Her next adventure took her to the then-School of Library and Information Science at IU Bloomington where her parents had met and married following World War II.
In the early 1980s, computers and online databases were steadily emerging as research tools in the information and library science worlds. Condas' library specializations focused on the reference, computer, and special libraries courses. Every course and faculty member of the Library School program brought lasting memories and experiences, and the list of her most influential faculty members include Professor and then-Dean Herbert White, Professors Marcy Murphy, Stephen Harter, Clayton Shepherd, David Kaser, Josefa Abrera, and Nancy Lair, and Dr. Anthony Shipps of the English Department.
Kim fondly recalls how Professor Shepherd brought to his courses the very first Apple computer and pioneered the study of micrographics. Professor Harter paired his library science students with Ph.D. candidates to conduct online research. Kim's assigned Ph.D candidate was a biology major researching the hispid cotton rat!
Dean White introduced his classes to intriguing special libraries around the country. In his History of Libraries course, Professor Kaser delved into the world of "sleuth librarians," who were instrumental in rescuing and preserving library collections from oppressed and threatened nations, and moving some to the Library of Congress in Washington. D.C.
During an interview at the CIA in 1984, Condas earned her first professional position as a CIA Librarian and moved to Arlington, Virginia. Although the veteran librarians at the CIA were adept at unearthing critical information for its patrons, they were still learning the new online tools of research. Through Condas' newly earned MLS degree, she shared her knowledge with the library and research staffs in online tools and techniques, MARC tagging, and online cataloging. At that time, LexisNexis was merely 11 years along in development. Print research resources were still heavily employed, even—and especially—for classified data and historical materials.
Her responsibilities at the CIA included reference, research, cataloging and classification, technical services, and review of literature. She became the first librarian forward-deployed to an office in the Directorate of Intelligence's Office of Near East and South Asian Analysis in 1987-1988. She then moved to the Directorate of Intelligence's Office of Latin America and Africa Analysis in 1995 and to Advanced Analytic Tools (DI-DST/AAT) in 1997.
Condas' experience at the CIA then took her to the role of IT Relationship Manager, Chief Information Office, where she served as a matchmaker between clients' requirements and information technology service providers, and as a translator of client requirements to the designers of analytic tools.
From 2002 until her retirement in 2017, she served as an analyst for Information Review and Release in the Information Management Services of the CIA, where her responsibilities included expert research and the review of classified materials responsive to the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and Executive Order Mandatory requests for public release. She was the Team Lead for the National Reconnaissance Office's historical declassification efforts, an advisor for Career and Talent Management, a Mentoring Program Lead, and a Grievance Counselor.
Condas lives in Herndon, Virginia, with her husband Steve. They are the proud parents of two sons: Carl and Rob. Condas' interests include her passion for card-making using mixed media, reading, and hiking.
Her counsel for aspiring librarians is to learn and plan broadly, blending the skill sets acquired and perfected from one's academic and life experiences.
