Rate My Professor Kathleen de la Peña McCook

Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Information, College of Arts and Sciences, at the University of South Florida. Her extensive academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.L.S. from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School, an M.A. in English Literature from Marquette University, and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Illinois-Chicago. McCook's research specializations center on public libraries and cultural heritage, exploring the preservation and destruction of memory across libraries, museums, and intangible cultural heritage. She also investigates how human rights and community engagement shape public library services. Currently, she serves on the American Library Association’s Task Force developing Standards for Library Services for Individuals Who Are Incarcerated or Detained. Her scholarly contributions extend to areas in arts and humanities as well as social and behavioral sciences.

McCook is the author of the seminal textbook Introduction to Public Librarianship, published by ALA Editions. Among her recent publications are 'Golden Spike of the Anthropocene is Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada' (2023), 'Numerical Analysis of Librarians Who Identify as Wikipedians' (2023), 'There is Power in a Union-2021-2023' (2023), and 'Unions Library Workers' (2023). She is presently writing The Preservation and Annihilation of Memory. Her distinguished career is marked by major awards and honors, including the Joseph W. Lippincott Award from the American Library Association, REFORMA Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture (2024), Beta Phi Mu Award (2024), Florida Library Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2024), University of South Florida Hispanic Heritage Award (2024), Brubaker Award for literary merit from Catholic Library World, and Chicago Public Library Scholar in Residence (2003). Through her work as an educator, author, and advocate, McCook has profoundly influenced library and information science, emphasizing public libraries' roles in democracy, social justice, and community building.