Naidoo Named as Interim Director of UA SLIS
- September 29th, 2021
- in Book Arts News, SLIS News
Dr. Mark Nelson, Dean of The University of Alabama (UA) College of Communication and Information Sciences, has announced the appointment of Dr. Jamie Campbell Naidoo as interim director of the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). Dr. Naidoo will be stepping into this administrative role as Dr. Jim Elmborg returns to the faculty before retiring at the end of the academic year.
“Dr. Elmborg was the exact right person at the right time to lead our School of Library and Information Studies,” said Nelson. “His thoughtful and deliberative style along with his commitment to transparency and integrity helped us to navigate changes and prepared us for a new level of collaboration within our college.”
Dr. Naidoo will begin his role as interim SLIS director on October 1, 2021. “I’m excited to continue the work Dr. Elmborg has started and serve alongside my colleagues as we expand and strengthen SLIS’s programs in archives, book arts, information science, and library studies,” said Naidoo.
Dr. Naidoo earned his Ph.D. in information science and MLIS degree from the University of Alabama SLIS program prior to working as an assistant professor at The University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science. He returned to UA SLIS in 2008 where he’s been serving as the Foster EBSCO professor, teaching courses in library services to diverse populations, youth programming, and children’s and young adult materials and services. Dr. Naidoo has also worked in both school and public libraries in Alabama.
His research agenda centers on the representation of LGBTQIA+ and Latinx populations in children’s materials as well as public and school library services to LGBTQ+ children and/or families. Dr. Naidoo has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and books on these topics, in addition to presenting his work at national and international conferences. In 2016, he received the American Library Association’s Achievement in Library Diversity Research for his work. Dr. Naidoo is also the past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and board member of the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY).
In 2021, Dr. Naidoo received the University of Alabama Outstanding Faculty-Initiated Engagement Effort for his Book Bonanza for the Black Belt and Beyond program which he started in 2009. The program donates new children’s and teen books to school libraries in economically disadvantaged areas of Alabama.
A national search for the new school director will launch in fall 2022. Founded in 1972, SLIS currently offers graduate degree and certificate programs in book arts and library and information studies. Our Master of Library and Information Studies degree is accredited by the American Library Association. For more information about UA SLIS, visit https://slis.ua.edu/.