Bluffton University News

As of September 1, 2021, Carrie Phillips will officially assume the role Library Director for Bluffton University’s Musselman Library.  She has been serving in that role in an interim capacity since August 1, 2020.

–Carrie Phillips, Bluffton University

Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland/Solon News

Joseph Dudley (Bryant & Stratton College – Cleveland/Solon) will present “Introduction to the BSC Libraries Intranet” at the BSC librarians’ annual meeting on August 27.

–Joseph Dudley, Bryant & Stratton College-Cleveland/Solon

Case Western Reserve University News

The Kelvin Smith Library is hiring an Archivist or the Scholarly Resources and Special Collections team. Click here for more details.

Amanda Koziura co-authored an article published in In the Library with the Lead Pipe titled, “Service Ceiling: The High Cost of Professional Development for Academic Librarians.” The article discusses a national survey that reveals the inequitable landscape of professional development funding for academic librarians in the United States prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ben Gorham coauthored an article in the Journal of Map and Geography Libraries (JMGL) on the 2020 3C GIS Day Ben co-organized with librarians from OSU and the University of Cincinnati. In the article, they build on earlier research to reassess the landscape of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member involvement in GIS Day programs and, in particular, how these events demonstrate the educational and collaborative aspects of geospatial information services in libraries.

Daniela Solomon presented a poster and lightning talk at the 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference titled “Engineering Literature Retractions: Applications to Scholarly Communications Training.”

Implemented by Daniela Solomon, Mark Clemente, and R. Benjamin Gorham, the Kelvin Smith Library’s online Research Impact Challenge from 2020 is recognized as noteworthy for the 2021 inaugural annual Notable Works list of ACRL’s Academic Library Services for Graduate Students Interest Group.  More information, including the list of works being recognized, is available here.

Daniela Solomon, Mark Clemente, and Shelby Stuart jointly presented a lightning talk at the 2021 STEM Librarians Collaborative Conference titled “Licensing STEM resources for specialized sources and emerging research tools”.

Jena Styka recently gave a professional presentation at Springshare’s SpringyCamp 2021. Her presentation titled “Harnessing LibCal Seat Reservation Data to Improve Library Spaces” showed how she used data from Springshare’s LibSeat app during Covid-19 to make layout changes for the fall semester.

Liz Bober co-presented with Dr. Molly Watkins, Assistant Provost for International Affairs, at the 2021 QS Quacquarelli Symonds EduData Summit 2021 on June 9th as part of the Untapped Expertise track. They discussed Forging Connections Across Campus to Drive Research and Build Reputation where they focused on the university’s strategic initiative to improve international rankings and how collaborating with the library, and others across campus, has strengthened the institutional reputation.

Marie Vibbert‘s novella The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station was given the cover treatment by Analog: Science Fiction and Fact magazine in the July/August issue.

Stephanie Church gave a virtual presentation on June 3rd at the 2021 Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians (OVGTSL) conference titled “Tableau Your Stacks: Using Data Visualization to Analyze Collections.” Stephanie talked about how she set up Tableau to access data from Sierra’s SQL database and shared some of the strategies she has used to find useful data, analyze it, and create and share visualizations using Tableau. See Stephanie’s Public Tableau at: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/stephanie.church.

KSL Special Collections is proud to announce a new acquisition, a “luxury facsimile of the Mechelen Choirbook.” The original was produced by the workshop of Petrus Alamire in the early 16th century and is still held in Mechelen, the city where it was made. Kelvin Smith Library Special Collections recently acquired one of five such facsimiles, created through the Alamire Foundation, and holds the only such copy in North America. The tooled leather binding, beautiful color illustrations within, and the size (over two feet tall) are all exact reproductions of the original. The facsimile will be used by the CWRU Music Department’s Musicology and Historical Performance Practice students. 

–-Brian Gray, Case Western Reserve University

Cedarville University News

The Centennial Library at Cedarville University welcomed several new staff members this summer to fill open positions at the library.

Jess Elder was appointed as the library’s Health Sciences Librarian beginning on July 1.  Jess completed her MLIS in December 2020 at Kent State University while working in a staff capacity at the Centennial Library.  As Health Sciences Librarian, she contributes to the development and delivery of library instructional services, research and information services, and individual research assistance, with special focus on undergraduate and graduate health sciences students and faculty.

Holly Caldwell began work as the library’s Collection Management Assistant on June 28, 2021.  She is responsible for collection management and acquisitions tasks, with an emphasis on books and audiovisual materials.  She also assists with OhioLINK, course reserves, and staffing the library’s MediaPLEX.

Anna Jennings started as the library’s Public Services Assistant on July 26, 2021.  In this role, she assists with staffing the library’s Service Desk and providing Circulation services as well as staffing the MediaPLEX desk. 

Jess (2017), Holly (2019), and Anna (2020) each participated in the library’s internship program while they were students at Cedarville, earning academic credit while learning more about library operations and careers.

–-Joshua B. Michael, Cedarville University

Mulford Health Science Library, the University of Toledo News

• Gerald Natal and Jodi Jameson were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Congratulations!

• The Mulford Health Science Library has started major renovations of its primary study space. In response to student requests, study rooms are being reconfigured to hold groups of 8-10, with whiteboards, new lighting, and improved soundproofing; adding study carrels with height-adjustable work surfaces; replacing chairs at study tables, and rebuilding restrooms for increased capacity and ADA accessibility.

• In May, Jolene Miller presented the results of her research project, “Health Science Librarians’ Engagement in Work-Related Reflection: A Qualitative Exploration of Why They Invest in Reflective Practice,” at the 2021 Medical Library Association vConference. This project was supported by a research grant from the ALAO Research and Publications Committee.

–Jolene Miller, Mulford Health Science Library, University of Toledo

Oberlin College News

Valerie Hotchkiss joined Oberlin College in September as the Azariah Smith Root Director of Libraries, following a national search during which Tracy Sutherland, Associate Director and Head of Public Services, served as the Interim Director.

For the past five years, Hotchkiss served as University Librarian at Vanderbilt University. Prior to that, she led Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois. In addition to leading the Vanderbilt Libraries, Hotchkiss served as professor of English at Vanderbilt. She earned a bachelor’s in classics at the University of Cincinnati (which awarded her a distinguished alumna award), a master’s in library science, and a Ph.D in medieval studies at Yale University. She is the author or coauthor of numerous books and articles on medieval cultural history, women’s studies, and topics on the history of books and printing.

—Alison Ricker, Oberlin College

University of Dayton News

University of Dayton Libraries is proud to announce several new hires in the Collections Strategies & Services department:

• Simon Robins will join as the Coordinator of Electronic Resources & Discovery and Assistant Professor on September 1.
• Grace Huffman will join as the Special Collections Cataloging & Circulation Assistant on September 1.
• Jill Crane will join as the Coordinator of Cataloging & Metadata and Associate Professor on October 1.

–-Katy Kelly, University of Dayton

University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College News

Jeanette Albiez Davis Library at the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College is pleased to announce that Ms. Carrie Girton has joined its staff as Systems and Cataloging Specialist. Carrie’s primary responsibilities include administering and maintaining the integrated library system (ILS); performing original and copy cataloging of library materials in all formats; and overseeing the library’s technical services functions. She also serves as Davis Library’s Collection Development Liaison Librarian to the Holzer School of Nursing and Allied Health. Carrie comes to us from Miami University Hamilton, where she worked for nine years as a Public Services Librarian at the Rentschler Library. Originally from the Ohio Appalachian Region, she wanted to move back to the area to be closer to her hometown and family. Carrie also wanted to take her librarian skills to a new level by transitioning to technical services, where she can explore and implement various library access tools to improve information use and delivery. Carrie holds an M.L.S. degree from the University of Kentucky and the focus of her latest research is on how libraries can employ Empathy-Based Marketing strategies to enhance their outreach efforts.

–-Amy R. Wilson, University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College