Blanche Woolls is a former Director and Professor Emerita of the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. She has been an elementary school librarian and a district level coordinator of school libraries before managing the school library credential program at the University of Pittsburgh. Her articles have appeared in publications such as School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, and School Library Monthly. Her books include The School Library Media Manager, currently in its third edition.
Blanche Woolls is a graduate of Indiana University where she has a bachelors in fine arts and a masters and doctorate in library and information science. She began her professional career as a school librarian in Hammond, Indiana in a K-8 elementary school with 1,245 students. She was appointed the first coordinator of school libraries in that city and served for two years until she moved to Roswell, New Mexico as coordinator there.
After completing her doctorate, she joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Library and information Science at the University of Pittsburgh (now the School of Information) where she coordinated the school library certificate program, chairing the Department of Library Science for five years, and served as chair of the doctoral studies committee for 12 years. She was appointed Director of the School of Library and Information Science (now the School of Information) at San José State University in 1997 and remained there until her retirement in August 2005. She is a past president of the American Association of School Librarians and the International Association of School Librarianship.
Dr. Bannche Wools is also a contributor to the Librarianship Studies & Information Technology blog. Her contribution to the blog is listed below:
Courses Taught
INFO 200 – Information Communities
Education
Ph.D (Library and Information Science) Indiana University (1973)
M.A. (Library Science) Indiana University (1962)
B.A. (Fine Arts) Indiana University (1958)
Academic & Professional Experience
Consulting Editor, Libraries Unlimited (2005-)
Director and Professor, School of Information, San José State University (1997-2005)
Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh (1973-1997)
Director, School Library Certificate Program, University of Pittsburgh (1973-1997)
Chair, Department of Library Science, University of Pittsburgh (1985-1990)
Chair, Doctoral Studies Committee, University of Pittsburgh (1975-1985)
Coordinator of School Libraries, Roswell (NM) Independent School District (1967-1970)
Coordinator of School Libraries, Hammond (IN) Public Schools (1965-1967)
Elementary Librarian, Hammond (IN) Public Schools, (1958-1965)
Selected Publications
Books
Woolls, B. (2008). The school library library media manager (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Woolls, B. and Loertscher, David V. (2005). Whole School Library Handbook. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (Ed.). (2002). Information-rich environments: Blessing or curse: Papers of the Treasure Mountain Research Retreat #9, Brown County Indiana, November 2001. San José, CA: Hi Willow Research and Publishing.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (2002). Information literacy: A review of the research: A guide for practitioners and researchers (2nd ed.). San José, CA: Hi Willow Research and Publishing.
Woolls, B. & Sheldon, B. (2001). Delivering lifelong continuing professional education across space and time: The fourth world conference on continuing professional education for the library and information science professions. Munich: K.G. Saur.
Parts of Books
Woolls, B. (2009). Developing your leadership style: a workshop. In J. Varlejs & G. Walton (Eds.), Strategies for regenerating the library and information professions. Eighth world conference on continuing professional development and workplace learning for the library and information professions 18-20 August 2009, (pp. 223-234). Munich: K.G. Saur.
Woolls, B. (2009). Succession planning and passing on leadership: Approaches for library associations. In J. Varlejs & G. Walton (Eds.), Strategies for regenerating the library and information professions. Eighth world conference on continuing professional development and workplace learning for the library and information professions, 18-20 August 2009, (pp. 235-244). Munich: K.G. Saur.
Woolls, B. and Zimmerman, N. (2007). Leadership skills: When are they taught, when are they used. In Ritchie, A. & Walker, C., Continuing Professional Development: Pathways to Leadership in the Library and Information World (pp. 233-252) Munich, Germany: K.G. Saur.
Woolls, B. (2006). Information and technology and the preparation of students for their role in a global society. In Proceedings of the 2006 Information Technology in Education: Ethics and Knowledge, Kunming, China, June 20, 2006 (pp. 27-32). Kunming, P. R. China: Yunnan Provincial Library.
Woolls, B. (2006). Information literacy in the information age: Preparing students for their role in a global society. In Nadzar, F. H. J., et. al. Information Literacy and Knowledge Society: Development, Changes, and Challenges. Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Literacy 14-15 June 2006, Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (pp. 1-9). Shah Alam, Malaysia: Faculty of Information Management, University of Technology MARA.
Woolls, B. (2006). Understanding the multiple faces of literacy: Librarian innovator and developer of thinking skills. In The multiple faces of literacy: Reading, knowing, doing. Paper presented at the International Association of School Librarianship Annual International Conference, Lisbon Portugal, July 6, 2006.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (2003). Distance education at San José State University. In D. Barron (Ed.), Benchmarks in distance education: The LIS experience (pp. 263-269). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Woolls, B. Reference works (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.). In Encyclopedia of international media and communication v. 6 (pp. 71-80). Elsevier Science.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (2002). Information literacy: Helping librarians apply the research to teaching information skills to patrons: The importance of the human interface. In P. Ward (Ed.), Continuing professional education for the information society: The fifth world conference on continuing professional education for the library and information science professions. Munich: K.G. Saur.
Journal Articles
Woolls, B. (2011). What's in the Professional Learning Agenda? School Library Monthly, 27(7), 54-56.
Woolls, B. (2010). Turn summer reading into fall invasions. School Library Monthly, 26(10), 50-53.
Woolls, B. (2009). Keeping Up: Personal staff development. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(9). 55-58.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (2002). Accountability and the school teacher librarian. School Libraries in Canada, 22(2), 7-9.
Woolls, B. & Loertscher, D. (2002, May/June). Teenage users of libraries. Knowledge Quest, 30, 31-36.
Email: blanche.woolls@sjsu.edu
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES
- San Jose State University, School of Information, "Dr. Blanche Woolls," https://ischoolapps.sjsu.edu/facultypages/view.php?fac=woollsb (accessed May 11, 2021).
