Since 1977, Dr. Herman Totten has been on the University of North Texas (UNT) faculty in the School of Library and Information Sciences. Since 1991, he has maintained his Regents Professorship, an honor bestowed upon five percent of the faculty at the University of North Texas who have performed outstanding research or teaching, or both.

As of September 9, 2005, Dr. Herman Totten is serving a special two-year term as dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences. Prior to this, he had served a rotating two-year appointment as Faculty Executive Assistant to the President of UNT. His previous positions include Associate Dean for the School of Library and Information Sciences at UNT; Professor and dean at the University of Oregon; Associate Dean, College of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky; Academic Dean at Wiley College, Marshall, Texas; and Chief Librarian at Wiley College.

Dr. Totten is a Past President of the Texas Library Association (TLA), the nation's largest state library association. During his more than 30 years as a member of TLA, he has served as Chair of and a member of many committees.

He is a life member of the American Library Association (ALA). He has served as Chair of the ALA Committee on Accreditation and Chair of the ALA Committee on Minority Concerns. He completed a term in 2002 on the ALA Council.

He was appointed Trustee to the American Records Management Association (ARMA) International Educational Board of Trustees, June 30, 2001. In 2001, his UNT faculty colleagues elected him to serve as Summer Commencement Speaker.

Dr. Totten received a Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) grant in 2003 to create the first ALA accredited Online Library Management Certificate Program for library workers anywhere in the world to earn the certificate while they continue working. He has conducted workshops for the Texas State Library, where he was an original planner and developer of the curriculum for the Small Library Management Program, which trains and certifies librarians.

Among his many awards and honors are the 2001 ALA Melvil Dewey Award; the 1999 Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Outstanding Teacher Award; the 1992 ALA Black Caucus Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Library and Information Science Education; and the 1991 ALISE Award for Professional Contributions to Library and Information Science Education. In 1991, he was named Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Oklahoma.

He received his BA degree from Wiley College. He earned his MLS and Ph.D. degrees in the fields of library science and educational media from the University of Oklahoma.