Résumé

Charles R. Anderson

P.O. Box 15642

Seattle, WA 98115-0642

206-527-5446

anderson@the-indexer.com

 

FREELANCE INDEXER, 1972 to date.  Providing indexing services to publishers and authors.  Specialties:  Humanities, Social Sciences, Cookbooks, Popular and Alternative Medicine.     Board of Directors, American Society of Indexers, 1999 - 2001.

 

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND REFERENCE SERVICES, King County Library System, June, 1998-June, 1999.
Administratively responsible to the System Director, serving as a voting member of the Administrative Planning Team.  Manage the development, acquisition, implementation and maintenance of Information Technology Services throughout the KCLS, including recommending strategic initiatives, to facilitate the effective, efficient provision of information services to the public served.  Develop and administer a budget of approximately $6 million.  Direct the work of four system reference specialists (Electronic Resources, Medical, Business, Government Documents/Legal) as well as the ready-reference telephone center (The Answer Line).  Oversee reference services at all KCLS community libraries.  Direct the work of four public PC trainers and a large cadre of volunteer "Netmasters" (public trainers).

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, King County Library System, Sept. 1992 - May, 1998.
Provide management control and administrative direction over the delivery of public services in the regional libraries including the 80,000 square foot Bellevue Library.  Provide control and direction for the design and evaluation of reference services at all KCLS community libraries and direct system-wide reference support services.  Provide leadership in developing and implementing reference training programs including Internet applications. Work closely with architects and Facilities Development to design new regional libraries.  Member of Administrative Planning Team setting long-range goals for the system.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, Evanston Public Library, 1987 – August, 1992.
Plan, coordinate, and manage the Library's public services including Reference, Children's Services, Reader's Advisor, Collection Development, Bookmobile, and Branches. Recommend budget allocations and monitor expenditures in these areas. Develop and implement procedures, including library microcomputer applications. Assist in the development of policies and practices. Prepare materials for the Library Board and City Council for a new building project. Responsible for outreach and marketing activities. Assume administrative responsibility for the Library in the absence of the Director.

 

HEAD OF INFORMATION SERVICES, Northbrook Public Library, 1983 – 1987
Supervise staff of professionals, clerks, and student assistants to provide reference, interlibrary loan, and periodical services. Plan and develop long-range applications of new library technology in the information services area. Conceived and developed 1987 Illinois State Per Capita grant proposal for library local area network. Responsible for reference budget and all book selection in the reference collection as well as selected areas of the circulating collection.

 

REFERENCE LIBRARIAN, System Reference Service, North Suburban Library System, 1975 – 1983.
Provide back-up reference service for the network of member libraries using online databases available from BRS, DIALOG, SDC, and NEXIS as well as manual and telephone reference sources. Other responsibilities included planning of and participation in workshops and programs, consultative services (e.g. collection evaluation), developing AV presentations for System Reference programs, and editing NEXUS, a monthly newsletter of continuing education and public relations for reference librarians.

 

RESEARCHER, University of Maryland,1972 - 1973
Principal investigator for research project funded by the National Agricultural Library. Worked closely with staff at all levels of NAL and interviewed librarians in a number of libraries to develop a plan for educational opportunities for upward mobility of pre-professional personnel in Federal libraries. Wrote final report of the project (available through ERIC).

 

Education
BA, Florida State University, Major in Humanities.
MSLS, School of Library Science, Florida State University.
Post-Master's work, School of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland.

 

Memberships and Honors
American Library Association:1992-93 Reference and Adult Services Division Program Committee; Margaret E. Monroe Award Committee, 1987-89; RQ Editorial Board (ex officio as columnist) 1984 - 1999.
Illinois Library Association: Publications Committee, 1987-88.
Reference Books Selection Jury, American Book Awards, 1980.
Phi Kappa Phi (undergraduate honorary); Beta Phi Mu (Library Science honorary).

 

Representative Publications

Reference Librarianship: Notes from the Trenches (with Peter Sprenkle). Haworth Press, Inc. (forthcoming, Aug. 2006).

Puzzles and Essays from "The Exchange": Tricky Reference Questions. Haworth Press Inc., 2003.

"Reference Librarianship: A Guide for the 21st Century," in Doing the Work of Reference: Practical Tips for Excelling as a Reference Librarian. ed. by Celia Hales Mabry. New York: Haworth Press, 2001

"Indexing with a Computer: Past and Present,"The Indexer, 22, April 2000.

"The Exchange," RQ (subsequently RUSQ), (editor, Winter, 1984 -Fall, 1999).

"Reference on Disc," (column), Wilson Library Bulletin, March, 1991 - June, 1992.

"Using Technology," (column), Wilson Library Bulletin, April, 1989 - February, 1991

"Using Software," (column), Wilson Library Bulletin, October, 1986 - March, 1989.

"The Public Library," in Online Searching: The Basics, Settings, and Management, ed. Joann H. Lee. Libraries Unlimited, 1989.

"Budgeting for Reference Services in an Online Age," in Finance, Budget, and Management for Reference Services, eds. Ruth A. Fraley and Bill Katz. New York: Haworth Press, 1988.

"The Costs of Online Searching" (with Ann Weston), Library Journal, 112 (April 1, 1987), 44-7

"Online Ready Reference in the Public Library," in Questions and Answers: Strategies for Using the Electronic Reference Collection, ed. Linda C. Smith. Univ. of Illinois, 1989.

"The Myth of the Expert Searcher," Library Journal, 111 (February 1, 1986), 37-39.

The Organized Writer," PC Magazine, 4 (May 14, 1985), 327, 332.

"The Ins and Outs of Indexing," PC Magazine, 4 (April 16, 1985), 321-22

Alternative Educational Patterns for Career Ladders, College Park, MD, University of Maryland, 1973.

Updated: July 7, 2007