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San José Public Library Recruits Digital Expert to Oversee Development of Web-based Services

November 14, 2007 -

SAN JOSE, CALIF - Sarah Houghton-Jan begins the newly-created position as San José Public Library's "Senior Librarian for Digital Futures" in December. She will share web development and oversight responsibilities with her counterpart on the San José State University Library staff; a position that is currently under recruitment.

Houghton-Jan is well-known professionally as a leading national advocate for use of Web 2.0 technologies in the library environment. Her blog-Librarian-in-black.net-has received national recognition for two years running; in 2005 as one of the top three librarian blogs in monograph (Blogosphere: Best of Blogs) and in 2006 as one of the top 10 librarian blogs (Top 10 Sources).

Houghton-Jan leaves San Mateo County Library (Calif.) where she served as Information and Web Services Manager from 2006 to the present. Prior to that, she served as Electronic Services Librarian for Marin County Free Library (Calif.) Houghton-Jan served concurrently as a consultant for InfoPeople, providing in-person and self-paced online classes on technology topics to library staff throughout California. She will continue in that capacity as she assumes her new role in San José.

Houghton-Jan maintains active memberships in several professional associations and currently serves as a member of both the California Statewide AskNow Virtual Reference Advisory Board and LITA's Top Technology Trends Committee. In addition to her blog, Houghton-Jan is a frequent contributor to library trade publications, with articles appearing in American Libraries, Computers in Libraries, Library Technology Reports, and Public Libraries, to name a few. For more detail, visit www.librarianinblack.net/about.html.

Houghton-Jan received her B.A. in English Literature (1998) from the University of Illinois and holds two Masters: English Literature (2000) from Washington State University and Science of Library and Information Science (2002) from the University of Illinois. She currently resides with her husband in San Rafael, California.

For more information, contact:
• Lorraine Oback, San José Public Library, at (408) 808-2176

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