The Traveler Advisory Committee advises and makes recommendations to the State Librarian and Arkansas State Library Board regarding resource selection for the Traveler program’s collection.
The State Librarian appoints members to the committee that represent all types of libraries: public, school, academic, and special institutions. Other factors for member selection include distributed geographic representation, inclusion of diverse patron populations and service for individuals with disabilities.
Subscription Periods
Traveler resources have a three year subscription contract, with annual subscription periods running from August 1 to July 31.
This schedule provides Arkansas libraries an opportunity to purchase additional products for their local clientele that are not offered in the Traveler package.
Resource Selection
Request for Proposals (RFP) are solicited from major content publishers every three years. Vendors provide a formal proposal and may also provide online demonstrations of their products.
The next RFP process will begin in the fall of 2020. Publishers may request inclusion in the RFP process by contacting the program administrator, Katie Walton.
Educators and librarians with resource suggestions or comments concerning the current offerings can contact the Traveler Advisory Committee member currently representing their library type.
The Traveler Advisory Committee meets in January to evaluate the vendor proposals. When evaluating the proposals, committee members inform their decisions by gathering input from colleagues, assessing current offerings, evaluating usage statistics, and considering the availability of funding. Recommendations are given to the Arkansas State Library Board at the February board meeting. The Arkansas State Library Board retains final approval for Traveler resource contracts.
Committee Terms & Current Appointments
Selection committee terms last three years, from January 1 to December 31. New term appointments are staggered to allow committee members an opportunity to assess the current subscriptions, participate in the three-year RFP process, select new digital resources, and evaluate the new resources after implementation.
Current committee members serve from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022. A new commitee will be appointed in January of 2023.
The Arkansas State Library’s program administrator for the Traveler program serves as chair on the committee.
| Library Type | Representative | Institution | Contact email |
| Program Administrator | Katie Walton | Arkansas State Library | katie.walton@arkansas.gov |
| Academic, 2 year | Ruthie Pride | UA Phillips Community College | rpride@pccua.edu |
| Academic, 4 year private | Margaret Reed | Ouachita Baptist University | reedm@obu.edu |
| Academic, 4 year public | Elizabeth Parish | UA Monticello | parishe@uamont.edu |
| Public, Multi-County | Carol Coffey | Central Arkansas Library System | ccoffey@cals.org |
| Public, Independent City | Arlisa Harris | Forrest City Public Library | arlisa@forrestcitylibrary.org |
| Public, Single County | Kathleen Ashmore | Lonoke County Library System | kashmore@lonokecountylibrary.org |
| School, Elementary | Carrie Reece | Eureka Springs School District | carrie.reece@es.k12.ar.us |
| School, Middle/Jr. High School | Vicki E. Brown | Green Forrest Middle School | vbrown@gf.k12.ar.us |
| School, High School | Tana Sanders | Bay High School | tkundert@bay.k12.ar.us |
| Special Library | Logan Whittington | UAMS Library | lrwhittington@uams.edu |
| Home School | Josh Mesker | Home School Office, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education | josh.mesker@arkansas.gov |
For more information, please contact:
- Katie Walton
- Manager of Acquisitions
- (501) 682-2266
- katie.walton@arkansas.gov
The Traveler program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Arkansas State Library under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
