Maureen Sullivan is an American librarian, educator, and organizational consultant who served as the president of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

from 2012 to 2013.

Education and career

Sullivan received her Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1974 and a

Master of Library Science The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) is the master's degree that combines two interdisciplinary academic disciplines. Library science is applied information science and a subfield of information science. This degree focuses on inf ...

degree from the University of Maryland in 1976. She has been a professor of practice in the

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

Graduate School of Library and Information Science doctoral program since 2006; she also was the interim dean of the school from January to June 2013.

Library leadership

Sullivan served as the president of the

Association of College and Research Libraries The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes library, libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th ...

from 1998 to 1999. During her ACRL presidency, Sullivan successfully proposed the formation of the Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians at the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

; she also helped develop the curriculum and served as faculty for the program. Sullivan began her one-year term as president of the American Library Association in 2012. During her time as president of ALA, one of Sullivan's main focuses was developing a training programs for community engagement that partnered with th
Harwood Institute for Public Innovation
She also helped launch an association-wide effort ("Reimagining ALA") to help libraries face the challenges of the digital age. Sullivan has over thirty years of experience as a consultant on topics such as

organization development Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational chang ...

strategic planning Strategic planning is the activity undertaken by an organization through which it seeks to define its future direction and makes decisions such as resource allocation aimed at achieving its intended goals. "Strategy" has many definitions, but it ...

, and

leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

. She has designed and facilitated many leadership development programs for individual libraries and library associations, including the New England Library Leadership Symposium and the Maryland Library Leaders Institute. Along with her husband Jack Siggins, Sullivan has facilitated the TALL Texas Leadership Development Institute for over twenty years.

Professional recognition

Sullivan was named the 2010 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year by the Association of College and Research Libraries. The University of Maryland College of Information Studies named her their 2013 alumnus of the year, describing her as "a widely recognized leader and educator in the library profession." In 2016, she was awarded the Joseph W. Lippincott Award by the American Library Association. In 2022 Sullivan was awarded

American Library Association Honorary Membership Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outs ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Maureen Living people American librarians American women librarians Presidents of the American Library Association Year of birth missing (living people)