Heather Koopmans
Fine Arts Librarian
- About
- Education
- Selected Research
Biography
Heather Koopmans (she/her) is an Assistant Professor and Fine Arts Librarian at Milner Library, Illinois State University. In this role she liaises with the Wonsook Kim School of Art, the School of Theatre and Dance, the Creative Technologies Program, and University Galleries and is the library's specialist for visual and theatrical arts and associated subject areas. Koopmans' research focuses on visual literacy and creative research practices. She has a MS in Library Science and a BFA in Printmaking and is a first generation college graduate.
Research Interests & Areas
Information literacy
Visual literacy
Information needs and and practices of creative populations
Visual material in library collections
Library instruction
MS Library Science
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC
BFA Printmaking
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Grants and Contracts
Integrating Critical Visual Literacy with Library of Congress Visual Primary Sources for Equitable Education in Illinois
Richard L Hughes, Heather Koopmans, Hyeju Han.
National Louis University. August 2024 - September 30 2025
Book Review
Review of the New York Academy of Medicine’s #ColorOurCollections website
Heather Koopmans.
(2021), ARLIS/NA Media Reviews, Art Libraries Society of North America
Review of the book Come Together: The Rise of Cooperative Art and Design, by F. Spampinato
Heather Koopmans.
(2015), ARLIS/NA Reviews, Art Libraries Society of North America
Journal Article
Critical Picture Book Literacy
Caitlin Stewart, Heather Koopmans.
Journal of Visual Literacy, 44 (1), 23, (2025), https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2025.2458444
Crossing the studio art threshold: Information literacy and creative populations
Sarah Carter, Heather Koopmans, Alice Whiteside.
Communications in Information Literacy, 12 (1), 36-55, (2018), 10.15760/comminfolit.2018.12.1.4
Presentations
Agency, bias and representation: Undergraduate students’ understanding of critical visual literacy
Caitlin Stewart, Heather Koopmans.
ACRL 2025 Conference Type, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April, 2025
Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Curriculum-Integrated Learning Outcome Development and Assessment with the Academic Review Process
Chad Kahl, Heather Koopmans, Christopher Jon Worland, Grace Katharine Allbaugh.
LOEX 2024, Naperville, IL, May 4, 2024
Collaborating to Engage and Enhance The Visual Literacy Skills of Pre-Service History Teachers
Heather Koopmans, Vitoria Faccin-Herman, Richard L Hughes.
IVLA 2023 Annual Conference, Champaign, Illinois, October 6, 2023
Seeing the Big Picture: Engaging with Critical Visual Literacy through Picture Books
Caitlin Stewart, Heather Koopmans.
2023 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois, June 25, 2023
“I have never been ‘taught’ how to do it. Just told to do it”: Teaching Critical Visual Literacy through Library instruction
Caitlin Stewart, Heather Koopmans.
MiALA 2023 Annual Conference, Holland, Michigan, May 18, 2023
Transforming Collaborative Collection Development and Pedagogical Practice: Connecting Art and Special Collections to Authentic Student Learning
Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Heather Koopmans.
ARLIS/NA 51st Annual Conference, Mexico City, Mexico, April 20, 2023
Collaborating to Teach Visual Literary Beyond the Arts
Heather Koopmans.
ARLIS/NA Teaching Special Interest Group Winter Forum, Online, December 1, 2022
Arts and Special Collections Librarian Panel
Heather Koopmans, Rebecca Fitzsimmons.
Arts and Special Collections Librarian Panel, Online, October 12, 2021