Meet Our Board of Directors Members

President
Debbie Abilock (term ends June 30, 2012), Co-founder and Principal at NoodleTools, Inc.,  is an educator with over 25 years experience as a Curriculum Coordinator, editor, Director of a unified Library and Technology Department, school administrator, and information consultant. Fun facts:

  • I love…to lead kids’ book groups in my neighborhood public school.  Currently we’re discussing Sarah Bishop in connection with a 3rd/4th grade Colonial unit
  • Can you believe?…My first book will be published in June 2012, Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers by Debbie Abilock, Kristin Fontichiaro and Violet H. Harada
  • Latest favorite adult book…is Too Big To Know by Dave Weinberger.  Anyone up for a multi-type online book club to gnash that one around?
  • Favorite literary quote…What is the use of a book without pictures or conversation? (Alice in Alice in Wonderland)

Vice President
Nicole Greenland (term ends June 30, 2012), Associate Director for Library Technology at Holy Names University’s Paul J. Cushing Library. She has been at HNU since 2004 and graduated with a Master of Information Technology Education from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1998. Previous to HNU, Nicole was the Library Systems Coordinator at the University of Prince Edward Island 2000-2004. Fun facts:

  • Places where I’ve lived…4 Canadian provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec) and California
  • I love…Poutine (a french Canadian french fry dish), watching enormous icebergs float by the Newfoundland coastline during Spring/early Summer, and of course, the Bay Area

Past President
Tamera LeBeau (term ends June 30, 2012), Assistant Library Director at Livermore Public Library, enjoys using her creativity to plan programs and services for the community. Fun facts:

  • I’m good at…organizing
  • I love…the sound of the ocean

Treasurer
Sharon Miller (term ends June 30, 2012), Head of Public Services at Mechanics’ Institute Library, enjoys managing the programs and services this historical library offers such as the oldest chess club in the United States as well as author events, film series, salons, special events and art exhibitions.

Secretary
Jo Falcon (term ends June 30, 2013) is a Reference/Swiss-Army Knife Librarian for Golden Gate University Library. She was born with the library gene from her mother, Mary K. Feldman, who was one of the first OCLC trainees responsible for getting the federal libraries to use the system. Fun facts:

  • Jobs I’ve held…poet’s amanuensis, bricklayer, legal secretary, waitress, craftsperson, belly dancer, and teacher of Indian beadwork on Alcatraz during the occupation
  • Can you believe?…I got married on Halloween 1986 to technical writer and librarian-enabler Bill Spears. With him I’ve been influential in getting computer programmers and writers to believe in indexing and even, to a limited extent, taxonomy!
  • Favorite award received…BayNet’s Special Merit Award for General Usefulness

Special/Not-For-Profit Representative
Mark Estes (term ends June 30, 2012), Library Director at Alameda County Law Library since 2008. From 1978 to 2008 Mark was the Library Director for Holme Roberts & Owen (now Bryan Cave HRO). He was also president of the American Association of Law Libraries (1992-93) and editorial director at AALL Spectrum Magazine (2007-2013). He got his JD and MLL from the University of Denver and his BA from the Ottawa University (KS). Fun facts:

  • I’m good at…getting people to talk, listening to them and coming up with new ideas
  • Jobs I’ve held…chicken catcher, ice house worker, and cross-country bicycle ride leader
  • Pet peeves…the phrases: “no problem”, “Just my thoughts”, “my two cents worth” or any variation of the last two
  • I love…coming up with a catchy lead paragraph for my column in AALL Spectrum, long motorcycle rides, pushing either of my granddaughters in a swing

Special/For Profit Representative
Michelle Howard (term ends June 30, 2013), Librarian at KMD Architects, is an experienced information specialist within libraries and corporate environments who specializes in subjects such as architecture, art, business, engineering, and healthcare. Fun facts:

  • Can you believe…I delivered my first and only child a mere 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital
  • Biggest pet peeve…people stopping at the bottom of the BART escalators
  • I love…pink bakery boxes tied with string

Academic Representative
Linda Weir (term ends June 30, 2012), Public Services Librarian at Hastings College of the Law Library. Linda Weir has been working at UC Hastings for 35 years, since before she went to UC Berkeley to earn her M.L.S.  (She has a colleague on the library staff who can say the same thing!)  She truly enjoys working with the students and faculty at Hastings. Linda was around for the creation of the Northern California Association of Law Libraries (NOCALL) and served as its president in 1997.  She says of serving on the on the BayNet Board that meeting and working with librarians from different fields has been an incredibly beneficial and enriching experience.   Fun facts:

  • I love…spending time with family and visiting Point Reyes
  • I’m good at…studying Homeric Greek
  • Favorite quote…Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills its pupils (Louis-Hector Berlioz)

Academic Representative
Katherine Becvar (term ends June 30, 2013), part-time reference and instruction librarian at College of San Mateo, specializing in the arts and social sciences, library marketing, and online tutorials. In addition to her work as a librarian, she also owns her own business, Blue Moon Designs, making fashionable utility belts and other costume accessories. Fun facts:

  • I’m good at…making pretty and/or tasty things and talking with people
  • Odd pets I’ve owned…five chickens and fifty thousand bees… in Oakland!
  • Biggest pet peeve…the word “coinkidink”

Public Representative
Suzanne Olawski (term ends June 30, 2013), Deputy City Librarian at San Mateo Public Library.

Public Representative
Jerry Dear, Librarian/Information Strategist, San Francisco Public Library (Term ends June 30, 2012) is also an instructor for City College of San Francisco. Fun facts:

  • I’m good at…researching information online
  • Reading now…Jack Wakes Up by Seth Harwood
  • Can you believe?…I got my first writing piece (in the form of a vignette) published in Transforming Information Literacy Instruction Using Learner-Centered Teaching by Joan Kaplowitz, published by Neal-Schuman (2012)
  • I love to…read graphic novels (especially Sandman and Fables), take college classes for intellectual stimulation, read ancient epic myths, attend Asian American community activities, and occasionally indulge in anime

At-Large Representative
Margot Hanson (term ends June 30, 2012), Web Services Librarian at Golden Gate University Library, provides Web and reference services, research instruction, and serves as the library’s subject specialist and liaison for Finance, Economics, Information Technology Management, Operations & Supply Chain Management, and Healthcare Informatics. Fun facts:

  • I’m good at… creating my own knitting patterns, forming committees, and gathering consensus
  • Can you believe?…I just got published! Beyond the one-shot instruction session: Semester-long Partnerships for International Student Success by Hanson, Margot & Hofer, Amy R. (2011, Chapter 6 in International Students and Academic Libraries: Initiatives for Success by Pamela A. Jackson & Patrick Sullivan (Eds.), Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries)
  • I love… gardening, and talking about books I’m reading (so friend me on Goodreads if you’re interested!)

School Library
Representative Tom Kaun (term ends June 30, 2013), Teacher Librarian for Bessie Chin Library at Redwood High School, has been a school librarian for 35 years mostly at the secondary level. He has been a long-time proponent of good school library Web site development and has done presentations on best practices in that area. He is also an accomplished cataloger and has given workshops on that topic. Fun Facts:

  • Can you believe?…My MSLS is not from an accredited school because when I got my degrees from Cal State Fullerton they were still going through the accreditation process
  • Places where I’ve lived…Washington State and Hawai’i. Didn’t have a car but got around quite well in The Bus
  • Subjects I’ve taught in school…Biology (my undergrad major), chemistry, algebra, geometry, speech, theology, typing, drama, American lit and accounting

BayNet’s Board of Directors 2012 Nominations

With the exception of the Vice President/President Elect, the term of service is two (2) years, starting July 2011 and running through June 2013. The Vice President/President Elect serves one year as Vice President (2011-2012), one year as President (2012-2013), and one year as Past President (2013-2014).

In accordance with the BayNet Bylaws, voting will be held at the Annual Meeting, scheduled to take place on May 6 at 9:00 am in the Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library Main. After a short business meeting during which the voting will be held, the meeting will feature speaker Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. For more information and to register by April 30 to attend click here.

Vice President
Margot Hanson, Web Services Librarian at Golden Gate University.

Treasurer
Leila Swisher, Supervising Librarian for Technical Services at Livermore Public Library. Fun facts:

  • I love…to seek out good deals online and find that my librarian researching skills are really useful for this. I especially enjoy finding unique gifts and cute shoes
  • Favorite hobby…amateur photography; I really enjoy photographing family, animals, and nature. Candid shots are my favorite
  • I’m good at…remembering details about people. My husband actually has to ask me to remind him of the names of some of his cousins, so this does come in handy sometimes

Academic
Sarah Naumann, Reference Librarian at Mills College, provides a plethora of information services such as reference, teaching information literacy and software basics, creating digital learning objects, developing instructional learning tools, and providing technical support. Fun facts:

  • I’m good at…dancing, teaching and getting things done
  • I love…running in the rain, spring flowers in bloom and learning technology
  • Jobs I’ve held…Las Vegas showgirl!
  • Projects I’m working on…a film! Ever heard of Trucker Buddies? It’s based on the work they do

Public
Jerry Dear, Librarian/Information Strategist, San Francisco Public Library

At Large
Gillian Kumagai, Librarian at Stanford University Health Library, has been a librarian with Stanford Hospital and Clinics since 2004. Prior to that she was a Program Manager, radiology residency for Stanford University. Fun facts:

  • Pet peeves…misplaced apostrophes and people who bark at dogs
  • I love…lounging around on Sundays reading the NY Times and drinking coffee, early morning dog-walking and Santa Barbara

Special/Not for Profit
Mark Estes, Director, Alameda County Law Library Mark Estes