Eliot Finkelstein Retires

Eliot Finkelstein, who has been part of the UW–Madison Libraries community for nearly 30 years – first as a graduate student assistant and then as College Library’s Instruction Coordinator for over 20 years – is retiring from the Libraries. His final day at College Library is January 9, 2026.

Eliot’s first role in the Libraries was serving as a student Collection Developer for the Recreational Reading Collection at College Library. Eliot was then hired as an Advanced Library Services Assistant at Steenbock Library before transferring over to College Library as an Advanced Library Services Assistant in the summer of 1998. Eliot became an Associate Academic Librarian in December of 1998 and began serving as Instruction Coordinator in 2003.

At the start of his career, Eliot served on the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) Issues Committee for nearly a decade, earning the beloved moniker “Mr. MadCat.” Eliot was also integral to the launch of the Open Book Café and its collections, serving on the team that spearheaded the development and implementation of a library café and an expanded popular materials collection (and coming full circle with his first student position at College Library). Eliot also served as the leader of the College Library Instruction Committee and as a Teaching & Learning Council representative (under various iterations of that group) since 2003. He’s served as chair of the Communication A Requirement Committee (Com-Core) since 2009. Through this essential work, Eliot has helped shape campus information literacy programs that reach thousands of undergraduate students annually. 

Eliot’s many lasting impacts to information literacy instruction at UW-Madison include co-developing the Sift & Winnow online tutorial, serving as liaison and information literacy instructor for the Odyssey Project and Odyssey Beyond Bars, and mentoring innumerable future professionals through his service to the iSchool and the Information Specialist Internship Program (ISIP). Eliot served as an instructor for several SLIS/iSchool classes including Reference Sources and Services 571 and the instruction practicum course, Field Project in Library & Information Literacy Instruction 826. Eliot’s wide-ranging contributions were recognized in 2020 with his receipt of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Service to the University.

Eliot’s commitment to the profession has extended both nationally with presentations at LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) and across the state through his service to the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), the Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians (WAAL) and local school districts. Eliot was a presenter for the WLA Notable Books Program, featuring the American Library Association/Wisconsin Library Association award-winning books, for over a decade, and served as a member and then as chair of the WAAL Information Literacy Committee for many years. Eliot presented on topics related to information literacy at the Teaching & Learning Symposium, WAAL & WLA Conferences, the Greater Madison Writing Project’s High School to College Writing Symposium, the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association Conference, and more. Eliot collaborated with numerous local school districts, including Madison Metropolitan, Sun Prairie and Mount Horeb, to bring countless high school students to campus for information literacy instruction.

Eliot’s been a supportive and welcoming colleague to staff at College Library and across the Libraries and campus community. Eliot takes the lead in planning trivia and other fun activities for events like the annual College Library Accomplishments Event, contributing to our positive workplace culture. Eliot was awarded the Librarian of the Year Award in 2005, served on the Librarians’ Assembly Steering Committee, and co-chaired the Equity and Diversity Training & Education Subcommittee. Above all else, Eliot’s been unceasingly kind and generous in sharing his expertise, time, and creativity over his decades of service to the UW-Madison Libraries. Please join us in congratulating Eliot on his many accomplishments and wishing him all the best in the future.