Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson served as Kentucky State Librarian and Commissioner of the Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) for 26 years. Jim was also active with the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), serving as Treasurer and chairing its Legislative Committee. He was President of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies in ALA and a longtime board member of the Kentucky Library Association, receiving its "Lifetime Achievement Award,” the highest award given by the association. During his tenure as State Librarian, Jim served on, and chaired, the Kentucky Information Resources Management Commission. He also served on the ConnectKentucky Steering Committee, which dramatically expanded broadband communications in Kentucky through a community-based model. 
 
After retirement, Jim was the Senior Library Consultant at Connected Nation, a national broadband company based in Kentucky, during their work on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant to help bring sustainable broadband technologies to local public libraries in 26 states. Jim also served on, and chaired, the Board of Directors for the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET), the largest regional library resource sharing network in the nation, serving over 2,500 libraries in 10 southeastern states and the Caribbean. Jim received his MSLS from the University of Kentucky and later worked there and at the University of Wisconsin. Jim received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the College of Library and Information Science at UK in 1985. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board for the College of Communication and Information at UK and was its first chair. In 2006, he joined Global and was a founder of Global’s Kentucky Library Initiative.