Who We Are

The CLCD Company reflects the new way work can be done today. By that I mean that the company does not have expensive corporate headquarters or a large staff. Since our product The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database is Internet based, there is no need for programmers, sales reps, help desk personnel, editors and the like to be in one location or to even be a part of the staff. Each of our business associates has his or her own company/business and together we develop, maintain and provide what we believe is one of the most comprehensive databases of information related to children’s and young adult materials available today.

The following provides a look at the background and qualifications of the principal participants in CLCD.

Marilyn Courtot, President of the CLCD Company, is a librarian with an M.S. in Library Science from The Catholic University of America and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland. Since 1993 Ms. Courtot has been the owner of Children’s Literature, a service that for a decade provided a print newsletter featuring the best in children’s literature. More recently, Ms. Courtot was instrumental in forming a sister organization, The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database Company (CLCD) which has taken the reviews from Children’s Literature and augmented them with the reviews of more than 35 additional review media to provide an Internet based acquisition, research, and reference service. Its subscribers include schools, libraries, colleges, publishers and booksellers. In addition, for the last ten years Ms. Courtot has worked with local schools, libraries and conferences to identify authors for speaking engagements and manages book sales at these events. She has also served on various children’s literature awards committees and is a member of numerous organizations among which are Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, The Children’s Book Guild of Washington DC, American Library Association, and the Association of Booksellers for Children.

Robert (Bob) Asleson, Vice President Business Development for CLCD, was formerly president of R. R. Bowker, UMI, International Thomson Information Inc. and The Library Corporation. One of the important roles that Bob serves is to keep an eye on industry trends, maintain contacts with industry leaders and provide suggestions and recommendations for enhancements to the CLCD database. Bob was instrumental in developing CLCD business relationships with companies such as SIRSI and AutoGraphics. In that regard you will probably see Bob at every major trade show in the US related to libraries and database content providers. Bob has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and a JD from The George Washington University. He is currently Chairman of Paratext LLC and is a member of an Advisory Board for Unlimited Opportunities.

Charles (Charlie) Wyman of Charles R. Wyman Associates provides consulting services on technical issues related to the Children's Literature databases, print products, and its web site. His career includes thirty years at the United States Senate much of which was involved with development and maintenance of the Senate legislative information systems. This expertise has led to the development of software to convert the myriad formats of data received from the 35 plus review sources that comprise CLCD. Charlie is the person who pulls it all into a format that can then be loaded into the database. In addition, he has been instrumental in designing the search and help screens and is one of the key individuals with whom we consult regarding new requests from customers to refine or enhance the search capabilities of CLCD. Charlie did his undergraduate work at Carleton College and has a Masters in Physics from the University of Illinois.

Dean Wilder is a library automation consultant specializing in Public Access Catalog applications and search engine design. He recently retired from the Library of Congress after 21 years of project development activities. Dean is the one who makes the search engine do all of the wonderful things it does – such as letting you limit your searches to books published by a specific publisher or during a specific year or by a particular author. One of the clever aspects of his work for CLCD includes the ability to search in American or Canadian/British English and come up with the same results since the system automatically pairs words like color and colour. His current focus is on the refinement of search engines to provide users with a better way to evaluate the relative value of hits.

Dr. Ajay Gupte has been working in the Library Automation industry since 1988 starting in Library Corporation, Inwood, WV. He was intimately involved with the MARC data updates and with library data in the early years. Later, he was responsible for the second generation of the Public Access Catalog and was instrumental in development of the associated production system. Ajay has diverse computer software industry experience having worked as a senior manager in a number of global organizations such as SAIC, Hughes Aircraft, Raytheon, Convera and MYOB. Even so, Ajay is very hands on and has supported the underlying database at Children's Literature since its inception 1997. Ajay has a doctorate in Computer Science from George Washington University and a masters from George Mason University in the same field. He also has a bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Peggy Fulton received her MLS from Syracuse University and has been involved with automated library systems and database development for over thirty years. Peggy has worked in libraries as well as for Gaylord Bros. and The Library Corporation. With her attention to detail she maintains the Select Books database for CLCD.

Sharon Salluzzo, Publicity and Marketing Director, received her MLS from SUNY Geneseo in 1975. She was a children's librarian at the Penfield (NY) Public Library for nineteen years. As a children’s literature specialist she worked with a private school in Rochester, NY to establish their core library collection. She was a Visiting Instructor at Nazareth College of Rochester where she taught graduate courses in children’s literature in the Education Department. Sharon believes there is a book for each child that opens the world of knowledge and our duty, as adults, is to present a broad range of literature, fiction and nonfiction, to children so they will experience the excitement of learning. To this end, Sharon has been a conference speaker and a teacher in-service trainer. While living in Maryland, she was the storyteller-in-residence at The Harbor School (MD) and Green Hedges School (VA) where she shared traditional folktales and recommended contemporary literature to the students. She was a board member of Capitol Choices. Sharon continues to tell stories as a member of the Genesee Storytellers in Rochester, NY. She currently reviews books for Children's Literature and is a member of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC and the ALSC Quicklist committee.

Joseph Cavallo is responsible for CLCD sales in the U.S. northeast. He has more than 30 years of sales and sales management experience starting with the Xerox Business and Information Division in 1962. He later moved to The Xerox Publishing Group’s University Microfilms Internation (UMI) where he sold to the Library community in the Northeast before assuming the position as National Sales Manager. Joe later directed the sales efforts for Edwards Brothers Corporation’s offices in New York City and Boston. He was also Director of Sales for Softline Information of Stamford Connecticut until their acquisition by Proquest in 2001. Joe resides in Northport, NY and graduated from New York University.

Sheilah Egan became a school librarian in 1969, delighting in sharing her own love of reading with students in preK through 7th grade. Even though she has retired from A Likely Story Children’s Bookstore (where she was the “Story Lady” for 21 years), she is still committed to exposing children to the joys of reading. She gives presentations for parents and children as well as speaking to teacher training classes and in-service programs for established teachers. All of which allows her to keep a finger on the pulse of children’s literature. Sheilah is the Mid-Atlantic Sales Representative for CLCD. She also served as President and on the board of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, and her membership in The Washington Children’s Book Guild is another way she stays connected to the authors and illustrators who create the books she loves so dearly.

Gary Gibson is the founder and President of Gibson Library Connections (GLC), an electronic publisher and sales agency serving the Canadian library market. Since entering the information industry in the early 1980s, Gary has held a number of management positions, with responsibilities in the areas of sales, marketing, product development and client/vendor relations. During the 1980s he developed and managed the Technical Information Centre for Micromedia Limited, bringing new and innovative services to Canadian and International research and library communities. In the 1990s he added the role of Director of Sales for Micromedia, pioneering consortia approaches to database licensing and extending the penetration of both proprietary products and the numerous international vendors they represented. Valuable international experience was added in 2000 as Regional Manager, Australia & New Zealand for SilverPlatter Information, before returning to Canada in 2001 as Regional Director for Ovid Technologies. In 2002 Gary decided to strike out on his own and founded GLC. He has been a frequent speaker at information industry conferences and an active member and supporter of the Canadian Library Association. Gary represents CLCD in Canada, serving college and university clients from coast to coast through site visits, attendance at key library conferences, and targeted electronic communications. For further information visit www.gibsonlibraryconnections.ca.

Neil Howie has over 25 years of experience in sales and management. Neil&146;s roles in the distribution and sales of books and electronic databases to libraries include: sales, sales management and company president. At NCCI, a computer consulting firm, Neil was executive vice president and was involved in leading computer projects in healthcare, municipal government, financial community and private sector organizations. In the early years of decentralized computing, Neil designed and taught courses on the management of information technology for the Canadian Institute of Management. He has also been a business instructor at Brock University, in Canada. In 2006, Neil set up his own small company Learn Tools to assist digital and print supplier sell their products into the Canadian school and library market. Neil is responsible for sales of CLCD database to primary and secondary schools and public libraries in Canada.

Richard (Dick) Stine brings many years of experience holding various marketing, sales and management positions in the library/information marketplace. Previously, he held a management position with the 3M Company. He joined Information Design as VP of Sales and became President introducing innovative products to the academic and public library markets. He worked with the U.S. Postal Service in developing and distributing an expanded zip-code database to service centers throughout the United States. Later, Dick joined Contact North America as the Director of Sales for introducing a New Zealand integrated library system to the US market. As a consultant for SIRS, he explored expansion of their services to other markets. Dick has also worked as Director of Sales for Total Security US, a company offering consulting and security products to the Homeland Security Market. Dick has a B.S. degree in Business Management from Elizabethtown College. He has been an area representative for CLCD since 2002 primarily covering the southeast. Dick's philosophy for assisting both prospects and customers is to provide the best possible response and follow up support to meet their needs.

A. J. Boggs and Company is the developer of the CatSearch Engine was developed by A. J. Boggs & Company, a systems integration company that provides software development services to business, the medical field, and local and federal government agencies. CatSearch is a sophisticated tool to help find information across large databases. Staff at A. J. Boggs are instrumental in keeping the database running and also currently provide the Help Desk Service for CLCD.

Hodgson Consulting, one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s premiere Web development and interactive technology firms, provides businesses and organizations with Web-based tools and solutions essential to achieving their strategic objectives. Hodgson provides Web design and development, marketing strategy and support, and monthly web administration services to Children’s Literature and CLCD.