The Virginia Library Association (VLA) has announced Dean of the Janet D. Greenwood Library Suzy Szasz Palmer as the organization's vice president/ president-elect.
The VLA is a professional organization for librarians across the state of Virginia that was founded in 1905.
The VLA currently has around 500 to 600 members, ranging from librarians who work in public libraries to those who work in school and university libraries.
From October 2013 to 2014, Palmer will serve as Vice President of the VLA under York County Library Director Kevin Smith.
From October 2014 to October 2015, Palmer will assume her role as president.
Finally, from October 2015 to October 2016, Palmer will serve as past-president, a position that involves assisting the transition of new members in the office as well as the identification of new candidates to run for office.
Palmer is the second Greenwood Library employee to work as president of the VLA after Pat Howe, who served as head of technical services in Greenwood Library and associate professor in the School Library Media Program. Howe retired from the Greenwood Library in 2011, and served as president of the VLA in 2007.
Palmer anticipates her role as president of the VLA as benefiting not only Greenwood Library, but Longwood University through heightened visibility.
As president-elect, Palmer said, “I think it puts the name of Longwood out there across the state, particularly among librarians, but generally among press activities.”
She added, “You never know when you might reach a potential student who would come to Longwood just because suddenly there is some name recognition or they see you at something, and they talk to you about where you work. It sort of sparks something that they wouldn’t know about.”
As she anticipates her presidential role, Palmer looks forward to working with the Conference Planning Committee to work on the VLA Annual Conference in 2015.
The annual conference involves the membership of the VLA collecting to attend presentations that cover topics such as building a digital commons, implementing social media and library programming. Palmer hopes to have the 2015 VLA Annual Conference focus on “mentoring and growing the next generation of professionals in the library.” “To me, that is really important. I don’t think we spend enough time talking about how to help younger people come into the profession, which has changed dramatically,” Palmer said.
Palmer joined the VLA in 2007 after moving to Virginia from Kentucky. Palmer said that her motivations to join the VLA included becoming acquainted with new colleagues in other institutions as well as finding opportunities to serve the community. “I’m a big believer in providing service to one’s own profession,” Palmer said.
As a member of the VLA, Palmer chaired the Publications Committee. In this position, Palmer revised the bylaws of the VLA, turned the VLA’s quarterly printed newsletter into a paperless online platform, assisted in the process of recruiting a new newsletter editor and drafted a set of guidelines for the use of social media. Palmer also served for two years on the Scholarship
Committee. As dean of the Greenwood Library, Palmer began her position in June 2012. Palmer’s occupational background prior to her work at Longwood University is incredibly vast with the libraries she has worked at, the positions she has held as well as the various library associations she has served in.
From 2007 to 2012, Palmer worked as deputy librarian at the Library of Virginia. From 2003 to 2007, Palmer worked at the University of Louisville, serving various positions before serving as Associate Dean for Collections, Preservation and Digital Initiatives.
For almost 25 years, Palmer worked in the Cornell University Library, serving as Head of Public Services for Rare and Manuscript Collections, Reference Coordinator and Bibliographer and Special Project Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Olin Library, according to a September 2011 news release reported on the Longwood University website.
Palmer previously worked as Vice President/President-Elect of the Richmond Academic Library Consortium and the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies/ State Library Agency Section, a division of the American Library Association, according to the SelectedWorks website.
Palmer also served as editor-in-chief twice for Microform & Imaging Review, a periodical that reports on projects and technical developments in document conservation in libraries and archives.
She was also a member of the editorial board for the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, a six-volume reference publication, as well as Public Services Quarterly, a library publication.
She has been involved with multiple library associations, including the Kentucky Library Association and even served a number of years as president of the Eastern New York Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Considering her experiences and how they have prepared her for her role as vice president/ president-elect of VLA, Palmer described her background as “a growth path.”
She said, “I think that having had some experience on similar kinds of organizations, it helps in that you learn a lot about working with other people from different environments in terms of program planning [and] in terms of just what message you want the organization to give out to the public and to your members.”
Considering the future of the role of a librarian, Palmer noted that the skills a librarian needs to have are constantly changing.
She noted that one example of this is that the role of a library, itself, is becoming more geared to technology services and resources.
“A lot of the resources that students need to succeed in their coursework, they don’t necessarily have to physically come in this building at all,” Palmer said.
Despite this, Palmer said, “I personally feel that libraries are always going to have a very strong role in the community ... but what roles they serve specifically [and] the way they serve is going to change.”
Palmer added, “It’s that being at the center of whatever your community is and being responsive. So, it’s not just about having books for people to check out anymore.”
