Academics

Librarian at Penn State Harrisburg elected to third term leading national group

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Bernadette Lear, Penn State University Libraries behavioral sciences and education librarian and coordinator of library instruction at the Penn State Harrisburg Library, has been elected vice chair/chair elect of the Library History Round Table (LHRT), a membership group of the American Library Association (ALA).

Bernadette Lear is the behavioral sciences and education librarian and coordinator of library instruction at Penn State Harrisburg Library. Credit: Penn State University Libraries / Penn StateCreative Commons

Lear has more than two decades of experience working in libraries, including the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., and the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. She is co-editor of the scholarly journal Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, published by Penn State University Press. She previously served as LHRT chair in 2009–10 and 2013–14. She also served as chair of the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries (2015–16) and chair of the Archives and History Committee of the Pennsylvania Library Association (2008 to 2017). Lear holds a master of arts degree in American studies from Penn State and a master of library science degree from Rutgers University.

ALA, the oldest and largest library association in the world, provides leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the librarianship profession to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. The mission of LHRT is to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.

Last Updated May 8, 2020

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