New York Center for the Book appoints new director

New York Center for the Book appoints new directorOctober 26, 2006Mary Beth Hintonmbhinton@syr.edu

Syracuse University Library has announced that Natasha Cooper has been appointed director of the New York Center for the Book, effectively immediately. Cooper succeeds Deirdre C. Stam, who established the center at SU’s E.S. Bird Library in 2002.

Cooper plans to carry on Stam’s work, while exploring additional possibilities for collaborating with libraries across the state. She has been a Syracuse University Library reference librarian since 2000, and she will continue some of those duties. Previously, she held reference and instructional positions at the George T. Harrell Library of the Penn State College of Medicine and at the John G. Snowden Memorial Library of Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa.

She has been active in many professional associations, including the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colgate University, a master’s degree in higher education from Penn State University and a master’s degree in library science from SU.

As one of the 50 state affiliates of the Library of Congress Center for the Book, the New York Center promotes books, reading, libraries and literacy. During her tenure as director, Stam focused on two major programs: Letters About Literature, a reading promotion program for school children in grades 4-12, and Celebration of Immigrant Writing, in which the center encouraged New York state libraries, museums, schools and other institutions to celebrate immigrant writing through programs and exhibitions.

Though Syracuse continued to be the New York Center’s official site, Stam spent considerable time at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, where she is associate professor and director of the Rare Book and Special Collections program. Previously, she taught at library schools at SU, The Catholic University of America and Columbia University, and was library director at Drew University. She holds a Ph.D in library services from Columbia University.

To learn more about the New York Center for the Book, visit its website at http://NYbook.org. For information about the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, visit its website at http://www.loc.gov/cfbook.