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Laurel A. Grotzinger Reference Librarian Waldo Library - First Floor E-mail: laurel.grotzinger@wmich.edu Phone: 269-387-5418 Fax: 269-387-5353

Subject Specialties

Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science Studies, Law/Legal Resources

Professional Responsibilities

As a Central Reference Librarian, Waldo Library, I provide 10 to 12 hours desk service each week at Central Reference as well as responding to questions directed specifically to me through telephone or e-mail. In addition to approving faculty requests (law/legal resources, philosophy, psychology, religion, science studies), I review assorted publications for selection of materials for the same disciplines, reference, and the general collection. Classroom instruction is provided for philosophy, psychology, and science studies classes as well as library instruction for lower level English classes and other requesting areas. Additional responsibilities include individualized WRAP (research sessions with graduate students); supervision of the Alberta L. Brown Lecture Series and endowment,; editing of Gatherings, the publication of the Friends of the University Libraries; evaluating and developing school media certification programs; and serving on departmental, University, and professional committees. I'm a regular contributor to reference reviewing sources such as American Reference Books Annual.

Research Interests

Education for the library and information profession, research methodologies, and historical aspects of the library profession with special emphasis on women's contributions.

Selected Publications

"Bogle, Sarah Comly Norris (1870-1932" [with Peggy Sullivan] in Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: A Biographical Dictionary. Ed. by Marilyn L. Miller. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003, pp. 17-20.

"Brown, Alberta L." in Dictionary of American Library Biography, Supplement 2. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2003, pp. 39-43.

"Fyan, Loleta D." in Dictionary of American Library Biography, Supplement 2. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2003, pp.102-107.

"Sharp, Katharine Lucinda" in American National Biography, Vol. 9, pp.719-720. Edited by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Online version.

"Loleta Dawson Fyan, 1894-1900," Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters, March 9, 2001, to be published. [Abstract] Michigan Academician 33 (Spring 2001): 66.

"Library History: An Evanescent Existence," Solicited paper presented at the Library History Round Table, American Library Association, Washington, D.C., July 28, 1998.

"'ARBA' Deja Review" [Abstract of Paper presented at the Michigan Academy, 1998]. Michigan Academician 30 (May 1998):304.

"Never Lose the Nightingale: A Reading of Frances Clarke Sayers" [Abstract of Paper presented at the Michigan Academy, 1997]. Michigan Academician 29 (May 1997):368.

" Librarians' Learned Discourse: Fifteen Years of Michigan Academy Papers" [Abstract of Paper presented at the Michigan Academy, 1995]. Michigan Academician 27 (May 1995): 318.

"Accessioning." In Encyclopedia of Library History, pp. 15-16. Edited by Wayne A. Wiegand and Donald G. Davis, Jr. New York: Garland, 1994.

"Invisible, Indestructible Network: Women and the Diffusion of Librarianship at the Turn of the Century." In Women's Work: Vision and Change in Librarianship, Papers in Honor of the Centennial of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Occasional Papers, Nos. 196/197 (July 1994): 7-26.

"A Centennial History of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters," Michigan Academician [A Special Issue in Honor of the Centennial of the Michigan Academy--1994] 26 (September 1994): 547-646. [With Virginia Paganelli Caruso]

"Roots, Trunk and Branches: A Century of Michigan Education for Library Service," [Abstract of Paper presented at the Michigan Academy 1994] Michigan Academician 26 (Spring 1994): 330.

"Working Women: Separate and Not Equal--A Review Article," Library Quarterly 63 (July 1993): 353-363.

"Remarkable Beginnings: The First Half Century of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science," pp. 1-23. In Ideals and Standards: The History of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1893-1993. Edited by Walter C. Allen and Robert F. Delzell. Urbana-Champaign, IL: The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, 1992.

"Ten Years' Work in Library History: The Monograph from 1975-1985." In Library Science Annual, Vol. 2, pp. 56-69. Edited by Bohdan S. Wynar. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1986.

"Biographical Research on Women Librarians: Its Paucity, Perils, and Pleasures" in The Status of Women in Librarianship, pp. 139-190. Edited by Kathleen M. Heim. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1983. 483pp.

The Power and the Dignity: Librarianship and Katharine Sharp. New York: The Scarecrow Press, 1966. 331p.

Editorial Boards

Gatherings (Publication of the Friends of the University Libraries, Western Michigan University), 1993-date.

Libraries & The Cultural Record (formerly Libraries & Culture, Journal of Library History). Occasional Reader/Referee, 1975-date.

Library Quarterly. Occasional Reader/Referee, 1991-date.

Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters. Editorial Board, Michigan Academician, 1993-date.

Michigan Academician. Reader/Referee, 1980-date.

Occasional Papers. University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Occasional Reader/Referee, 1992-date.

Educational and Professional Background

Before an appointment to the School of Library and Information Science at WMU where I taught for 15 years serving also as Assistant Director and Interim Director at various times, I served for 4 years at Illinois State University as an instructor and assistant librarian, and for two years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a teaching fellow. From 1979 to 1992 I was Dean of The Graduate College at WMU and from 1979 to 1985, Chief Research Officer. Since 1993, I have been a professor and reference librarian in the University Libraries. I hold a B.A. from Carleton College, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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