Annette Bailey honored with 'Mover & Shaker' award from Library Journal
Annette Bailey, assistant director for electronic resources and emerging technology services for University Libraries at Virginia Tech, has been named a 2013 “Mover & Shaker” by the national publication, Library Journal.
The journal named 50 professionals to the list, selecting Bailey because of “her commitment to librarianship and creating open source technology that benefits library users worldwide.”
Bailey developed LibX, an open source browser extension tool that allows library patrons search library resources such as catalogs and databases directly from the Web. Without the extension, users looking for Web-based resources often miss scholarly and library-owned materials. Bailey developed the tool with Godmar Back, associate professor of computer science in the College of Engineering.
LibX began in 2005 as an open source Firefox browser extension. It has since expanded to include more functions as well as accommodate other browsers. LibX supports more than 1,000 libraries worldwide in six languages, with around 250,000 users.
“Annette has a compelling vision for emerging technology in libraries within the context of user-sensitive Web environments,” Tyler Walters, dean of University Libraries, said. “She has developed path-breaking technologies and has galvanized employees to participate in the design of new electronic workflows. She is an asset to our team and to Virginia Tech.”
Bailey hopes to continue developing tools that help patrons find the resources they need. “I am dreaming of technology that reflects our users,” Bailey said. “I think the technology is still emerging to help our users when and where they most need us.”
LibX earned Bailey and Back the 2007 LITA/Brett Butler Entrepreneurship Award from the American Library Association. They also won a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2006 for LibX and another in 2008 for LibX 2.0.
Bailey earned her bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and her master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
