Pamela Snelson, college librarian at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has been elected president of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association. ACRL is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals, serving the information needs of the higher education community, and improving learning, teaching, and research.
Snelson cited building membership and fostering a community of leadership within ACRL among her top priorities as incoming president. She also hopes to build on existing public and institutional interest to gain fiscal support from the community.
"One of the biggest challenges that faces academic and research librarians is our inability to translate the good will engendered by our excellent service into political clout needed to secure necessary resources," said Snelson.
Snelson has been the Franklin & Marshall's college librarian since 1998. Previously, she held the position of reference librarian and acquisitions librarian at Drew University. As a 30-year member of the American Library Association, Snelson has served on numerous divisions and committees and is currently the director-at-large on the ACRL Board of Directors. She has previously served as a member of the Information Literacy Advisory Committee, the ACRL Budget and Finance Committee, and as chair of the College Library Section and the C&RL News Editorial Board.
Snelson is active in the Online Computer Library Center Members Council (OCLC), as well as a member of the American Association of University Professors. She has served as vice president of the PALINET Board of Trustees and president of the Automated Library Services Section of the New Jersey Library Association, of which she is an active member of the College & University Section.
She has published widely in journals and conference notes, including "Understanding Remote Reference and Its Importance for Reference Services," The Changing Face of Reference (JAI Press: 1997) and "Remote Users of OPACs: Do They Differ from Library Users," Proceedings of the Integrated Online Library Systems Conference (Learned Information Inc: 1994).
Snelson was the 1992 recipient of the New Jersey Library Association Research Award and the McMinn Prize for Best M.A. Thesis in Political Science (1980). She received a B.A. from Drew University, an M.L.S. from Rutgers University, and a master of political science from Drew University. She received her Ph.D. in information and library studies from Rutgers University.
