Let’s shine the member spotlight on Vanessa Earp from Kent State University!
What is/are your role(s) in academic libraries?
In 2003 I started in my first professional library job as the Education Materials Center Librarian at Texas A&M Kingsville. In August of 2005 I moved back to Ohio and began work at Kent State as the Education Subject Librarian. Over time, as that college was reorganized and librarians retired, I took over as the subject librarian for the entire college of Education, Health, and Human Services. My role includes teaching one-shot library instruction sessions for undergraduate and graduate students. I also serve as an embedded librarian in graduate level classes in the college. In addition to instruction, I also conduct individual research consultations with students. In 2010, our library started offering Plagiarism School, which is a remediation program for students who have been sanctioned for plagiarism. Over the last decade my interest in academic integrity has led to an expansion of the library’s outreach in academic integrity. Due to the increase in my work on academic integrity initiatives, both for the library and the university, in 2022 my job title was updated to include Academic Integrity Librarian.
What do you like most about academic library work?
I had a professor in library school who said “if you don’t like change, you should not become a librarian.” I enjoy that the library and my work are constantly evolving. Forming connections with students and watching them grow over their time at Kent State is very rewarding.
What are some interesting projects you’ve been involved with lately?
I am currently on a university task force that is working to revise our student cheating and plagiarism policy. This project is very important because we are shifting to a more student-first policy. While there are still consequences, some severe, for students, there are more educational remediation opportunities. This semester I am also teaching a section of Flashes 101, our orientation class for first-year students. Teaching this class every week gives me the chance to get to know the students on a more personal level.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I enjoy baking and often bring in cookies, cakes, and cupcakes for my coworkers and students. I even bake for my husband’s students at a different school and they call me “the cookie lady”.
Why did you join ALAO?
I wanted to connect with librarians that are local to Ohio. I know that we have fantastic librarians at our institutions and am looking forward to learning from everyone in ALAO.
–Laura Birkenhauer, Membership Chair, Miami University
The current membership of ALAO includes a total of 285 members consisting of 240 regular members, 5 retiree members, and 40 student members. We are excited to welcome new members who joined between February 24, 2024 and August 29, 2024.
Emma Bapst, Cedarville University
Clinton Baugess, Oberlin College Libraries
Lori Boes, Kent State University
Jason Paul Bourgeois, Bowling Green State University
Lisa Britt Wernke, University of Cincinnati Law Library
Joshua Byerly, Ohio Dominican University
Meghan Crawford, Capital University
Jordan Davis, Cedarville University
Paul Earp, Fortis College Cuyahoga Falls
Vanessa Earp, Kent State University
Lauren Erdmann-Rued
John Ernst, Kent State University
Hector Escobar, University of Dayton Libraries
Madison Faulkner, Cedarville University
Gabrielle Fenyus
Emily Frasier, Cedarville University
Gabrielle Freshly
Beth Fridrick
Heaven Herrold
Madison Kennedy, Cedarville University
Mary Kleemeier, Kent State University
Kathy Ladell, University of Cincinnati Clermont College
Hester Lambright
Erin McCusker
Ruth Monnier
Andria Morningstar-Gray, Hiram College Library
Gwendolyn Oeseburg, Oberlin College
Kathleen Siry
Masha Stepanova, Miami University
Ashley Tschakert Foertmeyer, Ohio Wesleyan University
Maya Ware, Columbus State Community College
Leticia Wiggins, The Ohio State University
Elizabeth Williams-Clymer, Kenyon College
–Laura Birkenhauer, Membership Chair, Miami University
Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great start to their new academic years. I will be staying on as IG Coordinator until 2026 and I look forward to continuing working with ALAO’s interest groups in the coming two years.
I want to thank all the new incoming IG co-chairs for volunteering their time and expertise to our interest groups.
ALAO has a variety of special interest groups that have formed to discuss concerns, issues, and new trends related to academic librarianship in Ohio. Joining an interest group is a great way to participate in leadership events and network with fellow librarians and library staff.
–Abi Morgan, Interest Group Coordinator, Miami University
Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG) News
The Sustainability Interest Group is excited to announce our new incoming co-chair, Lori Chapin! Lori is the Manager of Innovative Spaces at Miami University in Oxford. SUS-IG will once again be hosting a swap table at the annual ALAO conference in November. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks and if you would like to help, please reach out at susig-chairs@alaoweb.org.
–Megan Jaskowiak, Sustainability Interest Group (SUSIG) Chair, Miami University
Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG) News
Presenter Award goes to Rachel Littleton (Library Paraprofessional, Circulation and Acquisitions at Wittenberg University ). She is presenting In the Closet as a Neurodivergent: How We can Transform our Libraries to Become a Better Place to Work for Neurodivergent Staff and a Poster: DIY Digitization: How Library Support Staff Collaborated to Build a Digitization Tool on a Shoestring Budget.
–Simon Robins, Technical, Electronic, and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG), University of Dayton
Congratulations to the recipients of the ALAO Support Staff Conference Grant
In 2022 the ALAO Board decided to expand the number of support staff conference grants which we could offer. We plan to offer at least two awards at least through 2028. This year we are happy to announce that three people could be awarded funding to attend the 50th ALAO conference on November 8th.
The grants committee is pleased to recognize Gregg Harris (University of Akron), Elizabeth Staarmann (Miami University), and Jennifer Smith (Case Western Reserve University) as the awardees for 2024. Additionally, Gregg will be co-presenting at the conference with Marilia Y. Antunez during concurrent session 3 on “The good, the bad, and the questionable: How unauthorized and pirate websites are confusing researchers and the library’s role.”
Congratulations to all our award winners.
–Allen Reichert, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, Otterbein University.
Joseph Dudley (Bryant & Stratton College) is serving on the 2024 LD4 Conference Planning Committee and Social Subcommittee. This year’s LD4 theme is Building Community for Linked Open Data, and the conference will take place virtually on October 7th – 11th. The conference website is https://sites.google.com/view/2024-ld4-conference/home
–Joseph Dudley, Bryant & Stratton College
Case Western Reserve University News
Kate Ozment, PhD has recently joined Kelvin Smith Library (Case Western Reserve University) to lead the Digital Scholarship team. Working collaboratively with the library and campus partners, her primary role is to establish a new vision for our Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship. She’s coming to CWRU with extensive teaching and research experience from Cal Poly Pomona as an Associate Professor of English, and has served as co-editor of the Women in Book History Bibliography and contributing editor for the Women in Print History Project.
–Halle Novotny, Case Western Reserve University
Denison University News
Denison Libraries is pleased to welcome Patricia “Tricia” McEldowney as Denison’s new Archivist & Special Collections Librarian, beginning Sept. 2. Tricia will play a pivotal role across campus in collecting and promoting the history of the college.
Tricia most recently worked as the Collections Management Archivist at Ohio State University. Her breadth of experiences include Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Assistant Manager in the corporate archives of the J.M. Smucker Company. She holds a B.A. in history from the University of Toledo and an M.A. in public history from Wright State University.
Time again to close out another academic year at our institutions, and contemplate all those summer projects we’ve been meaning to get to. One for me is keeping up with the front and back lawns at home, which seem to be growing twice as fast this year! Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather, and remember, don’t forget your sunscreen!
We have new Board members! Welcome, Welcome! I’m so looking forward to meeting and working with everyone as together we envision the next few years for the Association. See details about this and other goings-on below.
2024-2025 ALAO Executive Board Election Results
On behalf of myself and ALAO Past President, Jerry Natal, I am delighted to announce the new members of the Executive Board for 2024-2025. Please join me in congratulating,
Vice President/President Elect: Paul C. Campbell, Social Sciences & Assessment Librarian, Kent State University
Secretary: Mira Scarnecchia, OER Librarian, Columbus State Community College
Treasurer: Don Appleby, Library Specialist, University of Akron
Board Members-at-Large:
Stephanie Founds, FYE Specialist, Ohio State University
Kathy Ladell, Student Success Librarian, University of Cincinnati
Edith Scarletto, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Bowling Green State University
Membership Chair: Laura Birkenhauer, Student Success Librarian for Campus Engagement, Miami University
Please also join Jerry and I in thanking our fellow Nominating Committee members for their hard work and dedication in executing this year’s election cycle:
Katy Tucker, Electronic Resources and Acquisitions Librarian, Xavier University
Jason Wardell, Health & Life Sciences Librarian University of Dayton
Rich Wisneski, Electronic Resources, Miami University
Beronica Avila, Outreach & Engagement Librarian, Denison University
Laura Birkenhauer, Student Success Librarian for Campus Engagement, Miami University
Let me offer sincere thanks as well to all the candidates who participated in this year’s election. Your willingness to serve is truly commendable! Please consider running again in a future election, as the organization benefits tremendously from a diversity of new ideas and perspectives.
Association members can also get involved in a variety of other ways. Check out our interest groupsand committees, and consider joining!
2024 ALAO Annual Conference Update
Our 2024 Conference Planning Committee continues to make great progress! The CPC recently completed the Conference session proposal review process, and is on pace with arrangements for our 50th Anniversary event at the OCLC Conference Center in the greater Columbus area on November 7 & 8th. Please see the report below from Sara Klink, our CPC Chair and Vice President/President Elect, for additional planning updates.
Executive Board Meeting & Activities
My sincere thanks to the members of an Executive Board Task Force which was formed this past April to create and distribute a new ALAO Membership survey. Your responses will play a central role in the Board’s drafting of a new 5-year strategic plan for the Association this summer.
My heartfelt thanks as well to the members of a separate Board working group formed this past May that is investigating new ways we can welcome and onboard Association members, those in appointed positions, and our elected officers. Their work will also factor directly into the Board’s strategic planning activities this summer.
And, I want to express special gratitude to ALAO Past President, Jerry Natal, who generously took on the role earlier this year of interim Public Relations Coordinator for the Association. Thank you so much, Jerry!
Conference Date: November 7th Preconference and November 8th Conference, 2023
Sara Klink, ALAO Vice President/President Elect
Conference Location: OCLC main campus in Dublin, Ohio
On behalf of the 2024 Conference Planning Committee, I want to thank everyone who submitted session proposals for this year’s Conference! We are currently notifying those presenters that had sessions accepted. The Conference will feature a keynote, traditional presentations, lightning talk sessions, poster sessions, panel and discussion sessions and a full hybrid track for those that choose to attend virtually.
Please keep an eye on our event website for more information and registration details. The Conference Planning Committee has a few things up their sleeves in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary event. We look forward to welcoming and celebrating with presenters and attendees from Ohio and surrounding area libraries!
The results for the Board Member-at-Large position were particularly close and required a runoff vote by the board. So, a big THANK YOU to all the candidates on the ballot—your willingness to serve is admirable and greatly appreciated!
An aside to our colleagues who were not elected this year: thanks for stepping up and running for a position. ALAO offers many opportunities for our members to engage and lead. I would encourage you to consider becoming involved with one of our Interest Groups or committees, volunteering for an appointed position (two currently seeking interested persons: Communications Chair* and PR/Outreach Coordinator*), and of course, running again next year.
To all others, please consider a position on the ALAO board in future elections—the organization benefits from a diversity of new ideas and perspectives.
Thanks also to the members of the Nominating Committee for this election cycle:
Beronica Avila
Laura Birkenhauer
Mark Eddy
ALAO web managers Katy Tucker, Jason Wardell, Rich Wisneski
Congratulations
I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate ALAO’s current president, Mark Eddy, Madeleine Fix from The Ohio State University, and Laura Sheets from Bowling Green State University for being selected for the OhioNet 2024 Library Leadership Ohio Cohort.
Condolences
You may have heard of the recent passing of our colleague and longtime ALAO member Alison Ricker. Alison’s passing was a shock to me. I had last spoke with Alison when I chanced to meet her at the ACRL conference in March of 2023. Alison told me of her plans to retire after a long and storied career [see Oberlin campus news story]. I had the pleasure of spending time on the ALAO board with Alison years ago; my impression then was that she was that person who always spoke up, who always contributed ideas—she was not one to be content to sit passively. Alison was the sort of person I could learn from—for me this amounted to informal mentoring.
More recently, while I was ALAO president, Alison contacted me several times to suggest that ALAO address one or another issue. It wasn’t too long ago that I had one last opportunity to work with Alison when she volunteered to be a member of the ALAO nominating committee I was chairing. True to form, she always had ideas and suggestions to improve the tasks at hand.
Alison received ALAO’s highest honor, the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award, in 2001. To add to that recognition of her dedication to promoting librarianship and academic libraries throughout the state, there are plans to remember Alison at ALAO’s 50th Anniversary conference next fall. I’m certain she was missed by her colleagues when she retired from the profession, and she is missed by her family and friends. Yet…
You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left
~David Harkins
Ohio Library Support Staff Institute
I experienced another bout of disconcerting news recently when I read this line in an email:
“OLSSI is coming to an end. You have only TWO MORE chances to mix and learn with other library assistants and librarians from across the state.”
OLSSI—the Ohio Library Support Staff Institute—was formed in 2000 by Doug Morrison and Dr. Linda Dobb as an affordable retreat for library assistants and aides. It has since grown to address the issues and needs of all library support staff, providing opportunities to learn new skills, hone existing skills, and meet and network with colleagues.
The first event took place in 2002 at Ohio Dominican University; I was privileged to be present at that event when I was a circulation supervisor at The University of Toledo (it was where I would make the acquaintance of future ALAO president Brian Gray). This year marks OLSSI’s 22nd conference, whose steering committee incorporates volunteers from all types of libraries from across the state. Michael Bradshaw, OLSSI Chair Emeritus, informed me that they have hosted library assistants, librarians, and library directors, with attendees coming from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Texas. The online conference drew people from “Maine to California, and from Canada and China!”
I recall my excitement those many years ago when I was asked if I wanted to attend the first event. It was great to get away for a couple of days, visit another institution, meet with my support staff colleagues, and take back some ideas to improve my service to the university community. In some way the opportunity made me feel special. So, I had to ask, is the event no longer sustainable, has there been a loss of interest, are there volunteer issues…I was told “all the above.” Which started me thinking that there must be a way to salvage this wonderful project. I intend to explore some ideas…
Meanwhile, this year’s OLSSI event will be at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, July 28 – 30.
I encourage staff to attend this event if possible, and support OLSSI’s mission to “revitalize their enthusiasm for library work to make our libraries and ourselves better than ever!” Let’s hope this is not the next-to-last opportunity to attend…
Whether we are new to librarianship or have many years in journal publishing, there is always something new to learn. We had the opportunity to get more insights about publishing in journals this spring. The ALAO Research and Publications Committee facilitated a panel webinar on May 2, 2024 to discuss scholarly publishing in journals, including best practices to get manuscripts accepted for publication. Five panelists who represented five journals were guided by questions provided by the Sarah Nagle. The journals represented were the Library Hi Tech, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, College & Research Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship, and the Journal of Agricultural & Food Information. The open forum was successful, with 41 registrants and 23 attendees. The library publishing experts provided practical advice on preparing, submitting, and publishing our work such as ensuring that librarian authors carefully read the guidelines or policies and the importance of the methodology section. Some noteworthy highlights included:
Make sure your manuscript is anonymous. This will make it easier for the editors to prepare your manuscript for review.
Make sure the focus and scope of the journal is aligned with the topic of your work. Explain the context appropriately and its broad implication(s). Try to explain context more generally, especially for international publications.
Consider including a cover letter with your manuscript. This gives you an opportunity to explain why your work is important and include other details not included in the manuscript. Don’t assume that people see your topic as you do!
Communicate! When there are questions, contact the editor(s). They love when authors reach out!
Remember to synthesize the literature review. The literature review should not be just descriptive.
Several panelists recommended becoming a peer reviewer. This is an excellent way to improve our writing.
Innovative Instruction Showcase presented by Instruction, STEM, and Distance Learning Interest Groups
On May 8, 2024, three ALAO Interest Groups (Instruction, STEM, and Distance Learning) hosted the virtual Innovative Instruction Showcase, which featured 18 panelists in nine lightning talks under three broad themes: Developing and Supporting Librarians as Teachers, Fostering Student Engagement, Tools for Research and Teaching. Thank you to all the presenters for their informative presentations, which were followed by engaging discussion with more than 40 participants in each of the themed groups. If you missed this great event, it was recorded and will be shared via the ALAO listserv when it’s available.
—Beate Gersch, Distance Learning Interest Group Co-Chair, Kent State University
Assessment Interest Group News
Ryan Spellman
Building Assessment into the Library Strategic Plan
Please join Ohio University’s Katy Mathuews, Senior Director of Administration, and Northern Kentucky University’s Ryan Spellman, Online Learning Librarian, for a 90-minute workshop on integrating assessment into the library’s strategic plan. This workshop will focus on creating measurable assessments for strategic plan initiatives. The discussion will include a foundational explanation of the strategic planning process and how to develop actionable initiatives to implement the plan. Katy and Ryan will also explain how strategic plan assessment is essential to campus-wide accreditation exercises. The workshop will culminate with an opportunity for attendees to try their hand at developing a measurable assessment for an initiative in their own libraries.
–Melissa Bauer, Assessment Interest Group Co-Chair, Kent State University Stark Campus –Carissa Thatcher, Assessment Interest Group Co-Chair, University of Cincinnati
Diversity Committee News
Congratulations to Catherine King, our 2024 ALAO Diversity Student Scholarship winner. Catherine will receive a scholarship award for $1500 and free registration to join us at the ALAO Annual Conference this November.
–Brea McQueen, Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Miami University Regionals –Mandi Goodsett, Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Cleveland State University
Joseph Dudley presented a virtual poster session titled “The All-Virtual Academic Library” at the 2024 TCC Worldwide Online Conference, April 16-18 and published a review of From Cataloguing to Metadata Creation: A cultural and methodological introduction by Mauro Guerrini in Technical Services Quarterly (Volume 41, 2024 – Issue 2).
–Joe Dudley, Bryant & Stratton College
Case Western Reserve University News
Joanna Voss and Amy Pawlowski (OhioLINK), Brian Gray (Case Western Reserve University), and Dan Pollock (Delta Think) presented the analysis used by OhioLINK and OhioLINK CIRM to monitor and make decisions in the open-access environment. The presentation “The Evolving Value of OhioLink’s Journal Packages in a Complex OA Landscape: A Framework for Local Resource Decisions” is now available via YouTube.
–Brian Gray, Case Western Reserve University
The Ohio State University News
Katie Blocksidge and Hanna Primeau’s article “Adapting and evolving: Generation Z’s information beliefs,” was included on the American Library Association (ALA) Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT)’s Top 20 of 2023 list. The Top 20 Committee has been reviewing and selecting the best literature about library instruction since 1986.
In their article, Blocksidge and Primeau explore how Generation Z undergraduates align with Brenda Dervin’s (1976) information assumptions, finding that students are aware of information overload, and that informal sources can be valuable parts of the research process. Students are making meaning of information within their own contexts, and this extends into their work in higher education.
–Katie Blocksidge, The Ohio State University, Newark Campus
ALAO Newsletter 