sciences and Education Damon Andrew said he is thrilled to have Barry as the interim director and thinks she can bring many great opportunities to the school.
“Her knowledge and her experience and her background really made her an ideal candidate to step up to that interim director role,” Andrew said. “The past year or so has been a very exciting and busy time for the School of Library and Information Science because they’ve been working really hard to innovate and reinvent themselves.”
Barry said she’s glad she achieved this position when she did because the school is in the process of adding several new certifications and programs, including specializations in information management, archival studies and school and public librarianship.
She said her main goal as interim director is to guide and shape the future of the school.
Though the School of Library and Information Science has only about 130 enrolled students, Barry said that’s not the main issue.
“The main problem is that people still think of us as ‘the library school,’” Barry said. “That’s not at all what we are — at least not anymore. This school is so much more than that.”
Barry said many people don’t realize the number of professions that can come with a library science degree, and people are surprised when they realize what the school’s alumni pursue as careers.
She said there are alumni working in Homeland Security and Emergency, US Army Corp of Engineers and various STEM fields.
“One of the joys of this field in the 21st century is all the directions students can go,” Barry said.
She said another goal of hers as interim director is to recruit more students and help the school grow to receive more recognition.
Barry is looking into creating a public relations campaign to highlight the aspects of the School of Library and Information Science that many students are unaware of in hopes of recruiting more graduate students.
“The way I view this, and the way I would love other people to view this, is that we are a school of managing information,” Barry said. “Information is everywhere, and we manage it regardless of the format, regardless of the environment. We are the people who know how to describe and organize that information so people can find what they’re looking for.”