Carole J. McCollough is a retired associate professor and dean of the Library and Information Science program at Wayne State University. She is currently an auxiliary faculty, trainer, and curriculum committee member for the Children's Defense Fund. In this capacity, she conducts workshops for college interns training to run summer literacy (Freedom School) programs. She has served as chair of both the CSK Book Award Committee and jury. She was a reviewer for the Multicultural Literature Review Journal and a contributing reviewer to all four editions of The Coretta Scott King Awards book. Her undergraduate degree and teaching certificate are from Eastern Michigan University. Her master's degree and PhD in library and information science are both from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She currently serves on two library boards: Southfield Public Library, Southfield, Michigan, and the Langston Hughes Library, Clinton, Tennessee.
Adelaide Poniatowski Phelps has a master's degree in library and information science from Wayne State University in Detroit and a second master's degree in English literature from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She is the recently retired coordinator of the Educational Resources Lab in the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University and a former lecturer in children's literature for the reading department there. She is a member of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee and served two terms (2007-2008) on the awards jury. In addition, she was a reviewer for the journal Multicultural Review; a contributing reviewer for the fourth edition of The Coretta Scott King Awards book, edited by Henrietta M. Smith; a contributing author for the article (2008), ""Weaving the Threads of Diversity: A School of Education's Reflection on Current Practices"" in the journal Issues in Education: Preschool through Graduate School; and coauthor of the chapter, ""Information and Instruction Services"" in A Guide to the Management of Curriculum Materials Centers for the 21st Century: The Promise and the Challenge (2001), edited by Jo Ann Carr and prepared by the Ad Hoc Management of Curriculum Materials Committee, Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
The Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), an Office of the American Library Association, supports and promotes literacy and equity of information access initiatives for traditionally underserved populations.