The Public Library Policy Writer

Herman L. Totten, PhD, is the Dean of the University of North Texas
(UNT) School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS). He joined the SLIS Faculty in 1977, and became a Regents Professor in SLIS in 1991. He has received numerous awards including the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Award for Professional Contribution to Library and Information Science Education, the Alumni Association of the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies Award of Merit for the Outstanding Alumnus, the American Library Association Black Caucus Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Library and Information Science Education, the ALISE Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Texas Library Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is currently serving on the United States National Commission on Librariesand Information Science, a federal agency charged to advise the President and Congress on information and learning needs of the American people.

Jeanette Larson is a freelance trainer and consultant with more than 30 years experience working with public libraries, serves as an adjunct professor with Texas Woman’s University, and is a presenter for the Texas State Library’s Small Library Management Training program. She is a certified trainer for the Public Library Association and works with public libraries of all sizes on various aspects of PLA’s “For Results” planning process. In 1998 the Texas Library Association named Ms. Larson Librarian of the Year and she received the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for outstanding service to young people in 2002. Ms. Larson is the immediate past-chair of the Public Library Division of the Texas Library Association and has served on numerous committees for the American Library Association and the Texas Library Association. Ms. Larson is also the author of The CREW Method: Collection Evaluation and Weeding Guidelines for the 21st Century, the third edition of the popular guide on weeding library collections. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and their two schipperke dogs.