Member A-LIRT:  Barbara L. Cressman
by Marcia King-Blandford, mkingbl@utoledo.edu

Since August 1997, Barbara has served as the Assistant Head of Circulation at Eastern Illinois University.  Her daily responsibilities includes supervising sixteen circulation staff, providing reference service, presenting library instruction, and serving as the subject liaison for collection development in music and psychology.  She also serves as webmaster for Booth Library.  Her strong organizational and problem-solving skills are kept sharp by the many demands placed on her time and energy.  

Prior to her appointment at Eastern Illinois University, Barbara served for two years as Visiting Reference Instruction Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She also worked as a consultant for Lincoln Trail Libraries System.  Barbara earned her Masters of Science in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in January 1993.  She holds a Masters in Music Performance from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music Performance from Wichita State University. 

Barbara became involved with LIRT while she was Reference Instruction Coordinator at the University of Illinois.  She was told that LIRT had a lot to offer and that the people were super.  Barbara enthusiastically acknowledges that she made the right choice in LIRT!   She especially enjoys the combination of congeniality and professionalism shared by the LIRT membership.

She has been a frequent presenter at workshops around the state of Illinois and has authored a variety of articles, reviews, and chapters in the area of library instruction and technology.  The range of topics addressed in her authorship reflects her depth of knowledge and experience.

For fun, Barbara and her husband, Rick, love to hike with their dog, Zorra (Spanish for female fox.)  Zorra, a short-term resident of the humane society, is one of those dogs that appears to have the wrong head on the wrong body.  Barbara is a Master Gardener, plays bassoon in the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, dabbles in watercolor, and reupholsters furniture.  She lives life to the fullest whether at work or at play, and is the 21st century version of the Renaissance person!  We look forward to her continuing contributions to LIRT and to our profession!

Marcia King-Blandford is the Interim Coordinator of Information and Instruction Services, Carlson Library, University of Toledo.