Nationality American Ethnicity Irish, Hispanic | Occupation Professor, Librarian Name Kathleen la | |
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Alma mater University of Illinois at Chicago, Marquette University, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin–Madison | ||
Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a library scholar, librarian, and activist. Much of her work centers around social justice, human rights, First Amendment issues, and the freedom of information.
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McCook has been active in a number of professional organizations within the field of librarianship. She was highly involved in the American Library Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship. She is a lifelong member of REFORMA, served on the organization's 1997-1998 board of directors, and was the recipient of their 2016 Elizabeth Martinez Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a past president of the Association for Library and Information Science Education.
According to a Library Quarterly study, McCook was among the top 20 American library and information science (LIS) researchers. Her textbook, Introduction to Public Librarianship, is frequently used in LIS courses.
McCook has taught full-time since 1978. She has served on the faculties of Dominican University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Louisiana State University. Currently, she is serving as a Distinguished University Professor at the University of South Florida's School of Information. She also served as 2003 scholar-in-residence for the Chicago Public Library.
Education
McCook began her collegiate studies at University of Illinois at Chicago and completed her B.A. in English. She then attended Marquette University, earned an M.A. in English, and enrolled at University of Chicago Graduate Library School, where she received a M.A. in Library Science. She then attended University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Library and Information Studies. There she was named Outstanding Alumni. Her academic specializations (in relation to libraries) include the following.
Career
She began her career as a teacher for Latino communities in Chicago Public Schools as a teaching assistant for Marquette University’s English department. She taught as a mathematics teacher for St. Martin School then became a reference librarian for the Elmhurst College Library. Following her time as a reference librarian, she served as Director of Public Services at Rebecca Crown Library, Dominican University. McCook has since been a faculty member and administrator at Louisiana State University, the University of Illinois, Dominican University, and the University of South Florida, where she was Director of the School of Information from 1994 until 2000 and was recognized as a Distinguished University Professor in 2002. As a professor at the University of South Florida, she currently teaches several classes.
She is a member of the editorial board for the journal Progressive Librarian, serves on the Coordinating Committee of the Progressive Librarians Guild, and is a member of AFT Local 7463. McCook stated in an oral history at the University of South Florida that, as her legacy, she would like to “educate a group of students who are dedicated to preserving civil liberties and making it possible for the people in the community to have access to the information they need for their daily lives, their health, and their happiness.”