Gates Library Foundation Hires International Library Programs Manager

REDMOND, Washington -- The Gates Library Foundation announced today that Carol Erickson, director of the International Relations Office for the American Library Association (ALA), will join the Foundation as international library programs manager effective August 1.

"We are focused on our mission to partner with public libraries to bring access to computers, the Internet and digital information to patrons in low-income communities in the United States and Canada. Our next step is to plan and design a new program in the field of international librarianship," said Patty Stonesifer, president and chairman of the board of the Gates Library Foundation.

"Carol's experience in the international library community is a key asset for us as the Foundation begins initial grant making in the international arena," said Stonesifer. "She is a great addition to our team."

Carol Erickson is a leader in the library community with 15 years experience in international library program management and international projects. While at the ALA, she administered the Library Fellows Program for American and international librarians to undertake professional library assignments around the world, and an annual Regional Institute on library/information science. She also served as liaison to the ALA International Relations Committee and its six geographical subcommittees (Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Eurasia and Central Asia, Europe and Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East and South Asia).

Prior to her work at the ALA, Erickson worked as senior program officer for library and archival programs for the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX). While at the IREX she developed relations with libraries and archives in Central and Eastern Europe, the Newly Independent States and Baltic nations through collaborative projects, Internet initiatives and graduate-level training programs.

Erickson holds a M.S. in library and information science from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Slavic linguistics and a B.A. in Russian linguistics from the State University of New York at Albany.

Erickson is a long-time member of numerous professional associations including the American Library Association; Association of College and Research Libraries, Slavic and Eastern European Section; the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies; and has been active in the ALA's International Relations Roundtable.