GEORGE D'ELIA, associate professor in the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and former director of that university's library school, has been named professor and director of the new Center for Applied Research in Library and Information Science (CARLIS) at UB. He assumed his responsibilities in August.

The announcement was made by George S. Bobinski, dean of the UB School of Information and Library Studies, which houses the center.

D'Elia will be responsible for establishing the center and developing its ability to link the research and service capabilities of UB faculty and students with the research needs of libraries and other information agencies throughout the United States.

Bobinski described D'Elia as "a widely known and respected scholar in the fields of public library service evaluation, user studies and studies of information systems. He has assisted major public libraries in improving user satisfaction and in effectively marketing library programs and services.

"In recent years," said Bobinski, "D'Elia has also completed major studies on the design and evaluation of integrated information centers in the academic environment."

The UB School of Information and Library Studies has moved in new directions recently. Its master's degree program in library science and its new doctoral program have forged formal partnerships and collaborations with UB's University Libraries, as well as with other libraries and information agencies in the region and across New York State.

Bobinski said these partnerships are in keeping with two of the school's missions: helping libraries meet the challenges of the information revolution, and making greater use of libraries as laboratories for UB students and faculty.

He said the new center will be an important force in maintaining these new relationships and collaborations and will enhance the doctoral program as well.

D'Elia holds a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree and doctorate in librarianship from Rutgers University. He also holds a master's degree in statistics from Syracuse University. Before joining the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1978, he was a library consultant, taught at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies and served as the head of circulation at Norlin Library at the University of Colorado.

He has conducted research projects funded by the Council on Library Resources and the U.S. Department of Education. D'Elia has published widely in his field, winning the Library Research Round Table Research Paper of the Year Award in 1980, 1982 and 1984, and the Association of Library and Information Science Education Research Paper of the Year Award in 1990.

He is a reader for six library and information science research journals, including the Journal of Academic Librarianship and Library Quarterly. He is active in the American Library Association and the Association of Library and Information Science Education, in which he has held several elected and appointed positions.