2007 SLDA Conference Guest Speakers

Danielle A. Becker Danielle Becker is a Reference/Digital Services Librarian and Assisstant Professor at South Dakota State University. She earned her MLIS at the Pratt Institute in New York, NY; earned a Master of Fine Arts for Literature and Creative Writing from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN; and earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree for English Literature and Art History from the University of Minnesota in Minneaplois, MN.

William "Bill" DeJohn William DeJohn, director of MINITEX Library Information Network, has served the University of Minnesota and the citizens of Minnesota for more than 20 years by ensuring access to information resources. Because of his vision and leadership, MINITEX has grown significantly since it was created in 1960 and the University of Minnesota has consistently ranked as the #1 lending library within the 114-member Association of Research Libraries. He is considered to be a tireless advocate for libraries at the legislature or within professional organizations and committees. He was successful in obtaining Minnesota Legislative funding for scanning of documents to desktops of students and faculty members and for the creation of the Electronic Library for Minnesota. One person wrote, "Bill DeJohn's contributions to the University of Minnesota have been innovative and have the enduring, substantial quality that many in public service seek and rarely accomplish. He has been a team player with his library colleagues with the effect of improving and advancing the image and impact of the University. The legacy of quality service he has built at MINITEX and its affiliated institutions will provide lasting benefit to all Minnesotans."

Virginia Dudley Virginia Dudley, a coordinator in the MINITEX Bibliographic and Technical Services unit, provides training and support for OCLC cataloging and ILL products and services. Prior to joining MINITEX in 2001, she worked for the University of Minnesota Libraries. Virginia’s MLIS degree is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Julie Erickson Julie Erickson is the Electronic Services Coordinator at the South Dakota State Library. She has a Masters of Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona.

Jasmine Rousey Jasmine Rousey received her Master’s of Library and Information Science in 2005 from Louisiana State University. She specialized in public library service for children and young adults. Currently she is the Children’s & Youth Services Coordinator at the South Dakota State Library. Despite the degree she has, she considers her best training for public services to be her two years spent working in a bustling coffee shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans where she encountered a myriad of different people. She also credits her teenage brother for keeping her the most up-to-date on Web 2.0.

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