Skip to main content

Accessibility menu

Skip to main content Skip to footer

Profile for Theresa Holford

Theresa Holford profile photo

Contact me

Theresa Holford

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Associate Professor
University Library University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

FriendlyFace badge
Multilingual badge
Accessibility badge

Theresa Holford Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Associate Professor

University Library

Specialty area(s)

Education Liaison Librarian (Children's Literature, PK-12 Teacher Training & Information Literacy)

Serve as the primary liaison to the School of Education (SOE) and the main channel of communication between Murphy Library and PK–12 stakeholders. Provide leadership and oversight for the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center (AHCC), including its collections, space, educational services, and programming.  

 

 

 

 

Brief biography

I started working at UWL in 2009 in Murphy Library's Special Collections and Area Research Center where I became involved with campus, local and public history initiatives. In 2012, I transitioned as Assistant Professor Academic Engagement and Curriculum Collection Librarian.  Reaching out and building bridges with the community of La Crosse and beyond, my interests include everything children's literature, connecting teacher candidates to the learning that happens in stories, introducing college bound high school seniors to information literacy at the college level and using storytelling to create narratives to share with stakeholders. If you are having a rough day, come over to the Curriculum Center on the 2nd floor of the library and read a kid's book. Guaranteed improvement. 

Education

M.L.S. UW Madison (Library & Information Science)

B.A. UW Madison (French and ESL/Spanish concentration)

Career

Teaching history

UWL 100 (2012-2016); First Year Seminar (2023)

Professional history

Librarian Murphy Library UW La Crosse

English Professor Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle Beauvais, France

 

Research and publishing

Holford, T., Iwai, Y. Librarian–faculty teaching partnerships: Preservice teachers hands-on learning about representation in picture books. Journal of Teaching and Learning (JTL). (Submitted: December 19, 2025). 

 

Holford, T. (2026). How is Diversity Counted? What Counts as Diversity? : An Academic Library 

Picture Book Diversity Analysis. Education Libraries. (Submitted: September 15, 

2025, Accepted: March 2026, Published: July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2026). https://

educationlibraries.mcgill.ca

 

Iwai, Y., Holford, T. (2026). Diversity content analysis in children's picture books: Preservice teachers’ engagement through a diverse book project. Journal of Education and Practice (JEP), 17(1), 56-71. (Submitted: January 5, 2026, Accepted: January 2026, Published: February 2026)

Holford, T. (2022). Friendly Finding Aid:  A Collaborative Way to Build Primary Source Research Foundations. ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries). (Submitted: July 1, 2019, Accepted: October 2019, Published: July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2022). 

Holford, T., Nurnberg-Haag, J., Byrk, K. (2019). A Ball Is Not a Circle: How to Spot Mathematical Inaccuracies to Improve and Use Shape Book Collections. Teacher Librarian, 1(47), 8-13. (Accepted: August 2018, Published: October (4th Quarter/Autumn) 2019). 

Kudos

published

Yuko Iwai, Educational Studies, and Theresa Holford, Murphy Library, co-authored the article "Diversity Content Analysis in Children’s Picture Books: Preservice Teachers’ Engagement through a Diverse Book Project" in the Journal of Education & Practice, published on Feb. 9 by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE).

Submitted on: Feb. 10

served

Taylor Cole Miller, Communication Studies; Valerie Krage, Educational Studies; Teri Holford and Kendall Morgan, both Murphy Library; Pete Rydberg, Visual & Performing Arts; and Kjerstin Lang, University Marketing & Communications; served on the TEDxUWLaCrosse committee. The group planned and organized a successful TEDxUWLaCrosse event on Oct. 10, 2024, in The Bluffs, Student Union. Their dedication to fostering thought-provoking dialogue not only enriches the university community but also engages the broader public. One third of the attendees were from the wider La Crosse community. Thank you to the committee for making TEDxUWLaCrosse a memorable and inspiring experience for a full house of attendees.

Submitted on: Oct. 14, 2024

presented

Teri Holford, Murphy Library, presented "Course Design: Adapting to College-There's a Picture Book for That" at Fostering Dialogue: Teaching Children's Literature at University on Nov. 18 online. This course design section of the second international online conference, originally conceived and hosted by the University of Padua (Italy), was hosted this year by Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Submitted on: Nov. 23, 2022

published

Patricia Stovey and Tiffany Trimmer, both History; and Laura Godden and Teri Holford, both Murphy Library; co-authored the chapter "Friendly Finding Aid: A Collaborative Way to Build Primary Source Research Foundations" in Embracing Change: Alternatives to Traditional Research Writing Assignments published on July 11 by The Association of College & Research Libraries.

Submitted on: July 16, 2022

published

Teri Holford, Murphy Library, co-authored the article "A Ball Is Not a Circle How to Spot Mathematical Inaccuracies to Improve and Use Shape Book Collections" in "Teacher Librarian: the Journal for School Library Professionals" published on Jan. 9 by Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Citation: NURNBERGER-HAAG, J., HOLFORD, T. L., BRYK, K. M., STROZYK, H., HARDER, M., & DAVIDSAVER, K. (2019). A Ball Is Not a Circle: How to Spot Mathematical Inaccuracies to Improve and Use Shape Book Collections. Teacher Librarian, 47(1), 8–13.

Submitted on: Jan. 10, 2020

served

Teri Holford and Elizabeth Humrickhouse served as local conference organizers and hosted the third annual Conference About Libraries and Learning (C.A.L.L.) for area librarians (school, public, academic and special). Keynote Sarah Johnson, Mental Health Director at the La Crosse Area Family YMCA, spoke on this year's theme "Self-Care and the Emotional Labor of Librarianship".

Submitted on: May 6, 2019

presented

Linda Jerome, La Crosse Public Library; Cindy Halter, La Crosse School District Central High School; and Teri Holford and Liz Humrickhouse, both Murphy Library; presented "Stronger Together: Breaking Down Library Silos" at Wisconsin Library Association on Oct. 31, 2018 in La Crosse, WI. Why don't libraries of different types work together more often? Learn from the planning team of the Conference About Libraries & Learning about how they developed this conference which brings together librarians from public, school, academic and special libraries. Participants will discover why it's crucial for libraries of all types to collaborate and support each other, how to enrich their own personal learning network and gain perspective about how they fit into the larger library ecosystem.

Submitted on: Oct. 31, 2018

presented

Cindy Halter, La Crosse School District Central High School, and Teri Holford, Murphy Library, presented "Apples and Oranges: Comparing the ACRL and AASL Literacy Standards" at Wisconsin Library Association on Oct. 31, 2018 in La Crosse, WI. The Association of College Research Libraries (ACRL) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) recently published new information literacy standards. Holford and Halter gave a brief historic glance at the concept information literacy and how it grew to international awareness, and looked at both sets of new standards to spot any commonalities, differences, how they might compare, and what it means to librarians from different fields of librarianship.

Submitted on: Oct. 31, 2018

presented

Teri Holford, Murphy Library, and Barry McKnight, La Crosse Public Library, presented "The Alternative Truth Project and Banned Books: La Crosse Librarians Unite to Tell the Forgotten Story of a Librarian Hero" at Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians (WAAL) on April 27, 2018 in Oshkosh, WI. The collaborative library engagement team representing Murphy Library and the La Crosse Public Library presented at the state academic librarian conference on their participation in The Alternative Truth Project during Banned Books Week in 2017. Alabama Story, written by New York playwright Kenneth Jones, was chosen as their play of the month. Based on the true 1959 story of Alabama State Librarian Emily Reed, it covers a charged atmosphere of segregation, civil rights, racism, and banned books. Part courtroom thriller (based on historic factual events), the play brings to light various subjects that are close to any librarian’s heart: censorship, equal access to information, public funding, freedom of speech, professional organizations’ support of the profession, and what it really means to be a librarian.

Submitted on: May 10, 2018

presented

Teri Holford, Murphy Library, and Dawn Wacek, La Crosse Public, presented "TEDx and Eliminating Library Fines: An Idea Worth Spreading" at Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians on April 27, 2018 in Oshkosh, WI. Teri Holford and Dawn Wacek presented at the state academic librarian conference on the research backed recommendation of eliminating library fines as a way to bolster access to information and break down the link between poverty and early literacy.This presentation demonstrated UWL’s Murphy Library’s role in the co-creation and maintenance of the TEDx presence on campus, and share the experience of a community public librarian stepping up on the TED red circle to promote an idea that rings true to all librarians.

Submitted on: May 10, 2018

Important links

Theresa Holford's office hours

Thursday
9 a.m. to 10 a.m.