Rebecca Landau, MLS

ve5ral@rac.ca

http://www.niedermayer.ca/~ral/

Telephone: +1.215.885.7950

Summary

A professional librarian with managerial experience, computer skills, combined with research and reference expertise, and technical services work. Possesses a diverse background in special, public, and university libraries.

Education

1972

Master of Library Science, MLS, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York

1988

Bachelor of Arts, BA, Major - Art History, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan

1969

Bachelor of Arts, AB, Major - Mathematics, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

1968

Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, One Year Judaic Studies Program

Certification

2001

Pennsylvania Certificate of Public Librarianship

1994

Heritage Language Teachers' Certificate, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan

1993

Province of Saskatchewan, Teaching Certificate

Experience

• Freelance MeSH Indexer (January 2007 - Present) Part time
  • Medical Subject Headings Indexing Project for the National Library of Medicine.
• Delaware Academy of Medicine (March 2006 - Present) Newark, Delaware, Medical Librarian (Sixty percent)
  • Manages the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Serves the research needs of hospital medical staff and students.
  • Conducts literature searches and electronic resources training (PubMed, CINAHL, etc.).
  • Facilitates database searching, interlibrary loans and document delivery.
  • Serves as a key member of the library committee and attends relevant hospital committee meetings.
  • Creates reports, minutes, spreadsheets, etc. as required by the hospital.
  • Manages the collection (acquisition, collection development, cataloging, and weeding).
  • Built and maintains the library's Intranet web pages.
  • Supervises a library assistant.
• Arcadia University (October 2005 - June 2007) Glenside, Pennsylvania, Reference Librarian (Part time)
  • Answered in-person, telephone, and on-line reference questions.
  • Provided one-on-one instruction to users searching a wide range of citation and full-text electronic databases.
• Yeadon Public Library (2002 - 2005) Yeadon, Pennsylvania, Library Director
  • Directed all facets of a library open to the public 59 hours per week, serving a population of 11,767.
  • Supervised a staff of three full- and five part-time employees.
  • Liaised with Yeadon Borough Council, Delaware County Library System, and Friends of the Library, attending regularly scheduled borough, county, and Friends meetings.
  • Prepared necessary library reports and statistics for the Library Board, the County Library System, and the Commonwealth.
  • Oversaw financial aspects of the library. Interpreted the library's needs to the board, allocated funds, and developed an annual budget.
  • Wrote library policy and procedures. Supervised and monitored implementation.
  • Initiated and co-ordinated all adult programming for the community.
  • Improved the physical facilities of the library, accommodating patron's needs through the purchase of furniture appropriate to function, creation of leisure reading corner, and enlargement of children's area.
  • Expanded the library's collection to meet requests of patrons. Increased the availability of new fiction holdings. Diversified library's holdings from books to include books on CDs, DVDs, music CDs, computer games.
  • Led the library through phase one of a strategic plan to enlarge or expand the current facility. Wrote the request for proposal, arranged for the hiring of a consultant, and followed through with creation of focus groups so the project could come to a successful conclusion.
• Cozen O'Connor (2001 - 2001) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Librarian (Temporary position)
  • Created procedures for law library's cataloging records in the SydneyPLUS automated library system.
• Gratz College (1996 - 2001) Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, Director of the Tuttleman Library
  • Administered a specialized Hebraic and Judaic academic library collection with over 110,000 diverse items for the College's afternoon high school, graduate school, and continuing education division, and also serving as the de facto "Jewish Public Library of Greater Philadelphia."
  • Managed the daily operations of a library open to the public 56 1/2 hours a week with four professional staff and one-two part time student workers plus creating and supervising a core group of seven to twelve volunteers for behind-the-scenes library operations.
  • Wrote a grant and renewal request obtaining $92,000 from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture for the conservation of the 400 volume rare book collection.
  • Controlled and maintained a balanced budget with overall responsibility for collection development and acquisitions of all materials (books, videos, electronic media, periodicals, music, etc.)
  • Oversaw public programming. Coordinated the Tuttleman Foundation Book Award Program, a yearly community event awarding a $1,000 cash prize to an outstanding author in a selected field. Directed the duplicate book sale each autumn. Arranged four yearly parent-child programs.
  • Directed the computerization of the library: In 1996 - 1998 reduced fees for on-line database services and arranged for complimentary Internet access. In 1999 - 2001 initiated and oversaw the conversion of the library's on-line catalog to a Windows-based program and directed bar coding of the entire multifaceted collection.
  • Co-chaired the Association of Jewish Libraries 33rd Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, June 21-24, 1998, attended by 300 librarians worldwide and offering 33 sessions over three days. Involved with the overall coordination for a multiplicity of aspects: meals, exhibits, volunteers, programming, meetings, equipment, etc.
  • Served as member of the college administrative cabinet and participated in monthly faculty meetings. Promoted liaisons with outside libraries and institutions.
  • Endorsed by the College to be a participant in the Tri-State Institute for Jewish Community Leadership, a year long program in affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania for middle-management professionals.
• Saskatchewan Education (March 1984 - July 1996) Regina, Saskatchewan
  • Librarian: (August 1990 - December 1992, September 1995 - July 1996)
    • Provided professional services, i.e., research, on-line computer searches, cataloging, Internet training, etc.
    • Directed and managed library automation projects.
    • Served in a supervisory capacity on library policy and procedures.
  • Acting Head Librarian: (January 1993 - August 1995, October 1987 - August 1990)
    • Managed and directed the daily operations of the Resource Centre.
    • Administered the budget.
    • Supervised a staff of four.
    • Maintained a balanced budget and simultaneously acquired new equipment, (CD-ROM player, laser printer, microfiche reader-printer, etc.) to facilitate information utilization.
    • Motivated and trained staff to handle the challenging demands of automation.
    • Instructed staff in word processing procedures to reduce time and costs of producing library documents.
    • Initiated the acquisition of an automated library system to serve the information needs of patrons.
    • Recommended and implemented the Sydney Automated Library System.
    • Converted the Sydney Automated Library System to the SydneyPlus Library System.
    • Introduced electronic mail and established electronic links to area libraries, i.e., University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, Regina Public Library, to increase speed and access to information and to eliminate costly duplication of resources.
  • Special Materials Librarian: (March 1984 - September 1987)
    • Supervised special format collection (audio tapes, Braille, and large print).
    • Coordinated processing and production of materials for visually impaired students of Saskatchewan.
    • Provided research and computer searching for the departmental staff. Cataloged special and professional materials.
• Gabriel Dumont Institute (1984 - Temporary position) Regina, Saskatchewan Part-Time Librarian
  • Technical work. Ordered, processed, and cataloged.
• Saskatchewan Library (1983 - Temporary position) Regina, Saskatchewan Reference Librarian
  • Selected books for the fine arts collection.
• Shaker Heights Public Library (1982) Cleveland, Ohio Assistant Reference Librarian
  • Answered in-person and telephone requests.
  • Prepared book displays. Worked on special projects.
• Ministry of Energy (1980 - 1981) Jerusalem, Israel, Librarian:
  • Established a library for the Ministry.
  • Organized and built a collection of books, documents, and journals on the subject of energy in general and energy in Israel for the use of the Ministry and the general public.
• Ben Gurion University of the Negev ( 1979 - 1980) Be'er Sheva, Israel, Coordinator of the Cataloging Department
  • Supervised the department's ten catalogers and assisted with technical problems.
  • Participated as member of Reference Team at the General Reference Desk.
• Jewish Public Library (1975 -1979) Toronto, Ontario, Librarian
  • Supervised and directed the re-classification and re-cataloging of 22,000 English, Hebrew, and Yiddish titles to the Library of Congress System.
  • Provided reference and research assistance to patrons in Hebrew and English
• McKinsey & Company (1972 - 1975) New York, New York,
  • Research Specialist
    • Participated in the heavily used quick reference service.
    • Handled in-depth research for business and government projects.
  • Assistant Cataloger
    • Cataloged all types of library materials for thirteen foreign offices.
    • Developed a union list of serials.
    • Worked on the development of a computerized acquisitions list.
    • Supervised five library assistants.
    • Advised company personnel in sixteen offices on technical problems.
• Jewish Theological Seminary (1970 - 1971) New York City, Administrative Assistant to the Leaders' Training Fellowship
  • Directed fund raising.
  • Prepared educational materials.
  • Coordinated seminar dates and arrangements.
• Forest Park High School (1969 - 1970) Cincinnati, Ohio, Teacher
  • Taught algebra and general mathematics and counseled students.

Languages

Proficient in Hebrew and French.

Computer Skills

PC and Macintosh computers, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS Excel, Quatro Pro, HTML, MS-DOS, Internet, Dreamweaver, NeoOffice, OpenOffice

Professional Society Memberships and Offices

2007 - Present

Medical Library Association

2002 - 2005

American Library Association

2002 - 2005

Pennsylvania Library Association

1993 - 1996

Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, Board of Directors

1992 - 1996

Multilingual Association of Regina, Inc., Board of Directors

1987 - 1996

Saskatchewan Government Libraries Council, Chair (1990 - 1991)

1986 - 1988

Saskatchewan Library Association, Special Library Section, Treasurer, Special Library Section

1982 - Present

Association of Jewish Libraries (Member of Council 1996 - Present, Co-Chair of the 1998 AJL Annual Convention)

Related Professional and Community Work

1994 - 1996

Great Plains Free-Net Inc., Internet Training Committee Member

1992 - 1994

Hebrew instructor, Elementary Hebrew I & II, University of Regina Extension, Regina, Saskatchewan

September - December 1990

Instructor: Libraries and Librarianship, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Library Technician Programme

1986 - 1996

Regina Calligraphy Society, Founding President (1986 - 1988)

1983 - 1996

Hebrew Calligrapher and Teacher of Calligraphy

Awards

1992

Government of Saskatchewan Public Service Commission Scholarship: College de Jonquière French Immersion Program

1987

Saskatchewan Arts Board Individual Assistance Grant, $1,500

Publications and Presentations

The invisible web also referred to as the hidden or deep web, at the DCLS, Delaware County Library System Meeting, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, November 6, 2003 (http://www.niedermayer.ca/~ral/invweb.html).

Writing accessible web pages, at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 7, 2002 (http://www.niedermayer.ca/~ral/bobby/).

Bar coding a library, issues and concerns, at the Association of Jewish Libraries 36th Annual Convention, San Diego, California, June 25, 2001 (Poster presentation, http://www.niedermayer.ca/~ral/barcode/).

HTML Basics: Create a home page, at the Association of Jewish Libraries 1997 Convention, Cleveland, Ohio, June 24, 1997 (Video recording)

Updated on October 13, 2007 by Rebecca Landau