Frances N. Coleman of Mississippi State is being recognized for more than three decades of service as a professional librarian.
Dean of libraries at the university, she recently received the 2003 Outstanding Achievement Award of the Mississippi Library Association. She was recognized for a lifetime of efforts that have resulted in permanent library improvements, among other achievements.
Coleman began her MSU career in 1969 as an instructor and interlibrary loan director. She then served in a variety of successive leadership positions that led to her 1997 appointment as head of all library units at the land-grant university.
Coleman is credited with a leadership role in establishing the Mississippi Alliance for Gaining New Opportunities through Library Information Access, or MAGNOLIA. The collaboration allows Mississippi public schools, community colleges and universities to access information through shared Internet resources.
She is a past president of the Southeastern Library Association, the MLA and the state chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries. In addition, she has served on the board of directors of the Southeastern Regional Library Network, the nation's largest regional library network.
Coleman is a graduate of MSU and George Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn.
