The members of the Executive Board of the Library Association of Ireland for 2010-2011 are:
Fionnuala Hanrahan President
Fionnuala Hanrahan
Currently Fionnuala Hanrahan [BA, DipLib, MLIS, ACILIP, ALAI] is Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Convenor of the Taskforce on the LAI Development Plan 2010 – 2014 and a member of the Taskforce reviewing the structures and management of the Association. She is one of the Association’s two nominees to the Board of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna.
A member of the Association since the late seventies, Fionnuala is a founder member of the Youth Library Group and a founder member of the national Children’s Book Week, from which the current month-long Children’s Book Festival was developed. She was a member of the LAI Committee on Schools Library Development, 1993 – 2000, and represented the LAI on the government Interdepartmental Committee on Schools Library Development, 1999 – 2004. Fionnuala was its omit Hon Secretary of the LAI for 3.5 years. She was Joint Editor of LAI / LA, NIB journal, An Leabharlann: the Irish library for four years and Secretary / Treasurer of the Management Committee on Health Care Research Projects, 1994 – 1997, which undertook research projects on information needs of health care professionals and on consumer health information needs.
Fionnuala was LAI nominee to Age and Opportunity for ten years when she served on its Education Committee 1999 – 2001, and as a Member of Bealtaine Festival Organising Committee, 2001 – 2008
She is County Librarian, Wexford County Council.
Jane Cantwell Vice President
Jane Cantwell studied english and philosophy at University College Dublin before working in administration and library services with William Fry, Solicitors and Matheson Ormsby Prentice, Solicitors, Dublin. Having spent some time working with Wexford County Library Service and with An Chomhairle Leabharlanna in the provision of internet training, Jane was appointed Waterford City Librarian in 2001. She has been Chair of the City and County Librarian’s Section of the Library Association of Ireland and is currently a vice president of the Association.
Philip Cohen Vice-President
Philip Cohen
Dr Philip Cohen has been Head of Library Services at Dublin Institute of Technology since 2004. Before that, he worked for more than 20 years in various University libraries in the UK.
Philip is a member of the Education Committee and is leading the Task Force on Information Literacy. He is particularly interested in the role of libraries and librarians in the education process, as well as the education of librarians themselves.
Yvonne Quigley Hon. Secretary
Catherine Gallagher Hon. Treasurer
Catherine joined South Dublin Libraries in 2002 and began work as a library assistant in the county library in Tallaght. Currentlyshe is on an acting contract as Senior Librarian in Clondalkin library. She is also involved in staff training in my authority, and a member of the Children’s Services Team.
Before her current job, she worked as a teacher, in a variety of situations, both in mainstream education, the special education sector and VSO, also doing some lecturing and tutoring work. For a number of years she also worked in adult education on a part-time basis. She is a graduate of NUI Maynooth from whom she obtained a BA, MA and H.Dip in Eduation. She obtained her librarianship qualification as a distance student from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Madelaine Dennison
Aisling Donnelly
Aisling began working as a summer student in Clondalkin library in 2000. After completing her degree in NUI Maynooth she worked in Lucan library for the summer of 2001. Not long after finishing the LIS course in UCD she found permanent work as a Library Assistant with Dublin City Council. Since then she has moved to Kildare Library and Arts Service and has worked in a variety of roles from Senior Library Assistant, Acting Librarian, Acting Senior Librarian and her current position as Staff Officer in Celbridge Library.
Bernadette Fennell
Siobhan Fitzpatrick
Siobhán Fitzpatrick
A graduate of UCD, Siobhán Fitzpatrick has been Librarian of the Royal Irish Academy since 1997. She has worked since 1980 in Dublin libraries, including the Dept. of Early Printed Books, Trinity College, Dublin, where she was employed on the English short-title catalogue project, and the Library & Information Service of the Electricity Supply Board (1981 and 1986-7).
Siobhán has served as Chair of COLICO (2001-3), on the board of RASCAL (Research & Special Collections available Locally/N. Ireland), as Hon. Gen. Secretary (1999-2001) and on the council of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Ireland. She has also served terms on the Museums & Archives Committee of the Heritage Council, as Secretary of CONUL (2008-9) and as Chair of the LAI, Rare Books Group (2003-7). She is currently President of the Library Association of Ireland. She has published, mainly in the area of early scientific publishing in Ireland, e.g. ‘Science, 1550-1800’ in Section IV: ‘The impact of print’ in The Oxford history of the Irish book, vol. 3: The Irish book in English (Oxford, 2006). With Charles Benson she co-edited That woman!: studies in Irish bibliography: a Festschrift for Mary ‘Paul’ Pollard (Dublin, 2005). More recent publications are: ‘My gentle harp’: Moore’s Irish melodies, 1808-2008 (Dublin, 2008); Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy library (Dublin, 2009), co-edited with Dr Bernadette Cunningham and a biographical account of Sir John Thomas Gilbert in J. McGuire and J. Quinn, eds, Dictionary of Irish biography (Cambridge 2009; http://dib.cambridge.org).
Siobhán is interested in collaborative working across sectors and institutions. Her mission as president is to encourage cross-sectoral collaborations and to advance the work of the association by means of task forces and working groups comprising representatives from the various sectors. She has endeavoured to meet groups, sections and individuals to discuss issues of concern and to be available to attend meetings and seminars held by the association.
Margaret Hayes
Margaret Hayes,( BA., H.Dip.inEd.,DLIS., ALAI.). Margaret Hayes (nee Dunne) started her library career in 1977 following an earlier career in education. She worked for 7 years with the then Dun Laoghaire Public libraries , securing her library qualification in 1981, under the public library education sponsorship scheme. She joined Dublin City Public Libraries as a librarian in 1984. Her professional career has ranged over all aspects of public library service delivery in Dublin City. She served as Deputy Dublin City librarian from 2000 until her appointment as Dublin City Librarian in July 2011. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Library Association of Ireland 2011 and the conveyor of the LAI Taskforce on Employment Support. She is a member of the National Working group on library services to Children and Young People and of the library Music PAL network. She is chair of both the Dublin UNESCO City of Literature Management Group and of the committee of the International Impac Dublin Literary Award since June 2010. She is a member of Dublin City Council’s Commemorative Sub-Committee and of its Strategic Communications Network. She has served as chair of Dublin City Centre Citizen Information Centre 2005 – 2009 and as Editor of DCPL, Dublin City libraries Staff Newsletter from 2000 – 2010.
Kate Kelly
Kate Kelly
A health sciences librarian and Chief Librarian at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Kate spent over a decade working in hospital and academic health sciences libraries in the US before returning to Ireland in 2005. She has an MSc in Health Services Research and is a Distinguished Member of the US Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP). She is a member of the editorial board of An Leabharlann and a reviewer for the journal Evidence-based Library and Information Practice. Her professional interests include professional development & practice, all things health-information related and the future of libraries.
Gillian Kerins
Gillian Kerins
Gillian Kerins [BSocSc, HDIPLIS, MLIS, ALAI]. Gillian is currently the Institute Librarian at the Institute of Technology Tallaght and has been in the post since 2002. Prior to this Gillian has worked as a Library Assistant, Assistant Librarian and Project Leader on the implementation of the Millennium Library system in the Institute. Gillian began her career in libraries in Dublin Public Libraries as summer staff. Over the years Gillian has been an active member of the following groups AGI, IIUG (Chair 2002-2004), LIR (Secretary2007-2009). She joined the Executive Board of the Library Association at the 2011 AGM. She has a BSocSc and a post graduate Higher Diploma and MLIS in Library and information studies from UCD. In 2010, Gillian became an Associate member of the Library Association of Ireland. Her professional interests include Open Access Publishing, Information Literacy, Bibliometrics, Marketing and in enhancing access to information through the use of technology in libraries.
Pat Lonergan
Pat Lonergan
Pat Lonergan is from the Premier County and has worked in libraries for more than 40 years. He began his library career in Dublin City Libraries, before moving to Dublin County Libraries and later to Kildare, where he has lived and worked for over 30 years. He was awarded a FLAI in 1975 and an ALAI in1990, and also holds a BA in Public Adminstration and a Certificate in Local Government Studies. A long-time member of the Executive Board, Pat has also served on several other LAI committees, most notably that of the Public LIbraries Section, where he has held at various times the posts of Treasurer, Secretary and Chairman. He was a contributor to the 1999 LAI publication Library File, and is currently the nominee of the Public Librarues Section to the Standing Committee on Library Staff Training and Development.
Pat McMahon
Zoë Melling
Zoe Melling
Zoë has worked in the special library sector for over 20 years, and is currently Librarian at the Legal Aid Board, a position she has held since May 2007. Her role involves managing the resources and services of two libraries: The Legal Aid Board Library, which focuses primarily on civil law in Ireland, and the Refugee Documentation Centre Library, which caters for agencies involved in the asylum process. Her responsibilities also include administration of a joint Library Management System & Digital Archive. Prior to this, Zoë worked for five years at the Bar Council Law Library, which provides a library and information service for barristers. Before taking up law librarianship, Zoë was a media librarian in New Zealand, where a part-time position at a broadcasting company in 1990 proved the launching pad for her career, followed by ten years in a newspaper library. Zoë is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, where she completed an MLIS in 1999 and a BA in 1990. She is a committee member of the Government Libraries Section of the LAI, which she chaired from 2008-2010, and is also a member of the British & Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) and the Irish and European user groups for SirsiDynix customers.
Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy
Currently an Executive Librarian with Meath County Council Library Service at Ashbourne Library, her duties include managing three branches, marketing, press releases, event management for the county on the events team, running the post primary school service and the library web page. She is also a child protection officer for the Council. Her Library experience began as a library assistant/senior library assistant at the University of Teesside Library, leading to her first professional post as Reference/Local Studies Librarian at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council Library Services and then as a Senior Executive Officer at Stockton-on-Tees Borough council in the UK.
Emer O’Brien
Emer O'Brien
Education: BA ( Law and European Studies , 1997 and LLM ( European and Comparative Law), 1998 & MSc ( Library and Information Studies) Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, 2002.
Emer Started working in Libraries at The University of Limerick during holidays as a student. On moving to London in 1998, she started working in Corporate Information Management and Knowledge Management with Saatchi & Saatchi and PWC Returning to Ireland in 2001 she left a corporate environment to start her career in public libraries with Waterford City Libraries, later moving to Cork County Libraries and then as a Assistant Librarian with Tipperary Libraries in 2004. In 2007 she was promoted to Senior Executive Librarian with Tipperary Libraries.
Main current work responsibilities: Childrens and Schools, PMDS and training, LMS , website and online facilities, social Inclusion, events and marketing, technical services, disability services
Terry O’Brien
Terry O’Brien (BA – UCD, MA – International Studies – UL, HDpLIS – UCD). Additional qualifications in Local Government, Leadership Development and Project Management. A Clonmel native, started out in Tipperary Joint Libraries, was the first graduate trainee in Dundalk Institute of Technology and worked variously in administration in South Tipperary County Council. Began working at Waterford Institute of Technology Libraries in 2001. Deputy Institute Librarian since 2007, also worked in Reader Services, Systems and Learning Support. During this period also seconded to work as FoI and Data Protection Officer for the Institute and as a Research and Policy Officer for the South-East Regional Authority, where he worked on a number of EU-related projects. Formerly involved in Systems Librarians groups and IIUG, and a member of the Library Association of Ireland’s Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) and co-author of WGIL report. Presented at a number of seminars and conferences and published widely in LIS literature. Emerald Literati Network Award winner (2009). Interested in areas such as library research, information literacy, marketing and promotion of information services, electronic resources and eBooks, as well as CPD, organisational behaviour and leadership. Currently a doctoral student at University College London, became a member of the EB in 2011
Hazel Percival
Hazel has been employed with the Wexford County Council Public Library service from 2002. She is currently the Executive Librarian based in Wexford town public library where she manages the branch library and co-ordinates a wide range of literary and community learning activities for all age groups. Hazel grew up in the Gorey area of Co. Wexford. She has a B.A. Mod. In modern history from TCD and a post graduate diploma in Library and information studies from UCD. In the 1980s she worked in TCD and RTE libraries before moving into the public library service with Dublin City Libraries in 1985. She moved to Wexford in 1989 to work in youth information and organization management with the community sector before returning to librarianship.
Marjory Sliney
Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart
Mary joined the public library service in Westmeath in 1983 as a Library Assistant and progressed to Executive Librarian before departing the library service in 2005 for a role in Human Resources and Corporate Services in Westmeath County Council. She took up her current post as County Librarian in Offaly County Council in 2009. Her professional interests include ICT and libraries, the future of public libraries and the value of human resources and customer services.
Kieran Swords
- Kieran Swords
