A Brief Biography

     While in New Jersey she was a founding member of the Garden State Teen Book Award Committee, a member of the NJLA (New Jersey Library Association) Executive Board, and a member of the organizing committee for the annual Youth Services Forum.  And in 2006/2007 she was the NJLA Librarian of the Year.
     On the national level, she is currently a member of the Newbery Committee for ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children, a Division of the American Library Association)  She is a Past-President of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association, a Division of the American Library Association). In addition, she was a member of the YALSA committee that revised the Science Fiction Genre list, served a three-year term on ALA’s prestigious Best Books for Young Adults committee, and was a member of the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee that recognized Gary Paulsen for his contribution to young adult literature.  She was re-elected to serve a fourth three-year term as an ALA Councilor-at-Large and is a past chair and member of the Alex Committee, charged with selecting the best Adult Books for Young Adults published each year.  She was the science fiction and fantasy discussion leader at YALSA’s Popular Materials pre-conference at ALA several summers ago.  She was a member of the 2005 Printz Committee. 
     In addition, she is a regular reviewer for the journal VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), again specializing in the areas of science fiction and fantasy, and she is a Science Fiction and Fantasy editor for NoveList, an on-line reader’s advisory service.  She is the co-author, with her friend and colleague Suzanne Manczuk, of First Contact: A Reader’s Selection of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  Scarecrow Press, 2001.  In 2002 her second reader’s advisory book, Strictly Science Fiction, co-authored with another friend and colleague, Diana Tixier Herald, was published by Libraries Unlimited.  This is a title in their popular Genreflecting series.