About Lou Wetherbee
Lou Wetherbee
founded her consulting practice, Lou Wetherbee & Associates, LLC,
in 1989. Since then, she has provided consulting expertise to scores of
clients among public, medical, school, and academic libraries, state
and federal libraries, library networks, library and information
vendors, publishers, foundations and international organizations. Her
focus is on helping library leaders transform services through more
effective library management. She places particular emphasis on high
performance communication, innovative uses of emerging technology and a
strong customer focus.
Lou is widely
recognized for her skill in helping her clients transform library
operations by involving staff at all levels in the design, planning and
delivery of library services, and in making effective use of emerging
technology. Lou is also a frequent seminar and conference speaker, and
has published a number of articles. She speaks fluent Spanish and has
consulted widely in
Latin America. In 1999, Lou was named Texas Librarian of the Year.
Prior to
establishing Lou Wetherbee & Associates, LLC, Lou was the Executive
Director of the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council Inc., in
Dallas, Texas. During her tenure, AMIGOS expanded its services to over 300 libraries of all types throughout the
United States and
Mexico. She also held the post of Associate Director of Libraries at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas from 1996 to 1999. Her other academic library experience includes several positions at the
University of
Texas at
Austin, and serving as Director of Libraries at
George
Mason
University.
Lou began her career at a public library in
Warren, Michigan. She holds B.A. (Honors) and M.L.S. degrees from the
University of
Texas at
Austin and is a member of Beta Phi Mu.
In her free
time, Lou enjoys reading international fiction, especially novels about
the WWI and WWII time period. She has worked as a community volunteer
for the Human Rights Initiative and is involved in organizing
meditation retreats. She is also a “balcony gardener” and raises herbs,
flowers and tomatoes at her home in
Dallas. She has strong ties to
South Texas and maintains an active interest in the history and folkways of her native region near the Mexican border.