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Résumé
 
 



 

Virginia Tucker

P.O. Box 92, Custer, WA 98240

Phone:  360.961.3964     
Fax:      360.366.1433

Email:   vt@virginiatucker.com

Web:     www.virginiatucker.com

 

 

Skills Summary

§     Versatile and imaginative with changing job requirements, able to work creatively in shifting sand

§    Experienced instructor and courseware developer

§     College librarian, including reference, supervision, management, collection development and planning

§    Excellent interpersonal skills and collaborative abilities

§    Committed to customer, whether in direct contact or working behind scenes

§     Able to envision the big picture and juggle attention to detail at the same time

 

 

 

Education

B.A., Stanford University

  Music composition; minor concentration in physics

Masters, University of California at Berkeley

  Library and information science

Post graduate studies, University of Washington

  Coursework and practicum toward Masters in Education

Post-baccalaureate certificate, Whatcom Community College

  Paralegal studies.

Experience

 

   Present

Faculty, Part-time, San José State Univ., School of Library & Information Science

§         Teach online searching courses in Masters degree program.

Head Librarian, Whatcom County Law Library, Bellingham, WA

§         Provide reference service to attorneys and public; manage collection development, budget, and all library operations.

 

 

   1997 to 2003

Information Architect & Technical Writer, Dialog Corp./Thomson Co., Mtn. View, CA

Architecture, Analysis, & Design Group—Software Engineering

Information architect and documentalist for web-based search products, for both casual users and information professionals, and command-driven systems for search experts.

§         Direct design and definition, incorporating marketing input, vision documents, and competitor data to create effective specifications, and prototypes.

§         Determine the optimal flow of information from multiple databases, crafting the navigation, search forms, database groupings, and input translation.

§         Conduct usability forums with alpha testers and customer groups; create documentation for support and selling the product; design and write online helps.

§         Customer empathy in all aspects of analysis and design resulted in usable portals, leading to quick and precise research answers for the target users.

§         Excerpt from most recent performance review: “Virginia is particularly innovative and effective at synthesizing customer needs, marketing requirements, and development demands into successful interface designs. She displays brilliance in her creativity and original thinking and has produced innovative approaches and ideas that are far above expectations.”

 

 

   1990 to 1996

Information Industry Consultant, Woodinville, WA

Curriculum Development: Wrote content and produced camera-ready copy, including

§         Introductory online searching user guide.

§         Web-based document delivery service manual.

§         College textbook for online search techniques, including student exercises & teacher guide. Materials are used in graduate school programs for information professionals across the country.

Scientific and Technical Writing: Wrote and/or edited

§         Technical and content guides for databases in physics, computer science, finance, etc.

§         Application-centered instructional manuals for chemical research and intellectual property. “Field guide” series was first of its kind and expanded to multiple industry-focused self-instruction guides.

§         Information publisher specifications for database macromodels and data transmissions. Guidelines became basis for core standards for file structures.

Software Testing and Usability Assessment: Selected projects include

§         Full-text relevance ranking algorithm, testing, and assessment. Algorithm is still used for relevance and de-duplication determination in core products.

 

 

   1982 to 1989

Manager, Instructional Services, Knight-Ridder Information/Dialog, Palo Alto, CA

Managed worldwide customer training programs and seminar materials for customer base of over 100,000 users and 50 instructors.

§         During tenure, seminar attendance grew tenfold and department created and marketed for the first time self-instructional programs, including computer-based tutorials, self-paced video training, and self-study manuals.

§         Personally conducted over 2,000 hours of customer seminar on topics of online searching, scientific reference research, and database construction. Presented in-house courses for company’s technical staff.

§         Directed creation of all training materials, including hiring of outside contractors. Supervised five employees and served as liaison to all regional offices.

 

 

  

Customer Consultant & Trainer; Sci-Tech Database Specialist

§         Provided direct customer support and training for databases in physics and engineering.

§         Served as subject matter expert on development teams for new scientific databases.

 

 

   1978 to 1982

Head Librarian & Bibliographer, Physics Library, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

One of Stanford’s research branch libraries, serving a primary clientele of 100 faculty, 150 research staff, and 225 graduate students.

§         Managed all operations of library: 40,000+-volume research collection, library staff, collection development, and faculty liaison.

§         Earned university tenure one year early due to outstanding performance.

 

 

Commendations

 

§     Award of Excellence Nominee 2003, Thomson Company

§     Conference Speaker, International Online Conference, Sydney, Australia

§     Guest Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley, School of Information Sciences

§     California Arts Council Recipient, interviewing/broadcasting female composers

§     Who’s Who of American Women

§      American Society for Information Science, Best Paper Award, Student Member

 

 

Community Service

 

§     Advisory Board, Paralegal Studies, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham WA

  • Board Member, Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, Bellingham WA
  • Volunteer, LAW (Legal Aid Whatcom) Advocates, Bellingham WA

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