Karen B. Nichols

Assistant Professor, Mary & John Gray Library
Adjunct Instructor, Department of Communication
Office: GL 103
Phone: 409-880-8131
Email: karen.nichols@lamar.edu 

Education

• M.S. in Library Science, University of North Texas, 1988
• M.S. in Speech/Communication, Lamar University, 1983
• B.S. in Speech/Theatre, Lamar University, 1980

Ms. Nichols serves as coordinator of Reference Services for the Mary & John Gray Library at Lamar. She supervises the reference services for the library which includes scheduling the reference faculty and staff to serve the students, faculty and staff of Lamar in the reference office. She also oversees the first floor computer lab and printing services, and developed and taught the LIBR 1101 credit course for many years. Ms. Nichols has worked at the Lamar library since 1991, and has served as inter-library loan librarian, electronic reference services librarian, and instruction coordinator. Prior to coming back to Lamar, she served as public services librarian at Galveston College.

As an adjunct for in the Department of Communication, Ms. Nichols teaches public speaking, but has also been called upon to teach organizational communication and communication law. She also serves as an instructor for LAMAR 1101, the University Success course.

Research interests include information literacy, the impact of the library on learning and retention, communication in organizations and various popular culture topics. In her spare time, she plays the wash tub bass in a gospel blue grass band and sings in the Chancel Choir for the traditional service at the United Methodist Temple in Port Arthur. She also has four four-legged kids, dogs Jasper, Coco and Rusty, and a cat named Frank. You can also find her on the first floor of the library during finals sponsoring the local therapy dog group and watching students give a wide variety of belly rubs to therapy dogs of all varieties - small (poodle, Shih Tzu) to large (English mastiff, Great Dane).