Peggy Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Peggy Sullivan, who currently resides in Chicago, IL
, serves as a Library Consultant. She specializes in executive searches, primarily in public libraries. Throughout her career, she has served as:
From 1952 to 1977, Peggy Sullivan held positions of increasing responsibility in public and school libraries, directed the national Knapp School Libraries Project (1963–1968), and was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Chicago
in their library education programs. She also taught on part-time
, summer or interim bases at six other library education programs (the University of Maryland
, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
, Syracuse University
, the Catholic University of America
, Drexel University
, and Rosary College) and directed the American Library Association’s Office for Library Personnel Resources.
Highlights of Sullivan’s wide-ranging career include: President of ALA’s Children’s Services Division (now the Association for Library Services to Children – ALSC) (1976–1977), assistant commissioner for extension services at the Chicago Public Library (1977–1981), ALA president (1980–1981), ALA executive director
(1992–1994), Dean of the LIS Program at Rosary College (now Dominican University
), Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northern Illinois University, and numerous university teaching positions. Sullivan served as director of the Knapp School Libraries Project (1963–1968). This project had great national impact on convincing the public of the need for high quality school library
media programs.
Furthermore, Sullivan was the 1991 recipient of ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award, and is a Distinguished Alumnus of both Catholic University and Clarke College
. In 2004, Sullivan established the Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators. This award is presented annually to an individual who has shown exceptional understanding and support of public library service to children while having general management/supervisory/administrative responsibility that has included public library service to children in its scope. She also presents the Sullivan Award to a faculty member in the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences (formerly the College of Professional Studies, where she was dean) for achievement in research. It is presented every fall on the NIU campus.
Peggy Sullivan is the only Honorary Member to have a giant image of her book on a parking garage
in the Kansas City Library District. The facade includes her 1956 children’s book
, The O’Donnells as a title on the Community Bookshelf.
The official resolution is as follows:
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan has dedicated over 50 years to the field of librarianship, and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan served as director of the Knapp School Libraries Project, which had great national impact on convincing the public of the need for high quality school library media programs; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan wrote the definitive scholarly history of the tenure of Carl Milam (ALA Secretary 1920-1946) and the growth of the American Library Association to an international organization
; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan was the 1991 recipient of ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession
of librarianship; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan’s wide-ranging career includes such highlights as President of ALA’s Children’s Services Division (now the Association for Library Service to Children – ALSC), Assistant Commissioner for Extension Services at the Chicago Public Library, ALA President, ALA Executive Director, Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Rosary College (now Dominican University), Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northern Illinois University, various international assignments, and numerous administrative, library, and university teaching positions; now, therefore, be it Resolved, that in recognition of over 50 years of dedicated service to the profession of librarianship, Dr. Peggy Sullivan be awarded the highest honor this Association can bestow, Honorary Membership in the American Library Association.
Adopted by the Council of the American Library Association
January 15, 2008
Keith Michael Fiels
Secretary of the Association
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, serves as a Library Consultant. She specializes in executive searches, primarily in public libraries. Throughout her career, she has served as:
- Dean, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Rosary College, River Forest IL 1995-1997
- Executive Director, American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, Chicago IL 1992-1994
- Director and Professor, University Libraries, Northern Illinois UniversityNorthern Illinois UniversityNorthern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
, De Kalb IL 1990-1992
- Dean and Professor, College of Professional Studies, Northern Illinois University 1981-1992
- Assistant Commissioner, Chicago Public LibraryChicago Public LibraryThe Chicago Public Library is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 79 branches, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city....
, 1977–1981
From 1952 to 1977, Peggy Sullivan held positions of increasing responsibility in public and school libraries, directed the national Knapp School Libraries Project (1963–1968), and was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in their library education programs. She also taught on part-time
Part time
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
, summer or interim bases at six other library education programs (the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, the Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
, Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
, and Rosary College) and directed the American Library Association’s Office for Library Personnel Resources.
Highlights of Sullivan’s wide-ranging career include: President of ALA’s Children’s Services Division (now the Association for Library Services to Children – ALSC) (1976–1977), assistant commissioner for extension services at the Chicago Public Library (1977–1981), ALA president (1980–1981), ALA executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
(1992–1994), Dean of the LIS Program at Rosary College (now Dominican University
Dominican University
Dominican University may refer to:* Dominican University of California, an independent university of Catholic heritage located 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, California...
), Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northern Illinois University, and numerous university teaching positions. Sullivan served as director of the Knapp School Libraries Project (1963–1968). This project had great national impact on convincing the public of the need for high quality school library
School library
A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources...
media programs.
Furthermore, Sullivan was the 1991 recipient of ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award, and is a Distinguished Alumnus of both Catholic University and Clarke College
Clarke College
Clarke University is a four-year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States, with a general attendance of approximately 1,200 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs...
. In 2004, Sullivan established the Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators. This award is presented annually to an individual who has shown exceptional understanding and support of public library service to children while having general management/supervisory/administrative responsibility that has included public library service to children in its scope. She also presents the Sullivan Award to a faculty member in the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences (formerly the College of Professional Studies, where she was dean) for achievement in research. It is presented every fall on the NIU campus.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1972
- M.S. in L.S., Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1953
- B.A., Clarke College, Dubuque, IADubuque, IowaDubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, 1950
Publications
- Carl H. MilamCarl H. MilamCarl H. Milam held many positions and made many contributions to the field of American Library Science. He was noted in an issue of American Libraries as one of the one hundred "most important leaders we had in the 20th century"...
and the American Library Association, H. W. Wilson
- Public Libraries: Smart Practices in Personnel, with William H. Ptacek, Libraries Unlimited, 1978
- Opportunities in Library and Information Science, Vocational Guidance Manuals, 19, with varying responsibilities for later editions of this title with various publishers
- Problems in School Media Management, Bowker, 1972
- Many Names for Eileen, Follett, 1969
- The O’Donnells, Follett, 1956
- More than 100 articles on various aspects of librarianship, education, administration, and history. 1958 and continuing
- Reviews of books and other media, also numbering in excess of 100, for a variety of educational and library publications, as well as for The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and The Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
Recognitions and Special Assignments
- UNESCO Consultant on School Libraries, Australia, 1970
- President, American Library Association, 1980–1981
- Numerous committee appointments and elective offices in the American Library Association, 1959 and continuing, including the presidency of the Children’s Services Division, 1976–1977, and membership on the ALA Council
- Distinguished Service Award, Association for Library Service to ChildrenAssociation for Library Service to ChildrenThe Association for Library Service to Children is a division of the American Library Association. Its members are concerned with the profession of children's Librarianship...
, 2000
- Lippincott Award, American Library Association, 1991
- Distinguished Alumnus Award, School of Library and Information Science, Catholic University of America
- Distinguished Alumnus Award, Clarke College,
- Honors Award, High School Section, Catholic Library Association
- Inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in America and its various regional and special publications
- Consultancies relating to seminary libraries, fundraising, personnel managementHuman resource managementHuman Resource Management is the management of an organization's employees. While human resource management is sometimes referred to as a "soft" management skill, effective practice within an organization requires a strategic focus to ensure that people resources can facilitate the achievement of...
, faculty developmentFaculty developmentFaculty development is a similarly used term to staff development and professional development, in settings that pertain to educators ....
, library education curriculum, library facilities planning, and general educational and library issues provided to a range of institutions and agencies, including the National Endowment for the HumanitiesNational Endowment for the HumanitiesThe National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
, the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, the Lilly Foundation, and the US Department of Education
- Vice President and Program Chair, Caxton Club of Chicago, 2001–2002
- Treasurer, Chicago Literary Club, 2006–2007
- Consulting assignments and the presentation of speeches, workshops, storytelling programs, as well as participation in ALA accreditation of library education programs have taken Peggy Sullivan to every one of the fifty US statesU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and every continent except Antarctica (which she visited on her own).
- Committee appointments in the Illinois Library Association, the Catholic Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Library Administration Division of the American Library Association, and the American Association of School Librarians
- Donor, the Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators, American Library Association, 2004 and continuing annually
ALA Honorary Member
In 2008, Peggy Sullivan was named Honorary Member of the American Library Association. Sullivan, a library consultant, was nominated in recognition of over 50 years of dedicated librarianship during which she wrote the definitive scholarly history of the tenure of Carl Milam (ALA secretary 1920-1946) and the growth of the American Library Association to an international organization.Peggy Sullivan is the only Honorary Member to have a giant image of her book on a parking garage
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
in the Kansas City Library District. The facade includes her 1956 children’s book
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
, The O’Donnells as a title on the Community Bookshelf.
The official resolution is as follows:
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan has dedicated over 50 years to the field of librarianship, and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan served as director of the Knapp School Libraries Project, which had great national impact on convincing the public of the need for high quality school library media programs; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan wrote the definitive scholarly history of the tenure of Carl Milam (ALA Secretary 1920-1946) and the growth of the American Library Association to an international organization
International organization
An intergovernmental organization, sometimes rendered as an international governmental organization and both abbreviated as IGO, is an organization composed primarily of sovereign states , or of other intergovernmental organizations...
; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan was the 1991 recipient of ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession
of librarianship; and
Whereas, Dr. Peggy Sullivan’s wide-ranging career includes such highlights as President of ALA’s Children’s Services Division (now the Association for Library Service to Children – ALSC), Assistant Commissioner for Extension Services at the Chicago Public Library, ALA President, ALA Executive Director, Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Rosary College (now Dominican University), Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northern Illinois University, various international assignments, and numerous administrative, library, and university teaching positions; now, therefore, be it Resolved, that in recognition of over 50 years of dedicated service to the profession of librarianship, Dr. Peggy Sullivan be awarded the highest honor this Association can bestow, Honorary Membership in the American Library Association.
Adopted by the Council of the American Library Association
January 15, 2008
Keith Michael Fiels
Keith Michael Fiels
Keith Michael Fiels is an American librarian. He was appointed Executive Director of the American Library Association in July 2002....
Secretary of the Association
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...