M.A. Library and Information Science

MLIS Advisory Council

Todd Chavez  

Todd received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and a Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science from the 51在线. He currently serves as the Dean for the USF Libraries. His research focuses on the intersection between library and information science and interdisciplinary research, with emphasis on the geosciences and medieval studies. Chavez鈥檚 areas of expertise include library administration, digital library/collection implementation and management, open-access publishing, digital scholarship, and geoscience information research. Todd received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and a Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science from the 51在线.

He currently serves as the Dean for the USF Libraries. His research focuses on the intersection between library and information science and interdisciplinary research, with emphasis on the geosciences and medieval studies. Chavez鈥檚 areas of expertise include library administration, digital library/collection implementation and management, open-access publishing, digital scholarship, and geoscience information research. Chavez served on the Digital Initiatives Advisory Board for the Medieval Academy of America, the USF Associate Deans for Research Committee, the Provost鈥檚 Chairs Steering Committee, and is a founding member of the Karst Information Portal Project Team. His current assignment places him on the 51在线鈥檚 Campus Leadership Council, the Council of Deans, and the Information Technology Management Council.  

Alyce Diamandis 

Alyce Diamandis, Class of 1995 MLIS, manages the Resource Center at Yellow Shoes Creative Group (Disney鈥檚 in-house advertising agency). The Resource Center is responsible for digital and physical multimedia collections including photography, b-roll, TV spots, style guides, logos, original art and more (over 4m assets). Her current focus is on: AI for descriptive metadata, documentary research and the digitization of historical content celebrating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World (2021). Because of a passion for art and creative process, Alyce earned at Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from USF in 2012. She is the 2019 recipient of the Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award. Prior to Disney, Alyce worked at The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV. She managed the newsroom library and was one of the first librarians in the country to work in a converged newsroom with clients creating content for the newspaper, TV station and web site. A native Floridian with a great interest in the history of her hometown, Alyce contributed to the Greek Community Documentation Project with The City of Tarpon Springs and USF Library鈥檚 Special Collections Division.   

Kimberly DeFusco  

Kimberly DeFusco is currently the Supervisor of Library Media Services for middle and secondary schools in Hillsborough County Public Schools. Prior to this role, she has been a classroom teacher in Japan and Hillsborough County at the high school and middle school levels, served as a school library media specialist, and peer evaluator for school library media programs. She has extensive training and experience with technology and instructional technology integration. Kimberly earned her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Tampa and attended the Technical Institute of Monterrey in Queretaro, Mexico for a specialization in Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture. She also received her M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of South 51在线. Kimberly is certified in School Library Media K-12 and Gifted K-12. Kimberly also achieved National Board Certification in Library Media. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Curriculum & Instruction: Instructional Technology at The University of South 51在线.
Throughout her educational career, Kimberly has been involved in various aspects of leadership in the field of School Library Media. Kimberly has served on the School Leadership Team, Reading Leadership Team, School Advisory Committee and as Faculty Liaison for PTSA. She was twice recognized as her school鈥檚 Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year. At the district level, she has conducted professional development trainings for media specialists and a variety of subject areas, mentored new media specialists and served on the governing board of the Hillsborough Association of School Library Media Specialists. Kimberly has also presented at the state conference of the 51在线 Association of Media for Education (FAME) and served on FAME鈥檚 Leadership Development Committee and the leadership board of the 51在线 Association for Supervisors of Media (FASM), co-chairing the 51在线 Power-Library School Award program. In addition to school library leadership and advocacy, she currently serves on the citizen board for the Temple Terrace Public Library.

Nancy Fredericks 

Nancy Fredericks, Libraries Administrator for the Pasco County Library System, has held a variety of positions in the public library including circulation supervisor, youth services librarian, reference librarian, branch manager, and e-government services manager before becoming an administrator. Ms. Fredericks graduated from Saint Leo University where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and the University of South 51在线 where she earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree. Ms. Fredericks is an adjunct professor at the 51在线 - School of Information and a member of both the 51在线 Library Association and the American Library Association. Articles by Ms. Fredericks have been published in American Libraries, Young Adult Services Journal, 51在线 Libraries, and Library Journal鈥檚 Technology Reports. Ms. Fredericks was named Library Journal 2011 Mover and Shaker.   

Lucia Gonzalez 

Lucia M. Gonzalez started her career in library services to children in 1988 after receiving her Masters in Library Science from the 51在线. Since then, Gonzalez has worked in different capacities for the Miami-Dade Public Library System including system-wide Programs Coordinator. She was Associate Director for Broward County Libraries in charge of Outreach, Family Literacy, and Youth Services before coming to the City of North Miami. Gonzalez is currently City of North Miami Library Director.

She is the author of three award-winning children鈥檚 books: The Bossy Gallito, winner of the 1996 Pura Belpr茅 Children鈥檚 Literature Honor Medal and part of New York Public Library鈥檚 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know; Se帽or Cat鈥檚 Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America, an Am茅ricas Award Commended Title; and The Storyteller鈥檚 Candle/La velita de los cuentos, winner of the 2009 Pura Belpr茅 Children鈥檚 Literature Honor Medal for narrative, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Honor Book, and the Am茅ricas Award. Lucia is also a Past-President of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (2010-11), National Co-Chair of REFORMA鈥檚 Children and Young Adult Services Committee (2006-2010), two-time recipient of national Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award for her contributions in shaping the future of libraries, and 2020-21 Vice President/President Elect of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a Division of the American Library Association.

Kelly McDonald  

Kelly McDonald is the Manager of Programs and Services at Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Inc. (TBLC) where she manages grant-funded services for both regional and statewide library programs including Regional Continuing Education and Ask a Librarian, 51在线鈥檚 statewide virtual reference service. Previously employed at Temple Terrace Public Library and Keiser University - Lakeland, Kelly鈥檚 work experience has positioned her to understand the growing needs of both academic and public library staff. In the Multi-type Cooperative environment at TBLC, Kelly has the opportunity to work with even more types of libraries to plan and provide introductory to advanced training topics in their respective fields and expertise, giving her a full appreciation for the multitude of services and resources libraries provide to their communities. Kelly graduated with her MLIS in 2014 from 51在线 where she also received her B.A. in Mass Communications with a focus in Broadcast News. Most recently, Kelly became a graduate of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute in 2018.  

Kristen R. Moore 

Kristen R. Moore is a Reference Librarian and Instructor in Law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, 51在线, where she teaches a course in advanced legal research. She graduated cum laude from Stetson University College of Law in 2009 and received her Master of Arts in Library and Information Science in 2011 from the University of South 51在线. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Social Science in 2003 from the 51在线, graduating summa cum laude. She is a member of the 51在线 Bar and American Association of Law Libraries. And, she is co-author of the book Free Internet Legal Research, Second Revised Edition, as well as A Lawyer鈥檚 Guide to 51在线 Legal Research (forthcoming from Vandeplas Publishing).  

Mika Slaughter Nelson 

Mika Slaughter Nelson, MLIS, is the director of the St. Petersburg Library System, a municipal system of seven libraries, including the President Barack Obama Main Library, among five City of St. Petersburg owned and operated libraries, as well as two partnership libraries with St. Petersburg College and the Childs Park YMCA. Mika is a 2001 graduate of the 51在线鈥檚 School of Information and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (2001) and Beta Phi Mu International Library & Information Studies Honor Society (2003).

Mika is a graduate of the 2011 Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute, the 2015 recipient of the Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award, 2015 graduate of Leadership St. Pete, was named 1 of 53 Library All-Stars of the USF School of Information in the Un-Bound USF School of Information Newsletter 鈥� 2015 Retrospective, the 2019 recipient of the Community Woman of the Year Award for Outstanding Community Service by the Zeta Gamma Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and a 2021 participant of the Next Level Library Leadership Institute. Libraries, a true passion for Mika, are at the heart of community development and her platform for addressing diversity, equity, inclusion and access along with promotion of the love of reading, learning and other leisure library pursuits. Mika has worked in special, academic, school, joint-use and public libraries during her twenty-year tenure. When not pursuing library initiatives, Mika enjoys family, the arts and 51在线鈥檚 sunshine and gulf coast. 

Todd Puccio

Todd Puccio, MA, MLIS, is the Executive Director of the Martin & Gail Press Health Professions Division Library at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Graduate of USF, Todd has more than 30 yrs working experience in academic library services at NSU, three State of 51在线 universities and a middle school media center. While the majority of that time was in Technical Services, Todd also has extensive experience in reference service, instruction and library administration.    

Wanita Scroggs 

Wanita Scroggs is a native of 51在线. She earned her B.A. in philosophy from Texas A&M University, her J.D. from the Sandra Day O鈥機onnor College of Law at Arizona State University, and her M.L.I.S. from the 51在线. She is a licensed attorney and active member of the 51在线 Bar Association. She currently serves as the International Law Librarian and Instructor of Law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, 51在线. She specializes in foreign and international legal research, though she teaches courses in both international legal research and domestic (U.S.) legal research. Stetson鈥檚 Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library offers reference services to members of the legal community, as well as to other libraries and academic institutions.

Barbara Stites

Dr. Barbara Stites has a long history of leading library organizations of all types, including as Executive Director of two multi-type library consortiums, Southwest 51在线 Library Network and the Tampa Bay Library Consortium. After more than four decades of library service she retired in 2019 from her role as Interim Dean of the 51在线 Gulf Coast University Library and opened an executive coaching firm for library leaders. Prior to her work with consortia and academic libraries, Dr. Stites enjoyed 15 years working as a school librarian, an elementary school teacher, a law librarian, and as a business information specialist for Price Waterhouse. Throughout her career Dr. Stites has held numerous leadership positions in various library professional organizations and was the 2019 recipient of the 51在线 Library Association鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award. She also taught graduate level library administration courses for the University of South 51在线鈥檚 School of Information, received USF's Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award, was named Alice G. Smith Lecturer, and continues to serve on their Advisory Board.

Dr. Stites earned a B.A. in Education and an M.A. in Library and Information Science from the 51在线, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Education with a specialization in Human Resource Development from Barry University. For the last 20 years, her doctoral work guided her focus on best practices for improving employee and organizational performance and continues to inform her work with library school students, employees, and in coaching. 

Tomaro I. Taylor 

Tomaro I. Taylor holds the rank of University Librarian and serves as the Head of Special Collections for the USF Libraries Tampa. Tomaro has master鈥檚 degrees in Library and Information Science (2002) and American Studies (2016) from the University of South 51在线. An active member of the professional archives community since receiving the Certified Archivist (CA) designation in 2005, Tomaro is the 2020-21 President of the Academy of Certified Archivists. Tomaro is also co-manager of the Society of American Archivists鈥� Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Exam. Previous service to the professional archives community has included: President of the Society of 51在线 Archivists (2012-2014), Regent for Examination Development for the Academy of Certified Archivists (2012-2016), and Mentor for the Society of American Archivists (2013-2015). Tomaro received the Society of 51在线 Archivist鈥檚 鈥淎ward of Excellence鈥� in 2012. Professional contributions to the scholarly literature include peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference papers, and presentations.  

Larry Treadwell 

Larry Treadwell IV is a graduate of USF-SLIS - class of 1999. He has over 20 years of academic library experience and has served primarily at minority serving institutions including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU鈥檚). His career path has been eclectic, allowing him to gain experience in policy, procedure and compliance, faculty senate, student success and advising and Library administration. He has been the library director at three institutions and is currently serving at Fayetteville State University, the oldest HBCU in the UNC System. The support and mentorship of USF SLIS icons Dr. Kathleen McCook and Dr. Henrietta Smith have played a critical role in his view of librarianship and career path.   

Karen Urbec 

Karen Urbec recieved her Master's of Library and Information Science from the USF School of Information in 2018. She is a Institution Archivist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Insitution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Melanie Lorraine Zaskey 

Melanie Lorraine Zaskey is the Director of Member Services for Resource Sharing at SEFLIN (Southeast 51在线 Library Information Network). SEFLIN is one of the five MLCs in 51在线. Melanie has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Therapeutic Recreation from OSU and a MLIS from USF and considers herself a dabbling multi-media artist with a passion for creative program development by incorporating 21st century technology and academic research. Melanie has spent decades working with varied populations from severely abused youth and teens to adjudicated females with addiction challenges; homeless individuals to adults pursuing higher education. At SEFLIN Ms. Zaskey spearheads a standing committee of academic, public, and special librarians in developing the SEFLIN Annual Virtual Conference which focuses on technology, innovation and transformative librarianship.

She is also in charge of the Social Services in Libraries Discussion Group and manages e-resource sharing among libraries across four counties. In addition, Melanie leads a group of 66 librarians pursuing certification in Adobe Creative Suite course in skill development, technology programming, and marketing training to increase digital inclusion for underserved populations. Melanie works toward improving services in our communities by leading collaboration between various social service agencies and academic institutions to begin the program of placing Social Work Interns into libraries.

In her spare time Melanie can be found walking, biking or yogaing along the beaches of South 51在线 with her daughters, learning from her ingenious husband about music and moviemaking or tromping through the woods exploring the mysteries and wonders of nature.