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Lincoln Trail Libraries System announces the retirement of Joseph (Joe) Sciacca, effective April 23, 2010. Joe began his career with LTLS in 1981. During his tenure at LTLS, Joe served the library system in many different capacities. Initially, he worked as a general consultant advising libraries on legal and library development issues. One of his successful projects included working with residents of Oakwood to form the Oakwood Public Library District. By the end of his extensive career, Joe was managing the network for various LTLS services and serving as web-master for the LTLS web site.
Before coming to LTLS, Joe held various library positions at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign, The Urbana Free Library, and the El Paso (TX) Public Library. Joe has always maintained an interest in international librarianship as well. In 1994, he was a Library Fellow for the American Library Association and spent 6 months at Chiang Mai University (Thailand) where he helped library staff develop their first RFP for a library automation system. For the last several years, Joe has also hosted and taught international librarians, visiting the U.S. through the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at UIUC, about the value of library cooperation and collaboration. He also spearheaded the development of an LTLS service, Polytalk, which provides interpretation services for library staff serving multilingual populations.
Joe has always been quick to adopt innovative ideas and apply those ideas to the changing field of librarianship. Jan Ison, Executive Director, states the following about Joe's career at LTLS:
“Joe Sciacca has dedicated his time at LTLS to the libraries of all types. He is the ultimate advocate for library service and believes that libraries are vital to our society. All of us will miss Joe -- his humor, his calm personality, his procrastination, his always willing to lend a hand attitude. For me it will be like having a limb removed -- I count on Joe to take an unbiased view of everything and be sure that we think of all sides before a decision is made. He does this in a fashion that is non-threatening and in a way that makes me stop and think -- is this the right thing to do? Thanks, Joe, for you service to the library community in Illinois, in LTLS and to your co-workers on the ground.” |
LTLS will be hosting an Open House for Joe Sciacca on April 26, 3-6 pm, at 1704 W. Interstate Drive, Champaign, IL.
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