Nicole A. Cooke is an Assistant Professor at GSLIS @ The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, having graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in Communication, Information, and Library Studies in 2012 (where she was an ALA Spectrum Doctoral Fellow).  Previously, she was an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor at Montclair State University’s (NJ) Sprague Library. 

Her research interests include LIS distance education and instruction, human information behavior in online settings, the retention and mentoring of minority Librarians and LIS Doctoral Students, and leadership, organizational development and communication in libraries.

She is a frequent reviewer for Library Journal, was a column editor for Public Services Quarterly, and has published profiles in the African American National Biography project, articles in College and Research Libraries News and The Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, the New Review of Academic Librarianship, and several book chapters related to information literacy instruction.  Her latest effort is Instructional Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals (2012), published by Chandos Press.

Named a Mover & Shaker in 2007 by Library Journal, Nicole is professionally active in ACRL, ALISE, and several other professional library organizations. She holds the MLIS degree from Rutgers University, and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from Penn State.

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