Kathleen de la Peña McCook

McCook began her collegiate studies at University of Illinois at Chicago and completed her B.A. in English. She then attended Marquette University, earned an M.A. in English, and enrolled at University of Chicago Graduate Library School, where she received a M.A. in Library Science. She then attended University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Library and Information Studies. There she was named Outstanding Alumni. Her academic specializations (in relation to libraries) include the following.[8]

• Human rights
• Social justice
• Community-building
• Poverty
• Adult lifelong learning and literacy
• Theories of reading
• Cultural heritage institutions
• Public librarianship
• Wikipedia and knowledge management

She began her career as a teacher for Latino communities in Chicago Public Schools as a teaching assistant for Marquette University’s English department. She taught as a mathematics teacher for St. Martin School then became a reference librarian for the Elmhurst College Library. Following her time as a reference librarian, she served as Director of Public Services at Rebecca Crown Library, Dominican University. McCook has since been a faculty member and administrator at Louisiana State University, the University of Illinois, Dominican University, and the University of South Florida, where she was Director of the School of Information from 1994 until 2000 and was recognized as a Distinguished University Professor in 2002. As a professor at the University of South Florida, she currently teaches several classes.

• Human Rights & Librarianship
• Public Library Seminar
• Libraries as Cultural Heritage Institutions
• History of Libraries
• Wikipedia & Knowledge Management[9][10]

She is a member of the editorial board for the journal Progressive Librarian, serves on the Coordinating Committee of the Progressive Librarians Guild, and is a member of AFT Local 7463.[11] McCook stated in an oral history at the University of South Florida that, as her legacy, she would like to “educate a group of students who are dedicated to preserving civil liberties and making it possible for the people in the community to have access to the information they need for their daily lives, their health, and their happiness.”[12]

• 2019 Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship[13]
• 2016 REFORMA Elizabeth Martinez Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2014 Women of Library History Honoree, Women’s History Month
• 2011 REFORMA 40th Anniversary Keynote Speaker
• 2010 ALA Annual Conference, Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecturer
• 2009-2012 contributor to the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program “Librarians Build Communities” at Valdosta State University
• 2007 Florida Library Association Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2004 ALA Office of Diversity, Achievement in Diversity Research Honoree[14]
• 2003 Chicago Public Library Scholar in Residence
• 2003 Beta Phi Mu Award for distinguished service to education for librarianship
• 2003 Dominican University's Laura McCusker Memorial Lecturer for "Public Libraries and the Public Sphere"
• 2002 REFORMA Latino Librarian of the Year, Trejo Award
• 1998 ALA Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award
• 1997 President of the Association of Library and Information Science Education[15]
• 1991 ALA Margaret E. Monroe Adult Services Award
• 1987 ALA Equality Award
• 1991 Named Outstanding Alumni by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Library and Information Studies[16][17]

• McCook, Kathleen de La Peña; Bossaller, Jenny S.; Thomas, Jr., Felton (2018). Introduction to Public Librarianship (3rd ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman. ISBN 978-0838915066.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (2015). "Community Anchors for Lifelong Learning: Public Libraries". Information Services Today. Rowman & Littlefield: 70–81.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (Summer 2014). "Librarians as Wikipedians: From Library History to "Librarianship and Human Rights"". School of Information Faculty Publications. Paper 316 (42): 61–81.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (Spring 2012). "Collective Bargaining is a Human Right: Union Review for 2011" (PDF). Progressive Librarian (38/39): 69–90.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (2011). Introduction to Public Librarianship (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers. ISBN 978-1555706975.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (Summer 2007). "Librarians as Advocates for the Human Rights of Immigrants" (PDF). Progressive Librarian (29): 51–54.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña; Phenix, Katharine J. (2006). "Public Libraries and Human Rights". Public Library Quarterly. 25 (1/2): 57–73. doi:10.1300/j118v25n01_05.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (Fall 2004). "Public Libraries and People in Jail". Reference & User Services Quarterly. 44 (1): 26–30.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (2002). "Rocks in the Whirlpool". School of Information Faculty Publications. Paper 117.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (2000). A Place at the Table: Participating in Community Building. Chicago: American Library Association. ISBN 0838907881.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña, ed. (2000). "Ethnic Diversity in Library and Information Science [Special Issue]". Library Trends. 49 (1). hdl:2142/8330.
• Immroth, Barbara; McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (2000). Library Services to Youth of Hispanic Heritage. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0786407905.
• McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (1998). Women of Color in Librarianship: An Oral History. Chicago: American Library Association. ISBN 0838979939.

• Faculty web page at the University of South Florida