CORAL Officers 2023-2024
President: Vicky Hart, Northeast Lakeview College: alamo.edu/nlc/library
Vicky Hart has had a career emphasizing innovation and lifelong learning by working in several different types of libraries. Vicky holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. She has held a wide variety of positions, including director of an academic library, director of public libraries, reference librarian at urban universities and community colleges and branch manager for a military installation library. Working in the private sector, she was a marketing representative for a library services vendor. Throughout her career, she has been an active member of state library associations, and a member of the American Library Association, the Association of College & Research Libraries, the Public Library Association, the Library Leadership and Management Association, and the Government Publications Round Table. Vicky is currently the Director of Library Services at Northeast Lakeview College in San Antonio, TX.
Vice President: Amanda Gorrell, Northwest Vista College: alamo.edu/nvc/academics/library/
Amanda Gorrell has worked in higher education for ten years as a librarian at Northwest Vista College. She is passionate about teaching information literacy to students, developing and implementing training workshops for library users on a variety of topics, finding low-cost solutions for teaching materials with Open Educational Resources/Open Access resources and creative outreach programs. Amanda holds a MLS from Texas Woman’s University and BA’s in Anthropology and in History from the University of Texas San Antonio.
Treasurer: Valerie Darling, Southwest Research Institute: swri.libguides.com/library
Meet Valerie, the curious Librarian at Southwest Research Institute, who gets to explore the depths of the ocean and the vastness of space! As a key member of a small team, Valerie wears many hats but primarily focuses on resource and research training, outreach, and library assessment. She has a special talent for curating and exhibiting rare book collections, making even the oldest tomes come to life.
Valerie is not just a librarian, but an active member of several state and national library associations, including the Texas Library Association – Special Libraries Division, the Special Libraries Association, and the American Library Association – Library Research Round Table. With her MLS from the University of North Texas and a BAAS in Psychology from Texas A&M University – San Antonio, Valerie has a wealth of knowledge and skills to offer.
But Valerie isn’t all work and no play. When she’s not organizing rare books or helping researchers find the information they need, you can find her exploring the great outdoors with her dog, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, or perfecting her latest DIY project. With her insatiable curiosity and contagious energy, Valerie is the kind of librarian you want on your team – and the kind of person you want to have a beer with after work.
– OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 23 version) [Large language model].
Member at Large: Aída Almanza, Texas A&M University – San Antonio: https://www.tamucc.edu/library/
Aida Almanza-Ferro is the Reference Services Librarian at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi. She supervises the library’s reference services, trains student workers and graduate assistants, offers research support and instruction, and assists with open initiatives on campus such as the implementation of Zero Cost textbooks in courses. Aida received her Master’s Degree in Library Science from Texas Women’s University and her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas A&M International University. She has been working in academic and medical libraries for the past 16 years and her greatest strengths are collaborating with faculty and staff to engage students and provide information literacy and research instruction.
Member at Large: Katie Thonen, St. Mary’s University: lib.stmarytx.edu/home
Katie Thonen is the Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian for St. Mary’s University. I have been in this position for almost a year, have been in San Antonio for about 5 years, and have been a librarian for about 10 years. Before San Antonio, my family and I lived in Kansas City, so we are avid Chiefs fans! However, we have found a happy home here in South Texas as we love the sunshine, food culture, and wealth of family-friendly activities. Personally, I love to travel, eat, read, and laugh! Professionally, I have worked in public, K-12, special and academic libraries in a variety of roles from putting books back on shelves to children’s programming, research, library instruction, and now tech services. My favorite part of being a librarian is helping people achieve that ‘aha moment’ after discovering the tidbit of information they need and reading to/with kids!
Historian and Nonprofit Lead: Andrea N. Schorr, UT Health San Antonio: library.uthscsa.edu/
Andrea N. Schorr is the Head of Resource Management at UT Health San Antonio. In her role, she manages services and resources that support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the health sciences community. Andrea oversees four main service areas including: collection development, interlibrary loan, special collections, and 3D & virtual services. Andrea holds an MSIS from the University of North Texas and a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Past President 2020-2022: Lee LeBlanc, San Antonio College: alamo.edu/sac/library
Mr. Lee D. Le Blanc is the Director of Library and Technology Services for San Antonio College. Currently, Lee manages a staff of librarians, library assistants, and student workers. Overseeing all aspects of library technologies, Lee is charged with implementing all technology platforms from OCLC’s WMS to nearly every Springshare LibApp. Lee has hard-earned IT, leadership, and library experience from the frontlines to implementing high-cost library platforms. Lee received his MLIS from Florida State University.