Happenings
8 January 2009
January 2009: Dr. Connie Costantino - a sudden and tragic death
The following tribute was sent to the SLISadmin list by Dr. Ken Haycock:
It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the sudden death of our dear colleague, Connie Costantino.
Connie and her husband were travelling to Rome; their plane was delayed and diverted to London. As they disembarked, she collapsed in the jetway. She died almost instantly of a blood clot in her lungs. Services are being held in her honor in London and Buffalo this week and later in San Diego.
A scholarship has been established in Connie's name at San José; checks may be made payable to the SJSU Tower Foundation (Attn: C. Costantino Fund) and mailed to Brenda Lamb at San José SLIS, One Washington Square, San José, CA 95192-0029. For credit cards go to the SLIS Online Store and choose "Donate to SLIS" and then "Connie Costantino Scholarship Fund." If you have questions about donating, contact Ms. Lamb at 408.924.2492 or email Brenda Lamb.
Prior to joining SLIS, Dr. Costantino spent over 30 years as a school, public and academic librarian, most recently as Library Director at Alliant International University from 1993 to 2003. She also consulted for libraries in Mexico City and Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Costantino was active in the Association of College and Research Libraries, particularly the Distance Learning Section and chaired ACRL's International Relations Committee. California colleagues will especially know her work as chair of the Mentoring Committee for the California Library Association.
Dr. Costantino taught Information Organizations and Management, Instructional Strategies for Information Professionals, and International and Comparative Librarianship at SLIS. Her research focused on information literacy, particularly amongst undergraduate students and educators.
The sympathy of the entire SLIS community is extended to Connie's family. Her commitment to her profession and to her students, her graduate advising and mentoring, her exceptional teaching, her cheerful contributions to faculty decision-making, will all be long remembered. Her many grateful students will form a critical part of her enduring legacy.
See also Obituary: Connie E. Costantino (1/02/1949 - 01/01/2009) 
and the online guest book for remembrance
at North County Times (open until February 24, 2009).
Dr. Connie Costantino's Second Life office at SLURL.
Click on image to magnify. This snapshot doesn't show the
guestbook that was added to her office on January 29th.
As Second Life avatar Sagamore Sands, Connie took a leadership role in many professional library events in Second Life. See also:
Dr. Connie Costantino presents in Second Life
for SANDALL Fall 2008 workshop.
December 3, 2008 Happenings – January 20, 2009 Happenings
Faculty and Alum: Want to get on a Happenings page?. Fill out the Happenings form. Did you received a LIS-related award/honor? Were you published in a LIS-related publication? Did you publish a book? Did you do a presentation at a LIS conference? Did you get a promotion? Let us know about your professional life. These will be published as one or two small paragraphs on the Happenings page.
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Phone: 408-924-2490
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