Let’s shine the Member Spotlight on Christine Mannix from Columbus College of Art & Design!

What is/are your role(s) in academic libraries?

I’ve been the Instruction Librarian at the Columbus College of Art & Design for over 14 years. I caught the teaching bug several years prior when I taught information literacy at Clark State Community College part-time. I’m also in charge of the library’s Special Collections and do a lot of outreach to faculty to encourage hands-on class sessions with our rare books and artists’ books. This semester I have 23 sessions booked! I make informational videos for our library YouTube channel and social media, as well as create and update LibGuides. Since we’re a small library, I also oversee circulation and manage our student workers.

What do you like most about academic library work?

I love teaching and working with students and faculty. Our students are so fun, creative, and kind. They are a joy to work with, and I especially love seeing them engaged when they handle rare books, mini-comics, artists’ books, or other primary sources. Watching the light bulbs go off is a privilege. Our faculty are pretty great, too. During the pandemic I discovered I really enjoy making information literacy videos. Not surprising for an artist, I guess, and luckily we have plenty of resources for making them.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been involved with lately?

This semester our rare book display is Birds and All Nature, the first nature publication to print color photography. Since photography wasn’t advanced enough to catch animals in the wild, all the animals are taxidermied – not always very well. So on social media this semester we’ll have Taxidermy Tuesday, featuring a different victim of unfortunate taxidermy each week. I think we can all use some silliness right now. 

I’m also involved in our Alma migration which, as a non-systems person, has been a challenge. All the more reason for silliness!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I am (distantly) related to Kevin Bacon. More than 6 degrees of separation, though. We have a shared Quaker ancestor who fled religious persecution in England and came to Pennsylvania in 1682. As a GenXer, this never fails to crack me up.

Why did you join ALAO?

I’m interested in meeting with other instruction and special collections librarians and sharing ideas. Always learning and growing!

–Laura Birkenhauer, Membership Chair, Miami University