Cosette Nell Kies (September 2, 1936 - September 18, 2004) was an American writer, librarian, and academic. She was a professor and

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

researcher at Northern Illinois University where she served as chair of library and information services. Kies wrote on topics including public relations and marketing for libraries and horror fiction for young adults.

Life

Kies was a native of Platteville, Wisconsin. Her sister was nutrition scientist

Constance Kies Constance Virginia Kies (December 13, 1934 – November 30, 1993) was an American nutrition scientist and dietitian. Kies worked as a public school teacher for three years before going against the traditional gender norms of her time and complet ...

. Kies completed a M.A. from

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1961. Her thesis was titled ''Eskimo Art: A Survey''. On August 2, 1962, she became the children's librarian at Fond du Lac Public Library. Kies resigned on April 4, 1963 from her position at the library. She was a librarian at

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

in 1967. She was named assistant program coordinator of the divisional services department at 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 ...

in December 1967, with her term set to begin January 1. In 1970, Kies was a library career consultant at the Illinois State Careers Center. She was New York-based a public relations consultant, teacher, and author in 1975. Kies earned a

Doctor of Liberal Studies The Doctor of Liberal Studies degree, abbreviated (D.L.S.), for the Latin Doctor Liberalium Studiorum, is an advanced academic degree offered by Georgetown University, Southern Methodist University, University of Memphis and other research unive ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1977. Her dissertation was titled ''Unofficial relations, personal reliance, informal influence, communication, and the library staff: a sociometric investigation of three medium-sized public libraries''. In 1983, Kies was the president of Nashville's chapter of the

Women's National Book Association The Women's National Book Association (WNBA) was established in 1917, as an organization to promote the role of women in the community of the book.The Women's National Book Association Walker, Belle M. The Bookman; a Review of Books and Life (1895� ...

. She was a professor and

researcher at Northern Illinois University in 1983. Her work traced the origins of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

to the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

. In 1991, Kies was the chair of Northern Illinois University Library and Information Services. Kies advocated for the inclusion of youth

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...

as a way to encourage teenagers to visit libraries.

Selected works

* * * * * * * * Reviews of ''Presenting Young Adult Horror Fiction'': * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kies, Cosette 1936 births People from Platteville, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Columbia University alumni Librarians from Nebraska American women librarians Northern Illinois University faculty American women academics Academics from Wisconsin 20th-century American women writers American public relations people 2004 deaths 21st-century American women