Ruth Kertzer Seidman

Welcome to my web page. I am an information professional, recently retired from the MIT Libraries, with a lively interest in the arts, women's issues, creative writing, good causes, travel, Judaic studies, and my family.

Women's Life

• Past Chair (1999-2001), Board of Directors, Our Bodies, Ourselves (formerly Boston Women's Health Book Collective)
• Former Federal Women's Program Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Active in women's spirituality work
  • Lessons from the Mothers (poem)
  • Esther Rome, 1945-1995; Making Better Lives for Women
  • Bat Mitzvah in 1951
  • Elul--Spiritual Preparation
• Child care advocate; founder of two child care centers

The Arts

• Reading: novels, U.S. and British mysteries, biography, essays, contemporary politics, anything about Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury
• Boston theater, museums, symphonic and chamber music
• Contemporary visual arts
• Liturgical music; Women Cantor's Network

Good Causes

• Boston Cure Project, a national nonprofit whose mission is to cure Multiple Sclerosis by determining what causes it
• Jewish Women's Archive uncovers, chronicles, and communicates the rich legacy of Jewish women and their contributions
• Micah House, a nonprofit organization established by Temple Micah, located in NorthWest Washington DC, that provides temporary shelter and help for previously homeless women
• Project Linus, provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through gifts of new, handmade blankets created by volunteer “blanketeers”

Family

• Spouse Aaron, illustrator and computer programmer
• Son Dan, daughter-in-law Ilana Mainelli, grandson Teddy
• Son Josh and daughter-in-law Jocelyn Guyer, grandsons Ben, Leo, and Ryan
• Family History Research
  • Maternal grandfather, R.J. Hoffman
  • Father, Rabbi M. N. Kertzer's role in liberation of Rome, 1944

Old School Ties

• Brown University, undergraduate degree and favorite of Kertzer-Seidman clan
• Harvard University, Davis Center, Master's in Area Studies
• Case Western Reserve University, Master's in Library Science
• Hebrew College, Master's in Judaic Studies
• Emerson College, graduate courses in public relations and communications

Career Highlights

• MIT Libraries
  • Communications Coordinator, 1999-2003
  • Head, Engineering and Science Libraries, 1988-1999
• Past editor of the Haworth Press, Inc. quarterly journal Science & Technology Libraries, 1994-2001
• Author of Building Global Partnerships for Library Cooperation, Special Libraries Association, 1993.
• Past president of Special Libraries Association, 1990-1991; Hall of Fame, 2004
• Director, Research Library, U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, 1982-1988
• Librarian, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region I (New England), 1970-1982
• Librarian, Harvard University Russian Research Center, 1964-1965

Professional Interests and Goals

• Improving communication between information providers and information users
• Integrating traditional with electronic library services
• Fostering core information competencies for students, faculty, researchers
• Developing cooperative activities among different types of libraries
• Family and work issues
• International exchange of information

Publications--Library and Information Science