Membership Report

The current membership of ALAO includes a total of 354 members consisting of 320 regular members, 3 retiree members, and 31 student members. We are excited to welcome new members who joined between August 29, 2019 and November 30, 2019 are:

Kristen Adams, Miami University

Miriam Centeno, Ohio State University

Lisa Cummings, North Carolina Central University

Joyce Douglas, Ohio University

Matthew Fisk, Kent State University SLIS

Aacha Gregg, Wittenberg University

Jacqueline Lagunzad, Cleveland Institute of Art

Rachel Littleton, Wittenberg University

Monica Mason, Owens Community College

Lisa Morrison, Denison University

Gabriel Neff, Miami University

Timothy Radcliffe, Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Sharon Richter, Columbus State Community College

–Maureen Barry, Membership Chair, Bowling Green State University

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Notes from the Trenches

Sometimes there isn’t time to visit other libraries or meet other librarians—but then a chance presents itself.  Three Dayton area libraries saw an opportunity to visit one another as a way to introduce new (and veteran) librarians to nearby academic libraries as well as share expertise.  Some of the librarians from Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton (UD) and Wright State University (WSU) gathered two different days during the summer of 2019.

Both UD and WSU recently completed remodeling/redesign projects. The tours allowed everyone to be among the first to see new furniture and new spaces in both libraries.

As we were planning the gatherings, we realized that we didn’t need to limit ourselves to just a tour of spaces.  So we decided to include a show and tell time as well as an opportunity for librarians with similar subject area responsibilities to have time for conversations.

At Wright State, Mandy Shannon arranged a show and tell session that highlighted instruction activities. In addition to the three Dayton institutions, librarians from Capital University, Wittenberg University and Miami University joined. Each librarian had 5 – 10 minutes to demonstrate an instruction activity while those in the audience took the part of students.  There was discussion after each demonstration as participants asked questions and added details about their own twists on similar activities.

At University of Dayton, Heidi Gauder planned a show and tell session about instruction assessment.  Again, each librarian had time to explain assessment activities that have been tried.  These were followed by audience discussion and provided a time for everyone to share concerns and successes while gaining insights from colleagues.

At each session, the group broke up into smaller groups of librarians by subject areas – humanities, STEM, and social sciences.  Each group held its own discussion about topics of interest to them.

Everyone came away feeling it was time well spent and that we increased the collegiality among our libraries and our schools in a relatively inexpensive yet efficient way.

–Julie McDaniel, C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Sinclair Community College
–Mandy Shannon, Wright State University
–Heidi Gauder, University of Dayton

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Interest Group Reports

Research and Publication Committee & Assessment Interest Group Workshop

ALAO RPC and AIG are pleased to share with you a sneak peek into our joint spring workshop that will teach you about Grant Writing and Research Planning to be held March 27, 2020.

The goal of this workshop is to help you build skills in efficiently and effectively developing and planning research in order to successfully apply for and be awarded grant funding. Guest speaker, Dr. Miriam Matteson, Associate Professor of Library Science at Kent State, will provide you with foundational knowledge on best practices involved in forming a research question and developing an achievable research plan. You will also have time for hands-on practice.

We look forward to you joining us to learn about how you can successfully apply for and be awarded grants in order to improve your library resources and services. Contact Elizabeth and Anna Liss with any questions. Stay tuned for future communications!

-Brittany Brannon, RPC Co-Chair, OCLC
-Ken Irwin, RPC Co-Chair, Miami University
Elizabeth Sullivan, AIG Co-Chair, Oberlin College 
Anna Liss Jacobsen, AIG Co-Chair, Miami University

Community & Two Year College Libraries IG News

During Fall 2019, the Community & Two Year Colleges Libraries Interest Group has focused on the library response to food and housing insecure students.  A Round Table at the Annual Conference kicked off the discussion and a November Sound Off provided an opportunity to continue the discussion.

A variety of resources are available to provide background including:

–Julie McDaniel,  C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Sinclair Community College
–Karla Aleman, C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Lorain County Community College

Programming, Outreach, and Marketing IG News

PROMIG had a great roundtable turnout during the ALAO 2019 conference. Members shared programming strategies for engaging students, developing community partnerships, and tools to promote library services. Some of the highlights discussed were using the library space for collaborative campus exhibits as Oberlin has done with a recent installation to support the Dance Department. Librarians from Otterbein University shared plans for an upcoming coffee & sustainability program with a local coffee business. Other topics included successful program attendance through building partnerships with student organizations at Capital University, establishing meaningful connections with high school students during library visits at the University of Dayton, and promoting library services and programs with LibCal as used at the University of Toledo and other schools .

This interest group continues to grow with a current roster of 38 members. In addition to a listserv, the group will be starting a Slack workspace to organize ideas and submissions for an outreach & programming toolkit. The group is also discussing a collaborative webinar with the Scholarly Communications Interest Group as a Spring Workshop.

The proposal for the Ohio Inspiring Practices: Achieving Student Success in Undergraduate Education conference has been approved and 4 PROMIG librarians will lead a panel discussion on February 26th . Laura Birkenhauer (Miami University), Jessica Crossfield McIntosh (Otterbein University), Julie McDaniel (Sinclair Community College), and Shaunda Vasudev (Capital University) will present Meaningful Connections: Campus Literacy, Student Success and Libraries. More details and registration information can be found here.

–Eboni Johnson, PROMIG Co-Chair, Oberlin College
–Shaunda Vasudev, PROMIG Co-Chair, Capital University

 

Special Collections and Archives IG News

The Special Collections and Archives Interest Group met on October 18th at the ALAO Annual Conference for an informal roundtable discussion of future workshop ideas and how different academic special collections fulfill researcher reference and digitization requests.  Also, we are pleased to announce our 2019 Special Collections and Archives Interest Group annual meeting and workshop will be co-hosted with the Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA). We thank the following people in advance for their service to SCAig as members of this year’s Annual Meeting planning committee:

  • Stacy Chaney-Blankenship, Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Artifacts, Ohio Wesleyan University
  • William Modrow, Walter Havighurst Special Collections & University Archives, Miami University.

Look for a save-the-date early in the new year!

-Suzanne Reller, Special Collections and Archives IG Co-Chair, University of Cincinnati
-Rachel Makarowski, Special Collections and Archives IG Co-Chair, Miami University

 

STEM IG News

STEM IG had a very busy fall! After creating our mailing list we surveyed our members on the type of activities they would like to have access through STEMIG. Thus, we have updated our website, started a monthly STEMIG Newsletter, organized a Round Table at the ALAO Annual Conference, and organized a webinar on data curation as the first one in a regular series of webex seminars. Plans for the Annual STEMIG Spring Workshop are also well underway for Friday, March 20, 2020. More information to come!

–Matthew Benzing, Miami University, STEM IG Co-Chair
–Daniela Solomon, Case Western Reserve University, STEM IG Co-Chair

 

Support Staff IG News

The Support Staff Interest Group co-chairs are at work planning what will likely be a digital meeting for the coming year via a website, articles linked for written comments/discussion, and a Zoom date for verbal discussion. Topics to be determined.

–Erin Smith, SSIG Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University
–Rob Withers, SSIG Co-Chair, Miami University

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People & Library News

Bryant & Stratton College News

The Bryant & Stratton College Cleveland and Solon campus libraries are updating eBook collections and leveraging LibGuides to make selected titles, chosen to be in line with current curriculum, available to patrons with one click.  Such collections will be available on the campus Virtual Library portals, may be distributed by librarians and faculty via email, and will be suitable for inclusion as a class resource in Blackboard.

–Joseph Dudley, Bryant & Stratton College

 

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) News

Brian C. Gray and Stephanie Church presented Evidenced-based Acquisition for Primary Source Content – A New Model for Access and Ownership at the Charleston Conference.

Stephanie Church delivered a presentation titled “See Sierra in a New Way with Tableau” at the Ohio Innovative Users Group at the State Library in Columbus on Friday, September 20.

Charlie Harper was recently published in dh+lib “where the digital humanities and librarianship meet.” His piece is titled “What I’m Reading this Summer” and is the final installment in their summer reading series.

–Brian C. Gray, Case Western Reserve University

Cedarville University News

Sharon Kerestes, Curriculum Materials Center Librarian and Assistant Professor of Library Science, presented at the National Council of Teachers of English annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 22, 2019. She and her co-presenters, Cedarville University School of Education faculty Dr. Ruth Sylvester and Dr. Megan Brown, shared their research on disconnects between Christian scripture and the text and illustrations in children’s literature. The presentation was titled “Examining Representation in Primary Ancient Text and Retellings: David and Goliath.”

–Julie Deardorff, Cedarville University

 

State Library of Ohio News

Phil Willke Receives 2019 Up & Comers Award at the Charleston Conference

The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce that Electronic Resources Librarian Phil Willke recently received the 2019 Up & Comers Award at the Charleston Conference: Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition. Sponsored by ATG Media, the award is intended for librarians, library staff, vendors, publishers, MLIS students, instructors, consultants, and researchers who are new to their field or are in the early years of the profession. According to ATG Media, “Up and Comers are passionate about the future of libraries. They innovate, inspire, collaborate, and take risks. They are future library leaders and change makers, and we are excited to celebrate them with this award.”

“While most of my library work is focused in Ohio, I feel truly honored to be recognized at a well-respected national conference,” expressed Phil. “I look forward to what the future has in store for me, as well as what the future has in store for the entire library world.”

Phil is one of ten Up & Comers recognized at the Charleston Conference reception. They will also be featured in the December/January issue of Against the Grain and in a series of podcast interviews.

“A big congratulations to all of our award winners,” says Leah Hinds, Executive Director of the Charleston Conference. “I’m so pleased to see all of the innovation and the many accomplishments that are displayed here, and I look forward to seeing what the future brings for these bright rising stars.”

The other 2019 ATG Media Up & Comers are:

  • Negeen Aghassibake, University of Washington Health Sciences Library
  • Lindsay Barnett, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
  • Elizabeth Cope, University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • Meghan Cook, University of South Florida Libraries
  • Moon Kim, Ohio State University Libraries
  • Jocelyn Lewis, George Mason University
  • Colin Nickels, North Carolina State University Libraries
  • Ariana E. Santiago, University of Houston Libraries
  • Victoria Seng, University of Kentucky

About ATG Media: ATG Media is a new umbrella group that includes the Charleston Conference, Against the Grain, “Charleston Briefings: Trending Topics for Information Professionals,” and “Charleston Voices,” perspectives from the annual Charleston Conference. ATG Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATG, LLC.

About the Charleston Conference: The Charleston Conference is an informal annual gathering of librarians, publishers, electronic resource managers, consultants, and vendors of library materials in Charleston, SC, in November, to discuss issues of importance to them all. It is designed to be a collegial gathering of individuals from different areas who discuss the same issues in a non-threatening, friendly, and highly informal environment.

–Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, State Library of Ohio

 

Wright State University News

52151 Linda Daniels, Kayla Hennis Portrait, LIBRARY PUBLIC SERVICES Reference & Instructional Librarian, 11-20-19The University Libraries are pleased to introduce the newest member of our staff, Kayla Hennis. As the Online Learning Librarian, she will coordinate library services that support online learners. This will include maintaining and updating the online Research Toolkit workshops, expanding the Self Help tutorial section of the Libraries website, and being part of the STAC’s multimedia instruction team. She will also provide multimedia instruction and support in the Student Technology Assistance Center (STAC) and participate in department-wide reference and instruction services.

Kayla has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Miami University, an MLIS from Kent State University, and a MEd in Educational Technology from Arizona State University. For the past six years, she has been at Columbus State Community College, where she was a Reference and Instruction Librarian. We are very excited to have Kayla as part of the Instruction & Research Services Department!

–Mandy Shannon, Wright State University

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President’s Report

2019 Annual Conference

Katy Mathuews

Katy Mathuews, President

I am excited to share planning updates for our 2019 Annual Conference, Libraries Speak Up! Advocate. Collaborate. Educate. The conference will take place on October 18, 2019 at Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio with a pre-conference at the same location on October 17, 2019. Be sure to get registered and check out the program!

 2019 Executive Board Retreat

The 2019 Executive Board held its annual retreat on Friday, July 19, 2019 at Ohionet in Columbus, OH. The Executive Board Retreat is an opportunity for the Board to conduct strategic planning for the year and to provide training to incoming board members. This year’s Board Retreat saw the culmination of a year-long exercise to establish our strategic plan for 2019-2024. Strategic Plan will be reviewed each year to ensure mindful progress toward our goals. The board-approved plan is featured below.

ALAO Strategic Focus Areas and Objectives 2019-2024

Focus 1: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Goal: ALAO will exemplify equity, diversity, and inclusion in daily practices, foster those practices in its membership, and position members to become effective advocates on important issues facing the profession.

Focus 2: Expanding our Horizons

Goal: ALAO will position itself as a regional leader for an array of professional development activities, expanding and innovating upon its well-revered suite of programming.

Focus 3: Efficient and Purposeful

Goal: ALAO will build upon partnerships, management best practices, and sound organizational strategy to refine practices that position ALAO as current, efficient, and valuable.

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Call for Nominations: Jay Ladd and Kathryn Venditti Awards

The ALAO Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Jay Ladd Eric_Resnis-6149Distinguished Service Award and the Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award.

The Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual who has:

  1. been an Academic Library Association of Ohio member for at least 5 years
  2. promoted academic libraries and librarianship on his or her own campus and within the state
  3. provided sustained leadership in the promotion of Academic Library Association of Ohio, e.g., committee service, interest group chair, position on the Executive Board

Additional information about the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award is available at https://www.alaoweb.org/aboutalao/jay-ladd-award.php.

Please submit nominations for the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award through the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award online nomination form.

The Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award recognizes an individual who has:

  1. demonstrated excellence as a mentor to a librarian, library worker, or library science student
  2. a sustained record of effective mentorship, as demonstrated by activities that may include but not be limited to advising, developing, coaching, sponsoring, advocating, guiding, and/or supporting librarians, library workers, or library students

Additional information about the Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award is available at https://www.alaoweb.org/Venditti-Award.

Please submit nominations for the Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award through the Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award online nomination form.

NOTE: You may nominate more than one person for each award! Your reasons for nominating your candidate(s) will be especially valuable to the Awards Committee so please be as detailed as possible.

–Eric Resnis, Past President, Coastal Carolina University

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Preliminary Plans for ALAO Annual 2020 Conference

Plans for the 2020 ALAO Annual Conference are underway. The conference will take Mandi Goodsettplace on October 30th at the Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center in Columbus. Stay tuned for more information about the Conference Planning Committee and conference theme!

–Mandi Goodsett, Vice President/President Elect, Cleveland State University

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Professional Development Committee News

ALAO Mentoring Program News

In early August, ALAO mentor and mentee matches were communicated and introduced for the upcoming academic year. We are currently working to arrange for lunch tables at the ALAO conference in case participants would like to meet up there. We’re also open to expanding the mentoring discussion by answering member questions in the ALAO Newsletter if there’s interest. This could be an informal way to tap into the collective wisdom of the hive. For questions or suggestions regarding the mentoring program please contact Co-chairs, Heidi Beke-Harrigan and Melissa Bauer.

–Heidi Beke-Harrigan, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, OhioNET
–Melissa Bauer, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, Kent State University-Stark Campus

Support Staff Grants Awarded

Congratulations to Lori Harrison (Library Media Technical Assistant II at the University of Toledo) and Halle Novotney (Library Assistant / Student Assistant Supervisor at Case Western Reserve University) recipients of the ALAO’s Professional Development Staff Grants for the 2019 Libraries Speak Up! Advocate. Collaborate. Educate. conference. Lori and her colleague Jennifer Babcock will be sharing their poster Library Lockout: Using Escape Room Programming to Promote Libraries and Their Services.  Halle will be presenting along with Erin Smith and Jennine Vlach. Their presentation is entitled Best Practices in Hiring, Retaining, and Collaborating with Your Student Assistants.

-Ann Marie Smeraldi, Professional Developement Committee, Cleveland State University

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Interest Group News

C2YCLIG News

Call for Committee Members

The Community and Two-Year College Interest Group (C2YCLIG) Chairs are in the midst of program planning for the year, and we are excited to organize professional development and networking opportunities on topics critical to community and two-year college libraries.

We are seeking C2YCLIG members interested in contributing to these efforts! By participating in the C2YCLIG’s Committee, members can provide valuable insight into the unique needs of C2YCL staff and help the Committee and Chairs organize its events.

This Committee will largely work virtually and does not require in-person attendance at events. Please consider joining the C2YCLIG Committee, which you can do via the ALAO Volunteer Form on the ALAO website.

Focus on Homeless and Food Insecure Students

Student success work at many institutions across the country has turned its attention to the underlying causes of student distraction, stress, and trouble with their academics. Instead of assuming students are “just bad students,” many institutions are looking at students’ lives outside of college that impact their capacity to focus in the classroom and study outside of class. Community and two-year colleges in particular have students dealing with life situations that make it difficult to attend college full time (a general marker for success in college) because they have multiple responsibilities (children, aging family, multiple jobs, etc.) outside of class.

Given the diverse issues impacting students, the C2YCLIG is planning to focus in Fall 2019 on two critical issues for our students: homelessness and food insecurity. For insights into the impact of homelessness and food insecurity, we suggest watching Dr. Sara Goldrich-Rab’s “Campus Matters: Paying the Price” talk at The New York Times Conference in 2018. Dr. Goldrich-Rab is the founding director of Temple University’s Hope Center and has a long career as a sociologist studying the lives of college students.

Upcoming Events

C2YCLIG will host the following programs on topics related to homeless and food insecure students:

  • Roundtable at Annual Conference — Check the schedule for the Annual Conference to learn when and where we will be meeting in Columbus on Friday, October 18.
  • Fall Semester Soundoff — Be on the lookout for event details on our soundoff dedicated solely to Library Services to Homeless and Food Insecure Students, Staff, Faculty, and Community Members. We aim to hold the soundoff in November.

–Karla Aleman, C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Lorain County Community College
–Julie McDaniel, C2YCLIG Co-Chair, Sinclair Community College

PROMIG News

The new Programming, Outreach, and Marketing Interest Group (PROMIG) continues to grow and now has 32 members. Over the past year, we’ve partnered and hosted a spring workshop with NEO-RLS, developed a Communications team, and established a team of Planning Coordinators.

The Communications Subcommittee will work to create a toolkit of resources for outreach and is made up of 5 members: Laura Birkenhauer (Miami), Kapil Vasudev (OSU), Melissa Cox Norris (UC), Jessica Crossfield McIntosh (Otterbein), and Vanessa Kraps (OSU). The Planning Coordinators Team is made up of 3 members: Zachary Lewis (U. of Dayton), Jessica Crossfield McIntosh (Otterbein), and Jaclyn Spraetz (Miami). They will lead the team in coordinating workshops and recruiting volunteers.

Over the past few weeks, PROMIG has piloted a Topic of the Week segment on the listserv to generate discussion centered around topics related to student success, high school outreach, reaching underrepresented audiences, and other focused areas listed on our page. This discussion has been led by Laura and Kapil of the Communications Subcommittee and has provided group members with a combination of personal reflections along with additional resources to consider for support in those areas.

Come join our roundtable at ALAO annual conference to meet PROMIG members and hear about the exciting things we have planned for the upcoming year!

–Shaunda Vasudev, PROMIG Co-Chair, Capital University
–Eboni Johnson, PROMIG Co-Chair, Oberlin College

 SCAIG News

The Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAig) is pleased to welcome Rachel Makarowski, Special Collections Librarian at Miami University’s Special Collections and University Archives, as incoming co-chair for the 2019-2021 term.  Rachel will serve as SCAig co-chair with Suzanne Reller, Reference/Collections Librarian at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library, whose term will conclude at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

SCAig will be hosting a roundtable discussion at the ALAO annual conference during the IG Roundtable hour, focusing on reference and digitization services for researchers including: the charging of fees, student labor, and maintaining time restrictions for these services.  Attendees are encouraged to come and share their experiences and ideas. All conference attendees are welcome to join us!  We also would love to hear your ideas for future SCAig workshops and meetings.

For more information on SCAig, contact the co-chairs at scaig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

– Suzanne Reller, SCAig Co-Chair, University of Cincinnati 
–Rachel Makarowski, SCAig Co-Chair, Miami University

SSIG News

“Support Staff Interest Group onboarded its new co-chair, Rob Withers from Miami University, who joined current co-chair Erin Smith from Case Western Reserve University. Jennine Vlach, our outgoing co-chair from Case Western Reserve University, assisted with the onboarding process. The co-chairs wish to thank Jennine for her outstanding service over the past two years. SSIG intends to reach out to its current membership to ascertain whether this year’s meeting should be an online-oriented event, a physical conference, or a combination of the two, since membership gave last year’s webinar a warm reception. SSIG is open to partnerships if other Interest Groups would like to consider co-sponsoring an event this year.”

–Erin Smith, SSIG Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University
–Rob Withers, SSIG Co-Chair, Miami University

STEM IG News

The STEM Interest Group (STEMIG) is pleased to introduce a new mailing list for the members of the interest group stemig@alaoweb.org. To join this list please send an email to stemig+subscribe@alaoweb.org. We are also inviting interested interest group members to join the Steering Committee to help with program planning for the Spring Meeting and the Annual Conference.

–Matthew Benzing,  STEM IG Co-Chair, Miami University,
–Daniela Solomon, STEM IG Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University

Join the brand new Sustainability Interest Group (AKA SusIG)!

Just as we humans face huge challenges and uncertainties in our collective future, so too do libraries. The Sustainability Interest Group (SusIG) was formed this spring in order to provide a state-wide forum for the exchange of ideas and opportunities related to sustainability in academic libraries. The interest group’s intent is to encourage and support the actions of academic librarians and library staff in accordance with the following definition of sustainability: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Join us! And, if you have any questions, please check out our website (https://alaoweb.org/ig/susig) or reach-out to the co-chairs with questions or ideas for what specific issues you’d like to help this interest group tackle!

–Evan Meszaros, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Case Western Reserve University
–Chuck Vesei, Sustainability Interest Group Co-Chair, Baldwin Wallace University

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Member Spotlight

Let’s shine the member spotlight on Laura D’Amato of Baldwin Wallace University ldamato headshot (2)in Berea, OH

What is your role(s) in academic libraries?

I am the Head of Access Services and Interlibrary Loan at Ritter Library, Baldwin Wallace University. I oversee the access services department which consists of numerous student employees (whom I hire and train) and three part-time assistants. I serve as BW’s PCIRC contact for OhioLINK. In addition to the circulation-related aspects of my position, I also do serials check-in and assist with library programming and weeding projects. Ritter Library’s social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) are my responsibility. I supervise the interlibrary loan process as well.

What do you like most about academic library work?

The part I like most about academic library work is getting to know my student employees and meeting all kinds of people from diverse backgrounds. I genuinely enjoy being able to engage with individuals who have talents, interests, and life experiences vastly different from mine.

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

Ritter Library received a “Celebrating Ohio Book Awards & Authors” grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded the by State Library of Ohio. The funds were used to purchase children’s literature titles for our curriculum area. I am currently working with Education faculty and the Berea branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library to plan a “Family Literacy Day.” Education students will design activities and lessons using some of the purchased titles and the event will be held at the public library since families are used to visiting there to participate in story-time and literacy events.

We’ve also been trying to make use of students’ majors and areas of interest to help with library-related tasks. We’ve had a graphic design student work on creating more appealing signage for the library and a creative writing major work on writing text for exhibits and social media.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

 My husband proposed while we were in Rome visiting the Trevi Fountain. Yes, we threw in our coins – we returned a few years ago and took our son with us!

 What do you love about being an ALAO member?

There are so many fabulous people working in academic libraries throughout Ohio. I love that ALAO gives us a way to connect and learn from each other!

–Maureen Barry, Membership Chair, Bowling Green State University

 

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