Nancy O'Brien
Head of Education and Social Science Library
Education Subject Specialist
100 Main Library
1408 W Gregory Dr
Urbana, IL 61801
217.333.2408
npobrien@uiuc.edu
Web Site
Previous Position(s)
- 1996-2003: Coordinator of Social Sciences Division, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
- 1989-1990: Acting Library and Information Science Librarian, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
- 1979-1981: Social Science Bibliography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- 1977-1978: Serials Bibliographer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Education
- 1977 - Master of Science, Library Science: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana,
IL.
- 1976 - A.B., English: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
Instruction
- LIS 320: Introduction to Information Services, University of Illinois Graduate School of
Library and Information Science, (Fall 1992).
Research Interests
My research focuses on the history, organization, and management of education and testing
resources in libraries, with special emphasis on access to, and the preservation of, historical
education collections in libraries as part of our nation's cultural heritage
Awards and Distinctions
Awards
- Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award, Education and Behavioral
Sciences Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library
Association, (1997).
Grants Awarded
- 1990-1991: "Alice, Jerry, Dick and Jane: Catalog of Old Schoolbooks at the University of
Illinois Library," American Library Association Whitney-Carnegie Award.
Recent Publications
Articles
- Jacoby, JoAnn and Nancy P. O'Brien. "Assessing the Impact on Reference Services Provided to
Undergraduate Students."
College & Research Libraries, 66/4 (July 2005): 324-340.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "Finding, Saving, and Relocating Dick, Jane, Alice, Jerry, Janet and John:
Historical and Archival Collections in Education."
Education Libraries, 27/2 (Winter 2004): 19-22.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "A Comparison of the Development, Organization, Management and Preservation
of Old School Book Collections in New Zealand and the United States."
Paradigm, 2/6 (August 2003): 2-8.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "Review of
The Many Faces of School-University Collaboration: Characteristics of Successful
Partnerships."
Journal of Academic Librarianship, 28/3 (2002): 169-170.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "Journals of the Century in Education."
Serials Librarian, 39/3 (2001): 95-102.
Books
- O'Brien, Nancy P., 2000.
Education: A Guide to Reference and Information, Libraries Unlimited.
- O'Brien, Nancy P., 1988.
Test Construction: A Bibliography of Resources, Greenwood.
Book Chapters
- O'Brien, Nancy P., 2001. "Journals of the Century in Education." in
Journals of the Century, 19-27.
- O'Brien, Nancy P., 1996. "Battling the Warehouse Syndrome: Promoting Educational History
Sources." in
A Meere Scholler: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Our Educational Heritage, 21-23.
Editorial Work
- O'Brien, Nancy P. (editorial board),
Resources for College Libraries.
- O'Brien, Nancy P and Kate Corby (eds.), 2006. "Education" in
RCL: Resources for College Libraries, R.R. Bowker.
- Collins, John W. III and Nancy Patricia O'Brien (eds.), 2003.
Greenwood Dictionary of Education, Greenwood Press.
- Fehrmann, Paul G. and Nancy Patricia O'Brien (eds.), 2001.
Directory of Test Collections in Academic, Professional and Research Collections,
ACRL/ALA.
Recent Presentations
- O'Brien, Nancy P., "Trading Oak for Vinyl - College Student Comfort in the 21st Century."
Seating for Comfort and Group Study: What College Students Want, conference of the Illinois
Library Association, Springfield, IL: October 12, 2007.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "The Test Maze: Problems for Users, Problem for Librarians. Managing a
Collection of Tests in a Library Setting."
American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA: June 25, 2007.
- Trites, Roberta and Nancy P. O'Brien, "Family, Youth and Literature."
Allerton Conference, Monticello, IL: October 22, 2006.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "Finding, Saving, and Relocating Dick, Jane, Alice, Jerry, Janet and John."
Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA: June 10, 2002.
- O'Brien, Nancy P. "Early New Zealand Readers and Textbooks."
National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand: March 10, 2000.
Professional Service
- American Educational Research Association.
- American Library Association.
- History of Education Society.
- Textbook Colloquium.
University Library