Staines selected as honoree

by Robin M. Woolson
Grand Island Dispatch, April 23, 2004

Grand Island resident Gail M. Staines has been selected as one of Library Journal's "Movers and Shakers" for 2004. She is one of 55 people chosen nationwide for this honor.

All the honorees are being recognized for their innovation and dedication to provide the best in library and information services to the communities they serve.

"It is quite an honor to be recognized for all your hard work," she said.

A life-long resident of Western New York, Staines serves as the executive director of the Western New York Library Resources Council where she is responsible for making 98 libraries and library systems in the six counties of the region work together to leverage resources.

Staines said there are two projects the Western New York Library Resources Council has been working on and are now being used.

The first is wnylibaries.org, through which people can search the libraries that are listed to see if the information they need or the book they are looking for is on the shelf.

The other project is a Virtual Library with "Ask a Western New York Librarian."

"This is where librarians in the region answer questions on-line," said Staines. "The librarian can also push Web pages to people to help them search on-line."

Staines said that Western New York Library Resources Council has partnered with affiliates in California so that they are working together on this project since people need assistance at different times of the day.

"We are working together on this one-of-a-kind project to help service the community better," Staines said.

Staines holds a masters of library science and a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo and serves as visiting professor at the university's School of Informatics. She has served as chair of the WNY Women's Hall of Fame Luncheon Committee, is an American Library Association of Information Literacy Advisor, and was appointed to the ALA Presidential Special Committee on Community Partnerships.

Staines said that the names of the honorees and their innovative ideas are then sent to the representatives of Congress so that they know what is going on in the communities they represent and see how the projects are working. Some projects may receive attention and then possible implementation into other areas of the country.