Education

Ph.D., Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University
M.Ed., Adult Education, Pennsylvania State University
MLS, Master of Library Services, Rutgers University
B.A., Communication, Rutgers University

Background

Nicole Cooke is the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and a professor at the School of Library and Information Science. She was a practicing librarian for 13 years before completing her Ph.D., She has experience in public, medical and academic libraries.

Awards

A highly sought-after speaker and consultant, Cooke has delivered keynote addresses and workshops nationally and internationally, working with libraries, schools and professional organizations to advance equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the ALA’s Equality and Achievement in Library Diversity Research Awards from ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services; ALA’s Lippincott Award; the ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award; the Downs Intellectual Freedom Award; and recognition as a Library Journal “Mover & Shaker” for her leadership in EDISJ initiatives.

Research

Cooke’s research and teaching interests include human information behavior, fake news consumption and resistance, critical cultural information studies, and diversity and social justice in librarianship.

Funded Research

IMLS - Enhancing Professional Development for Library Professionals Through Storytelling (2026-2028)
IMLS - Building Radical Empathy (2023-2025)
IMLS - The Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program (2022-2026)

Teaching

Whenever possible, learning should be relevant and accessible to learners. Content should be manageable and digestible, and hopefully, learners will be able to recognize the applicability of the course content to their lives and their work. To that end, Cooke believes that active, participatory, and hands-on interaction makes the learning environment more interesting, enjoyable and more relevant to the learner.

She also believes that content without reflection and consideration prevents the formation of knowledge. Learners should be prodded to really think about the content and why it's appropriate to their lives.

Teaching and learning are lifelong and collaborative processes.

Recent Publications

Cooke is the author of Information Services to Diverse Populations (Libraries Unlimited, 2016; ALA Editions, 2026), Fake News and Alternative Facts: Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era (ALA Editions, 2018), and The Legacy of Black Women in Librarianship: When They Dared to be Powerful (ALA Editions, 2025). She has also edited multiple collections which have become essential readings in critical LIS discourse.

Service

Cooke is professionally active in ALA, the Association of Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and several other professional library organizations and publications. She is co-editor of the journal Libraries: Culture, History, and Society.

Personal

Through her publications, mentorship, and public scholarship, Cooke challenges LIS professionals and educators to cultivate critical awareness, disrupt inequities and build more inclusive institutions. Her work continues to shape the profession, advancing both scholarship and practice toward a more just and liberatory future.

Pronouns

She, her, hers, herself