The Dr. Martha Jane Zachert Endowed Scholarship

Posted by Kate Blosser on

Elaine Crepeau, a two-time alumna of Florida State University, has enjoyed a lengthy and diverse career as a librarian. The beginning of her career started at Florida State, where she received her bachelor’s degree in 1972 and her master’s in library science a year later. It was at FSU that she met faculty member, Dr. Martha Jane Zachert.

“I started my library degree in 1972 and graduated in March 1973,” said Crepeau. “We had a small group that was a part of the special library track. We got really personal attention from Dr. Zachert and she was very innovative, doing types of library education that took other schools 20 years to put into their curriculum.”

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Elaine and Dean Dennis signing the gift agreement

Elaine, who is a member of the College of Communication & Information Leadership board, and her husband, Nobuo Kodama, have recently made a gift in honor of her former professor, “who made library science come alive.” As a tribute to Martha Jane’s accomplishments, they have established The Dr. Martha Jane Zachert Endowed Scholarship.

“I am more grateful to Elaine Crepeau than words can convey for her generous gift in my name,” shared Martha Jane Zachert.

The scholarship will be awarded to graduate students in the School of Information who are pursuing a degree in Library & Information Studies. Priority will be given to students who have an interest in special libraries, reference librarianship, and the management and administration of libraries, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and have financial need.

Zachert received her DLS in Library Science from Colombia University and has held positions at Florida State University, University of South Carolina-Colombia, Emory and many other institutions. She was named one of the 100 Most Notables, a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and founded the the Beta Omega chapter of Beta Phi Mu and served as their chapter president. Through her career she served as:

  • Continuing Education Committee, Chair
  • Search Committee for MLA Director of Education, Member
  • Study Group on MLA’s Role in the Educational Process for Health Science Librarians, Member
  • Janet Doc Lectureship Subcommittee, Chair
  • Ad Hoc Committee to Develop a New Certification Code, Cochair
  • Nominating Committee, Member
  • American Library Association Ad Hoc Committee on Curriculum, Representative
  • Committee on Curriculum, Chair
  • CE 26 Teaching Skills for Library Educators, Developer

“Dr. Zachert really had a lot of confidence in me and she was my major professor when I was in library school, she really was instrumental in giving me tools for a great career,” said Crepeau. “She gave us the tools we needed to be supervisors, manage and to create! I went on and did a lot of that… It really is one of the reasons you wanted to give back to the School.”

“Martha Jane Zachert is not only my mentor, but a friend of mine.”