Now retired, Judith Siess is a recognized expert in one-person librarianship and interpersonal networking. She spent nearly all of her library career in solo libraries in industries as diverse as industrial process automation, aerospace, agricultural economics, and biotechnology. Judith is the author of four books and has written article for American Libraries ("Flying SOLO: Librarian Manage Thyself," February 1999), AALL Spectrum ("The Future of SOLO Librarianship," October 1997), Searcher ("If I Ruled the World…Library Schools Would," September 1994 and "Beyond Information Brokering," February 1997) and other library journals.

Judith received her M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982. She is active in the Special Libraries Association (USA), having been a member since 1980. She was the first chair of the SOLO Librarians Division of SLA, now the fourth largest division in the Association with over 1000 members. Siess has also served in various positions at the chapter, division, and association level. She founded the Agricultural Economics Reference Organization with over 50 members at universities throughout the world. She is also a member of the Medical Libraries Association (USA), Church and Synagogue Libraries Association (USA). the American Association of Law Librarians, the Australian Library and Information Association, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (UK), the Library and Information Association of South Africa, the Library and Information Association of New Zealand, the Israeli Society of Libraries and Information Centers, the Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centers, and Beta Phi Mu, the international library science honorary.

Ms. Siess has presented continuing professional education programs on One-Person Librarianship for the Special Libraries Association, the Medical Library Association, the Australian Library and Information Association, Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut in Germany, the US State Department, Computers in Libraries 98, the annual conferences of the Nebraska, Iowa and New Mexico library associations, and for many other library groups in the USA, Canada, and New Zealand. She was a member of the first People-to-People Citizen Ambassador delegation on Information Management and Special Librarianship to the Republic of South Africa in 1996.

Another major interest of Judith's is library education. She has made presentations on education for SOLO librarianship to the library schools at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kent State University in Ohio, and Queens College (New York) University. She has been a guest lecturer on entrepreneurial librarianship at Simmons College (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Kent State University (Ohio). She has served as a mentor for members of the Solo Librarians and Science-Technology Divisions of the Special Libraries Association and, informally, for students from Illinois and Ohio.