Fisher, Julieta Dias 1947–

PERSONAL: Born January 1, 1947, in Mombasa, Kenya; naturalized U.S. citizen, 1976; daughter of Roque Felix (a Portuguese diplomat) and Silvia Asucena (de Menezes) Dias; married, 1971; children: Joscelyn Elizabeth, Ian Benjamin. Education: Attended Royal Irish Academy of Music, 1959–63; Immaculata College, Washington, DC, A.A., 1966; attended University of Lisbon, 1967, 1968; American University, B.A., 1968; Glassboro State College, M.A., 1975; also attended University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, and Rowan University, 1996. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, reading, travel, music, dancing.

ADDRESSES: Office—Washington Township High School, 519 Hurffville-Crosskeys Rd., Sewell, NJ 08080. E-mail—jfisher@wtps.org.

CAREER: Writer and librarian. American Security and Trust Co., Washington, DC, bank teller, 1968–69; International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now World Bank), Washington, DC, records assistant and classifier, 1969–71; Southwest Citizens' Organization for Poverty Elimination, Glassboro, NJ, director of Glassboro area center, 1973–74; McCowan Memorial Library, Pitman, NJ, senior library clerk, 1977–83, assistant director, 1983–87; Washington Township School District, Sewell, NJ, school librarian and media specialist at Wedgewood Elementary School, 1987–89, Orchard Valley Middle School, 1989–97, and Washington Township High School, 1997–. Rowan University, librarian at Schaub Curriculum Lab, 1987; Camden County College, reference librarian, 2000–03; workshop presenter. Member of Washington Township District Multicultural Committee, member, 1991–, Washington Township Technology Committee, 19987#x2013;, Washington Township Acceptable Use Committee, 1998–, and Cultural and Heritage Commission of Gloucester County, NY, 2001–03; volunteer for Pitman Manor and Literacy Volunteers of America.

MEMBER: American Library Association, National Education Association, Educational Association of New Jersey, Tri-County Educational Media Association, Camden County Educational Media Association (member of executive board, 1997–99).

AWARDS, HONORS: Progressive Media Award, New Jersey Educational Media Association, 1999.

WRITINGS:

(With Ann M. Hill) Tooting Your Own Horn: Web-Based Public Relations for the Twenty-first Century Librarian, Linworth Publications (Worthington, OH), 2002.

(Editor and contributor) Ready to Present, Linworth Publications (Worthington, OH), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Library Media Connection, New Jersey Library Association Newsletter, and Library Talk.

SIDELIGHTS: Julieta Dias Fisher told CA: "I was an avid reader from the time I was a little girl. I devoured books with the same frequency as I did the plentiful bananas in Kenya! At the age of eleven I went to an Irish boarding school in Dublin, where I completed my secondary education. In Ireland, books were my sole companions and my solace against homesickness for my family in Mombasa. Books of all kinds have been my drug of choice throughout my life. Because of the different locales where I have lived, from equatorial to temperate, my readings and writings reflect the flavor of multicultural and cross-cultural similarities as well as differences. I am in the process of writing about these at the moment.

"Aside from reading, I love cooking various types of meals, traveling, music (piano), and dancing. I have traveled extensively to such places as Austria, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, England, France, Germany, Greece, Goa, India, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, and Turkey. I am fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and proficient in French and Italian.

"As a librarian, I was fortunate to work with a colleague, Ann M. Hill, whose expertise as a teacher complemented my lack of it. Together we were responsible for creating a twenty-first-century library. In the process of incorporating the latest technology, we wanted to share our exciting experiences with colleagues. We conducted various workshops for our school district, librarian associations, and the New Jersey Department of Education. From these experiences came our articles and our book on using technology to publicize libraries and all they accomplish."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Multimedia Schools, October, 2003, Jean Reese, review of Tooting Your Own Horn: Web-Based Public Relations for the Twenty-first Century Librarian, p. 46.

School Library Journal, December, 2003, Jessica Foster, review of Tooting Your Own Horn, p. 180.