LEADING BAYLOR LIBRARIES (click for more event info)
Friday, March 31, 2:30 PM
Armstrong Browning Library and Museum
The Baylor Libraries will host a conversation, co-sponsored by the School of Education and featuring SOE alumna Mary Woodard, with Texas State Library and Archives Commission Director and Librarian Gloria Meraz and Texas Library Association President Mary Woodard, a School of Education graduate, on their journeys in education and librarianship, the current state of libraries in Texas, and the future of Texas libraries.
Mary Woodard
Gloria Meraz, director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and Mary Marlow Woodard, president of the Texas Library Association (TLA), will be interviewed by Lori Fogleman, Assistant Vice President for Media and Public Relations at Baylor University on Friday, March 31, at 2:30 p.m. CDT at the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Conversation and a reception will follow. This event is free, open to the public, and available both in person and via Zoom Webinar.
Meraz and Woodard, both Baylor alumnae, hold the two highest positions in librarianship in Texas. Through the two organizations, their reach extends into all 254 counties and every metropolitan and rural area in the state.
Baylor librarian Kathy Hillman, who has worked with both women through TLA, said, “Mary and Gloria represent the best of our university and the best of our profession. For them to serve simultaneously is a first for Baylor since the fledgling Texas Library Association helped establish the state library and archives in 1909.”
Woodard graduated from Baylor in 1985 with degrees in Elementary Education and English and earned her library science degree from Texas Woman’s University in 1987. She served in the Mesquite Independent School District for 35 years as a school librarian, technology facilitator, and director of library services. In 2022, Woodard was elected president of TLA, the largest state library association in the United States.
Gloria Meraz
Meraz completed her Museum Studies degree in 1990. As a Baylor student, she interned in the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Several years after completing her library science degree at the University of Texas at Austin, she became Director of Communications for TLA, a position she held for 17 years before becoming the Assistant State Librarian in 2016. She was named Director and Librarian in 2021.
“Libraries play a vital educational role in our local communities, regional colleges, and universities,” said Jeffry Archer, dean of the Baylor Libraries. “The fact that two Baylor alumnae are concurrently leading the conversation about libraries and archives at a statewide level is truly amazing and demonstrates the value of Baylor’s mission to educate students for leadership and service in communities in Texas and around the globe.”
More information about this event is available at baylor.edu/library/leadingtexaslibraries.
About the Baylor Libraries
The Baylor Libraries lead as an innovative research library that supports the mission of the university by undergirding scholarship, fostering teaching and learning, and building communities.
About the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Since 1909, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission have supported the reading, learning, and historical preservation needs of Texas and its people.
About the Texas Library Association
The Texas Library Association (TLA) is the largest state library association in the U.S. Its 6,000+ members represent all types of libraries: academic, public, school and special.
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ABOUT BAYLOR SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
For more than 100 years, the School of Education has advanced Baylor’s mission across the globe while preparing students for a range of careers focused on education, leadership, and human development. With more than 60 full-time faculty members, the school’s growing research portfolio complements its long-standing commitment to excellence in teaching and student mentoring. Baylor’s undergraduate program in teacher education has earned national distinction for innovative partnerships with local schools that provide future teachers deep clinical preparation. Likewise, the School of Education’s graduate programs have attained national recognition for their exemplary preparation of research scholars, educational leaders, innovators, and clinicians. Visit www.baylor.edu/SOE to learn more.
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.