Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a library scholar, librarian, and activist. Much of her work centers around social justice, human rights, First Amendment issues, and the freedom of information. McCook has been active in a number of professional organizations within the field of librarianship. She was highly involved in the American Library Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship. She was the recipient of their 2016 Elizabeth Martinez Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a past president of the Association for Library and Information Science Education and the recipient of the 2003 Beta Phi Mu Award for "distinguished service in library education".