Associate Teaching Professor Joyce Valenza has been appointed by the Executive Director of the American Library Association, Tracie D. Hall, to the ALA Business Advisory Group. According to the ALA, the group is “charged with the exploration and advisement on strategies related to ALA’s new business development.”

Valenza will serve with twelve other members. ALA wrote about the group, “Well recognized for their individual achievements, this group of advisors comes from libraries, civic life, technology, and academia and bring the power of their collective expertise to supporting ALA’s business development.” 

In an ALA announcement about the formation of the newly revived group, Hall said, “This Business Advisory Group is no less than a dream team of thinkers who each in their own way have and are changing the course of library, business, and public practice. Each one of them brings a fresh way of thinking about libraries that will challenge and enrich ALA’s business development strategies going forward. When I look at ALA, I see an extraordinary opportunity, and I wanted to be surrounded by a group of people who I could rely on to push our business model and my own leadership forward.” 

Having been a school, public, reference, and special librarian, Valenza told ALA, “Libraries are critical equity institutions. For librarians, the recognition of information privilege—that one person has clear advantage over another—is a call to action, pointing to our responsibilities to reflect on the disparities in information access present in our own communities, to raise awareness, and to work to bridge gaps.”

ALA announced the group’s new members on January 15, and from January 22-26 ALA will virtually host the Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits conference. Valenza will participate in two presentations at the midwinter meeting. The first is “Pedagogy: Rejuvenating Our Practice in the Time of COVID (AASL_ESLS)” on Saturday, Jan. 23, and the second, “The School Librarian Investigation: Decline or Evolution?” will be available to watch on-demand, and Valenza will serve as moderator.

Valenza writes the NeverEndingSearch blog for School Library Journal, contributes to a variety of edtech journals, speaks internationally about issues relating to libraries and thoughtful use of technology. Her research interests include research and teaching interests include digital literacies, social media, social media curation, technology and learning, digital libraries, school libraries, and youth and social media. She is currently engaged in an IMLS-funded study of student credibility decision making when faced with a STEM research prompt.

Learn more about the Library and Information Science Department is available on the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.