Staff Profile | Milner Library

About
Education
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

Book Review

Koopmans, H. Review of the New York Academy of Medicine’s #ColorOurCollections website. ARLIS/NA Media Reviews. Art Libraries Society of North America (2021)

Koopmans, H. Review of the book Come Together: The Rise of Cooperative Art and Design, by F. Spampinato. ARLIS/NA Reviews. Art Libraries Society of North America (2015)

Journal Article

Carter, S., Koopmans, H., & Whiteside, A. (2018). Crossing the studio art threshold: Information literacy and creative populations. Communications in Information Literacy, 12 (1), 36-55. https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2018.12.1.4

Presentations

Collaborating to Engage and Enhance The Visual Literacy Skills of Pre-Service History Teachers. IVLA 2023 Annual Conference. International Visual Literacy Association. (2023)

“I have never been ‘taught’ how to do it. Just told to do it”: Teaching Critical Visual Literacy through Library instruction. MiALA 2023 Annual Conference. Michigan Academic Library Association. (2023)

Seeing the Big Picture: Engaging Future Educators in Critical Visual Literacy through Picture Books. 2023 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition. American Library Association. (2023)

Transforming Collaborative Collection Development and Pedagogical Practice: Connecting Art and Special Collections to Authentic Student Learning. ARLIS/NA 51st Annual Conference. Art Libraries Society of North America. (2023)

Collaborating to Teach Visual Literary Beyond the Arts. ARLIS/NA Teaching Special Interest Group Winter Forum. Art Libraries Society of North America. (2022)

Arts and Special Collections Librarian Panel. Arts and Special Collections Librarian Panel. Art Libraries Society of North America - Midstates Chapter. (2021)

Heather Koopmans