The eldest of eight children, Loriene was born in Cloquet and raised in Carlton, rural towns bordering the Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota. Both of her parents were enrolled members of the White Earth Reservation of Anishinabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa). Her father, Francis David Roy, was a Korean War veteran who earned a salary as a school custodian and bus driver while serving Carlton as a volunteer fireman, ambulance driver and, for a term, as mayor. When her father became disabled in his early fifties, Loriene’s mother, Judith LaFrinere Roy, cared for him at home for 16 years. Judy received her GED and retired from a career as an Indian education aide at Carlton High School.  Loriene is also enrolled on the White Earth Reservation, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Loriene studied at the College of St. Benedict, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Following an early career as a Medical Radiologic Technologist working in hospitals in Oregon and Arizona, Loriene received an MLS degree from the University of Arizona and worked as a reference librarian at the Yuma (Arizona) City-County Public Library. While a doctoral student, she worked in the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin in January 1987 where she teaches graduate “Public Libraries,” “Information Resources in the Humanities,” “Information Resources in the Social Sciences,” and “Library Instruction and Information Literacy.” Students in her classes follow a service-based learning model, designing and providing services for and with rural public libraries, small academic libraries, and libraries serving tribal communities. Her current doctoral students include Antony Cherian, Pedro Reynoso, and A. Arro Smith.

Loriene began her term as President-Elect of the American Library Association on June 28, 2006, and was inaugurated as the 2007-2008 President of ALA at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Loriene was elected ALA Councilor-At-Large for two terms, 1997-2000 and 2004-2006. She served on a number of ALA Council Committees including the Committee on Education, Committee on Committees, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, and Nominating Committee as well as on the ALA Presidential Advisory Boards or Task Forces for ALA Presidents Sarah A. Long, John W. Berry, and Carla Hayden. She held appointments on ALA Division Committees for the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Public Library Association (PLA), and Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), committees for the International Relations Round Table, and the Steering Committee for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color. She was the 1997-1998 President of the American Indian Library Association. Loriene is a proud member of the Corazon de Tejas chapter of REFORMA and Associate Member of Te Ropu Whakahau, Maori in Libraries and Information Management.

Loriene serves on the Advisory boards/committees for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros, the International Children's Digital Library, the Sequoyah Research Center, and WebJunction.org. Her work is centered on developing and promoting library services and cultural heritage initiatives with and for indigenous populations. She founded and directs “If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything,” a national reading club for Native children and “Honoring Generations,” an IMLS-funded graduate scholarship program for indigenous students. She has written extensively on these and other efforts.

Loriene has received a number of professional awards including the 2006 ALA Equality Award, 2007 Library Journal “Mover & Shaker,” Outstanding 2002 Alumna from the University of Arizona’s School of Information Resources and Library Services, the Joe and Bettie Branson Ward Excellence Award for Research, Teaching, or Demonstration Activities that Contribute to Changes of Positive Value to Society, two Texas Exes Teaching Awards, and two James W. Vick Texas Excellence Awards for Academic Advisors. 

Loriene’s partner, Dr. Raymond J. Mooney, is a Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in artificial intelligence and rule-based logic systems. Loriene’s son, Owen Mathias Hunter, is a high school student at McCallum High School’s Fine Arts Academy where he participates in the Grammy-designated classical guitar program. Owen performs in the recognized Bella Corda youth strings ensemble under the direction of Kevin Taylor, founder of the Childbloom Guitar Program. Sheila the Australian Shepherd rounds out the family unit. They enjoy their lives in Austin, Texas. When not working or studying, you’ll find them at UT-Austin basketball games, classical guitar events, reading books, viewing movies, entertaining, or traveling. Owen’s favorite travel destinations include his annual trip to visit relatives in the UK. Ray’s favorite travel includes time spent in Australia and South Africa. Loriene’s favorite travel spots include Minnesota, New Mexico, and Aotearoa/New Zealand.