ALANEWS vn000 (312280-5043 5042)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alanews/alanews-vn000

For Immediate Release                                   From: Pamela Goodes
October 1995                                                  Linda Wallace
                                                         312-280-5043, 5042


ALA OLPR Director Margaret Myers retires; joins Peace Corps
     Margaret Myers, director of the American Library Association (ALA)
Office for Library Personnel Resources, retired effective October 13 after 21
years of service.  She will leave in early November for a two-year Peace
Corps assignment in Botswana where she will help to develop community
libraries.
     "Margaret has provided counsel and personal assistance to thousands of
librarians, library workers and potential librarians," said ALA Executive
Director Elizabeth Martinez.  "She has recruited many, helped many, and
tirelessly and thoughtfully responded to the needs of our members and
friends. In many ways, she has been the voice for librarians in speaking for
equal pay and status for women."
     Martinez described Myers' decision to join the Peace Corps as "another
step in a career of courage and commitment.  I and countless more ALA members
wish her all the best."
      Myers received the first ALA Equality Award in 1984 for her leadership
in promoting equal opportunities for women and minorities.  She is the author
of several articles about library education and human resources.
     "It has been energizing to work with ALA members in addressing important
issues such as pay equity and fair employment," Myers said.  "I will miss
this national network of colleagues and friends, and I will probably be
calling on them for help from Botswana."
     Myers served as director of the Office for Library Personnel Resources
since 1974 and was part-time executive secretary for the former Library
Education Division from 1974-78.  Her responsibilities included the Placement
Center at ALA conferences, the Library Personnel News newsletter and
recruitment activities such as the "Each One, Reach One" campaign.
     She was staff liaison to several ALA committees and roundtables,
including the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, the
Committee on Education (COE) and Committee on Pay Equity.
     Before joining ALA, Myers was an assistant professor and placement
director at the Rutgers Graduate School of Library Science in New Brunswick,
N.J.
     She holds a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Rock Island,
Ill., a master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois,
Urbana, and a master's degree in library science from Rutgers.
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