Alumni Updates
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Sharyl Swanson
M.Lib, 1970
Sharyl is volunteering as an advocate for school library programs in Utah. She currently is working on keeping school library books and electronic resources in the Utah state education budget, and to establish a multi-year impact study of teacher librarians on student achievement. So far, Sharyl and her advocacy group PALS (Parents Advocating for Libraries in Schools) have met with over 50 district superintendents, state school board members and legislators. The Utah State Board of Education voted to include both line items, which now require approval from the State Legislature.
Gail Dykstra
M.Lib, 1969
Gail is the Senior Technology Manager for Software at CoMotion, the collaborative hub for expanding the societal impact of the University of Washington community.
Carol Gabriel Woodward
M.Lib, 1969
Carol retired from the Hennepin (MN) County Library System in December of 2011, and still volunteers at the library where she worked the last 17.5 years of her career.
Sharon Reeves
M.Lib, 1969
Sharon was named a Distinguished Alumna at the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2016.
Ellen Shatter
M.Lib, 1969
In 2021, Ellen reported that she was enjoying retirement: "I retired in 2003 from San Francisco Public Library and have been doing absolutely nothing ever since."
Beth Smith Hammond
M.Lib, 1969
Beth is now a substitute at Siuslaw Public Library in Florence, Oregon; a member of the Upper Siuslaw Library Committee; treasurer of Lane Library League; and chair of Rolling Readers at Mapleton Elementary.
Paul Steere
M.Lib, 1969
In 2017, Paul moved from Kenmore to the Semiahmoo Resort area of Blaine, Washington. He was elected to the Board of Directors, Whatcom County Library Foundation, for a three-year term in May 2018.
Monte Steiger
M.Lib, 1969
Monte is recuperating after two knee surgeries to repair damage that occurred while he was gold panning in Idaho's Bitteroot Mountains.
Jim Gaylord
M.Lib, 1968
Jim retired in 2002 after spending 18 years with Pierce County Library, most of it as a reference librarian at the Lakewood branch. He currently spends time fighting with his computer, reading, taking care of his house and yard, and listening to an ever-growing collection of records, discs, and tapes. He volunteers at a thrift shop and as a "librarian" at Rainbow Center, Tacoma's gay and lesbian community organization.
Patrick Kehoe
M.Lib, 1968
Though he is technically retired, Patrick continues to produce and edit the video series An Oral History of Law Librarianship for the HeinOnline legal database. He has traveled around the country and conducted over 100 scripted "conversations" with selected law librarian colleagues, who, collectively, have described the evolution of the profession over the past 50 years. Many graduates of the iSchool’s law librarianship program are being interviewed for the project, including program director Professor Penny Hazelton.