Oanes appointed director of SMU’s Fitzgerald Library

WINONA, Minn. — Laura Oanes of Forest City, Iowa, has been appointed director of the Fitzgerald Library on the Winona campus of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, effective July 6. Oanes replaces Sandra Beth who retired in May of 2009. Rachel Thomas served as interim library director during the 2009-10 academic year.

Oanes was most recently director of the Waldorf College library in Forest City. Previously, she was a user services librarian at Waldorf, and helped develop the information skills portion of the first-year seminar for incoming students.

As Saint Mary’s new head librarian, Oanes has a vision for the service and leadership role of the library in support of Lasallian education. “She brings a strong orientation to work with students and faculty, a collaborative leadership style, a deep understanding of trends in library and information sciences, and administrative skills,” said Dr. Tom Mans, vice president for Academic Affairs.

Oanes earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science from UW – Milwaukee in 2008. Her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in psychology was earned at Mankato State University. She also studied at UW – Eau Claire and UW – Madison. She is active in the American Library Association and is currently an intern with the ALA Committee for Literacy. In Forest City, she was a member of the Forest City Community School Board and was active with various community library and literacy projects.