Brooke E. Sheldon was an American

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

and educator who served as the president of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit 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 49,727 members a ...

from 1983 to 1984.

Career

Born in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

, Sheldon also grew up in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. She graduated from

Cambridge High and Latin School Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

before returning to Nova Scotia to attend

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

as an undergraduate. She earned her master's degree in

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...

from

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Har ...

and a doctorate from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. She worked as a librarian at the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the Uni ...

, the Albuquerque Public Library, the Santa Fe Public Library, and at the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and Alaska state libraries. Sheldon also worked at several library schools as a faculty member. She worked first as the dean and acting provost of the library school of

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...

. She later served as dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Information and as interim director and professor of the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science. She also taught at the library schools of

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

after her formal retirement. From 1983 to 1984, Sheldon served as the president of the

, the oldest and largest library association in the world. Over the course of her career, she published several books on librarianship, such as ''Personnel Administration in the Small Public Library'' (1980), ''Leaders in Libraries: Styles and Strategies for Success'' (1991), and ''Interpersonal Skills, Theory and Practice: The Librarian's Guide to Becoming a Leader'' (2010). On February 11, 2013, Sheldon died from uterine cancer.

Awards

Awards earned by Sheldon include: *Distinguished Alumni Award, Simmons College *Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Pittsburgh *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

, Acadia University *Library Leadership Award, Arizona Library Association *Outstanding Lecturer Award, San Jose State University *Professional Service Award, Association of Library and Information Science Educators At the University of Texas, she was honored with the establishment of an

endowed professorship A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...

in her name. Additionally, the New Mexico Library Foundation created a professional development grant named for Sheldon.

References

External links

Faculty profile
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Brooke E. 1931 births 2013 deaths Acadia University alumni Librarians from Alaska American women librarians Deaths from cancer in New Mexico Deaths from uterine cancer People from Lawrence, Massachusetts People from Nova Scotia People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Presidents of the American Library Association San Jose State University faculty Simmons University alumni Texas Woman's University faculty Academic staff of the University of Alberta University of Arizona faculty University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni American women academics 21st-century American women