Drawing upon more than five decades of professional expertise, Melanie L. Freese is distinguished for her longstanding tenure in education and lasting impact on young students across New York. Since 1990, she has served as an associate professor of library services at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where she demonstrates her breadth of knowledge in cataloging materials for the university’s Curriculum Materials Center and serves as a mentor for numerous colleagues. Ms. Freese joined the faculty at Hofstra University in 1984 as a senior catalog librarian, serving in this role until the present day. She also thrived as the assistant dean and chair of technical services in the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library between 1999 and 2001.
Previously, Ms. Freese served as an elementary school teacher in Roosevelt and Massapequa, New York, between 1967 and 1971. Following this tenure, she began working for Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, in several roles until 1983, including as an assistant to the social work librarian, an assistant to the acquisitions librarian, a biographical researcher, a reserve librarian and a circulation assistant. Throughout her career, Ms. Freese has contributed her plethora of knowledge and expertise to many civic endeavors, having served as a past member and president of the board of advisors of Business and Professional Women of Nassau County Inc. and a former member of the board of directors and past president of the Academic and Special Libraries Division of the Nassau County Library Association. She has also been a Sunday school teacher, librarian and lector at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Baldwin, New York, since 1959.
Ms. Freese holds a Bachelor of Education in elementary education, with a minor in history, and a Master of Education in elementary education from Hofstra University. She also received a Master of Library Science from Long Island University Post. A certified teacher for nursery to sixth grade in the State of New York and a certified public librarian, Ms. Freese has worked with many high school students to establish college scholarships through the Woman’s Advance Club, having been recognized as the vice president of the organization since 2019.
Testifying to her success, Ms. Freese has received a myriad of accolades. Named Woman of the Year by Business and Professional Women of Nassau County Inc. in 1994, she also earned the International Order of Merit and the Twentieth Century Award for Achievement from the International Biographical Centre in 1980 and 1994, respectively. Additionally, she was bestowed with the Distinguished Service Award from St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in 1993. Ms. Freese has been decorated with several honors from Marquis Who’s Who, including several Humanitarian Awards, features in Millennium Magazine, Sky Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, and highlights on the Thomson Reuters billboard in Times Square, New York.
