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At the close of the annual ALA conference, Linda Chopra began her term as LIRT’s new Vice President/President-Elect. During the next year, Linda will assist LIRT’s President, Alison Armstrong, while learning the ropes for when she becomes president the following year. Linda’s main duties as Vice President are to appoint LIRT’s 14 committee chairs and to oversee each committee’s progress. She is also available to listen to any ideas, concerns or issues that LIRT members may have and to share them with the President or the appropriate committee chair.
By assuming the position of Vice President/President-Elect, Linda commits herself to the organization for two more years, in addition to the additional year appointment as the Chair of the Organizational/Bylaws Committee. Her tenure with LIRT dates back to 1994. It was fortunate for LIRT that Linda had dinner with LIRT member Laura Bottoms at the annual conference in 1994. Laura took the opportunity to introduce Linda to LIRT and its activities after Linda expressed an interest in becoming more active in ALA. After attending the meetings on the following day, Linda found herself immediately assigned to the PR/Membership Committee. If it were not for Laura’s enthusiasm for LIRT, Linda may never have become so deeply involved with the roundtable.
Linda started her career as a high school English teacher and librarian, but soon realized that she didn’t know how to properly run the library. When her daughter started first-grade, she returned to school to earn her M.L.S. This was no easy feat considering she worked full time and raised a family, while making a 40-mile commute to college. After four years of study, she received her degree and decided to work solely as a librarian. Once her daughter became a teenager, Linda took a job at the local public library and eventually was put in charge of the library’s computer center. It was at this point in her career that she really began to use her teaching skills again. In June Linda accepted a newly created position of librarian supervisor at the Lorain Public Library. She made the switch because the responsibilities involved both staff computer training and public instruction, allowing her to return to what she really loves – teaching on a regular basis.
When asked what advice she would give a new instruction librarian, Linda said it is important to be prepared, while also being open-minded and flexible. It often helps to let the students determine the pace and content of the class and treat this as a learning experience for you, the instructor, as well. Linda firmly believes that she often learns as much from her students as they learn from her. She also stresses that it isn’t necessary to “know it all” in order to teach others successfully.
When Linda is not working, she spends much of her time on various remodeling projects for her 1920 home, which she shares with her friend, also named Linda, and Zachary – her cat. Other hobbies include cooking and eating spicy ethnic foods, jogging two or three miles a couple of times a week, making beaded and semi-precious stone earrings, and traveling. Having been an “Air Force brat,” Linda was able to travel extensively at a young age. She has lived in both Europe and Asia and says that the “urge to explore new places and meet new people is in my blood.” Since meeting new people is a big part of LIRT, it sounds like Linda’s first committee assignment on the PR/Membership Committee was a perfect match!
Let’s welcome Linda to her new position as the LIRT Vice President/President-Elect. Congratulations and thanks for taking on this new endeavor Linda.
Tracy Hull is the Resource Education and Drama Librarian at Duke
University’s Lilly Library.
LIRT News, September 2000. Volume 23, number 1.
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