SARKODIE-MENSAH, Kwasi 1955-

PERSONAL:

Born June 13, 1955, in Ejisu-Ashanti, Ghana; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Thomas Kwaku (an educator) and Margaret (Barnieh) Mensah; married Elizabeth Oppong (a librarian and anthropologist), September 21, 1980. Ethnicity: "Ghanaian/Black." Education: National University of the Ivory Coast, certificate in French, 1978; Universidad de Complutense, Madrid, Spain, diploma in Spanish, 1978; University of Ghana, B.A. (with honors), 1979; Clarion University, M.S.L.S., 1983; University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D., 1988. Politics: Republican. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—3 Westwood St., Burlington, MA 01803. Office—312 O'Neill Library, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467; fax: 617-552-8828. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Teacher of French and English at secondary schools in Kumasi, Ghana, 1979-80, and Ipetumodu, Nigeria, 1980-82; Frontiers in Human Resources, Knoxville, PA, trainee aide, 1983-84; Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, head of public services, 1986-89, acting director of university library, 1987, and instructor in French; Northeastern University, Boston, MA, library instruction coordinator, 1989-92; Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, chief reference librarian at O'Neill Library, 1992-95, manager of instructional services, 1992—, Benjamin E. Mayes Mentor, 1995—, faculty member at College of Advancing Studies, 1996—. Southern University, New Orleans, LA, French teacher, summers, 1988-89; lecturer at other institutions, including Simmons College; speaker at many public schools on Africa and on growing up in Ghana. French Teachers Movement of Louisiana, member, 1986-89; Massachusetts Faculty Development Advisory Committee, member, 1992-97; New England Bibliographic Instruction Committee, chair, 1994-97. Multicultural Network of Winchester, MA, member, 1992-99; Archdiocese of Boston, board member of African Pastoral Center, 1997-2001. Redco Co., translator and interpreter, 1979; consultant in Ghanaian language to U.S. Customs and to state superior courts.

MEMBER:

American Library Association (member of Black Caucus, 1991-97), Association of College and Research Libraries, Library Instruction Round Table, Beta Phi Mu.

AWARDS, HONORS:

French government scholar in Ivory Coast, 1977-78; Spanish and Ghanaian government scholar in Spain, 1978; certificate of outstanding achievement in multi-cultural education, Arts in Progress, Boston, 1993; Boston College, Bill Day Award, 1995, Reverend John R. Trzaska Award, 2001, and Community Service Award, 2001.

WRITINGS:

(With Brendan Rapple) Research in the Electronic Age: How to Distinguish between Good and Bad Data, Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA), 1999.

(Editor) Reference Services for the Adult Learner: Challenging Issues for the Traditional and Technological Era, Haworth Press (Binghamton, NY), 2000.

Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-standing and Ongoing Problem, Haworth Press (Binghamton, NY), 2002.

Contributor to books, including Recommended Videos for School: 1992, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1992; Diversity and Multiculturalism in Libraries, edited by Katherine Hoover Hill, JAI Press (Greenwich, CT), 1994; and Teaching the New Library to Today's Users: Reaching International, Minority, Senior Citizens, Gay/Lesbian, First Generation, At-risk, Graduate and Returning Students, and Distance Learners, edited by Trudi E. Jacobson and Helene C. Williams, Neal-Schuman Publishers (New York, NY), 2000. Work represented in anthologies, including World Treasury of Great Poems, 1989. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Catholic Library World, Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, Library Mosaics, Journal of Academic Librarianship, College Teaching, College and Research Libraries News, University Teaching in the South, and Reference Librarian. Editor, LIRT Newsletter, 1991-92.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is to share my knowledge and expertise with people in my profession and in the area of education. I feel a moral responsibility to be the voice of the under-served in libraries and on college campuses. Having come to the United States as a foreign student is an inspiration for me to write about issues that others may not initially find important because they have never had to live with the experience that international students go through.

"My writing process varies. I can compose in my head, scribble continuously on paper, or write in an outline format, and then take time to polish up things. I do a lot of thinking when I am on the treadmill or playing tennis in the gym each morning. It is not uncommon for me mentally to 'tread' my writing in the middle of my exercise routine.

"International students, adult learners, students with disabilities have not always been popular topics. It may be because people feel so remotely removed from them. When I walk across campus, walk in the library, interact with different students, a variety of ideas crops up in my mind. I think I can continue to raise awareness on how we should pay attention to our special populations on our campuses."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Libraries, May, 2001, Cathleen Bourdon, review of Reference Services for the Adult Learner: Challenging Issues for the Traditional and Technological Era, p. 88.