iSchool Alumnae Elected to California Library Association Board of Directors

News

Three San José State University School of Information alumnae continue to make their mark in the information profession by being elected to the California Library Association Board of Directors.

Michelle Perera was voted Vice President /President Elect. Erin Berman and Margaret Hatanaka were named At-Large Board Members in the 2017 election.

Perera is the director of the Pasadena Public Library. She brings 25 years of experience in public libraries, according to her candidate statement. She was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2013. She has previously served in various capacities for CLA as program chair, events chair, conference chair, sponsorship chair, and board member. Perera graduated from the San José State University iSchool in 1996. She is also a former iSchool instructor.  

This is Berman’s first time serving on the CLA board. During her tenure as member-at-large, she’d like to see improvements made to the CLA website to meet current membership needs as well as working with other board members in advocating to ensure the state legislator is active in pursuing library priorities for the year. “I’m excited to be a part of the fantastic team that makes CLA happen,” she said. Berman is the innovations manager for San José Pubic Library, and was named one of Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers and received the CLA Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award in 2016. She graduated with a Master of Library and Information Science degree in 2011.

Hatanaka, ’98 MLIS, has worked in public libraries for 30 years and currently holds the position of adult services supervisor for the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library. She was a Eureka Leadership Institute Fellow in 2012. She also served as the 2012-2014 CLA Public Relations Excellence Committee chairperson and marketing interest group leader. She shared in her candidate statement: “The opportunity to serve as a CLA Board Member is an honor and I will work hard to inspire people to support the mission of the California Library Association.”

The new board members take office in November 2017. For more information about the California Library Association, visit the website.