Dr. Kathleen Burnett is an Associate Professor and former Associate Dean (1997-2004) at the Florida State University College of Information, where she has worked since 1996. She earned her B.A. (1978) summa cum laude in German Literature, with a minor in Philosophy, from the University of California, San Diego and her M.L.S. (1979) and Ph.D. (1989) in Library and Information Studies with a specialization in the History of Printing and Publishing from the University of California, Berkeley. She was previously a member of the faculty of the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Jose State University. She has worked as a rare books cataloger, women's studies librarian, children's librarian, reference librarian, and briefly, as a business librarian.
Dr. Burnett teaches courses in intellectual access, theory development and use, information science, and web development. She designed and still teaches the first multimedia course in a library and information studies program, and was instrumental in the design and development of the online master's and bachelor's degrees at the FSU College of Information. Passionate about mentoring doctoral students and preparing future faculty in LIS, she has been principal and co-principal investigator on several grants to improve LIS education, including two grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that funded a multi-institutional effort, Project Athena, to expand, diversify and prepare future LIS faculty.
Dr. Burnett represents FSU on the Academic Alliance of the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). She is a member of the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR), and has presented papers at many of their conferences. She is also a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and has participated in several accreditation review panels. She is most active in the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). She is currently a member of the ALISE Publication Committee and past chair of the Statistical Advisory Board (2007). She and Michelle Kazmer were recently appointed editors of the ALISE publication Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Education (JELIS).
Her personal interests include crafting fused and stained glass objects, reading women mystery writers and cyberpunk, hiking, and cooking (and eating!) good food. She is married to Dr. Gary Burnett. They have two children, Joshua Yu Burnett and Jerusha Katlyn Burnett. Joshua has a B.A. and M.A. in Creative Writing. He now lives in Oakland, California with his wife, Casey Yu, their son, Matthew Yu Burnett, and a daughter-in-production (due December 29, 2008). Jerusha recently received her B.F.A. in Theatrical Scene Design and is currently pursuing a master's degree in sociocultural and international development education at FSU.