lissaland

Library and Information Studies Student Association at UNCG

Monthly Archives: September 2009


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Amy Harris, UNCG’s Jackson Library

My name is Amy Harris, and I’m the Information Literacy Program Coordinator and Reference Librarian at UNCG. I graduated from the MLIS program at UNCG in 2005. I started in the Reference Department at UNCG in 2005 as a temp and got my tenure-track job in June of 2006. Before I became a librarian, I had a variety of interesting jobs, including elementary school teacher, payroll administrator, talk radio show host and assistant manager of the concession operations for the Winston-Salem Warthogs (RIP Wally). In my personal life, I’m married and have a (precious) nine-month-old daughter.

When I started library school, I wanted to be a school media specialist, because I was teaching at the time. I quickly realized that wasn’t for me. Then I wanted to be a cataloger so I did a cataloging independent study. Shortly thereafter, I heard about the Reference Intern Program at Jackson, so I decided to give reference a shot. It definitely stuck. I love working with people to find the information they need.

In addition to traditional reference librarian duties, I serve as the library’s Information Literacy Program Coordinator. When I began working at Jackson, I was the First-Year Instruction Coordinator. This entails working closely with first year classes such as English 101. Outreach is a huge part of this job, as the instructors are typically graduate students and a new group starts every year. This position also involves lots of teaching one-shot instruction sessions. In academic year 2007-08, I taught 100 of these sessions. Luckily, my colleagues are very supportive so I’m able to focus most of my attention on teaching during the busy times of the semester. I’ve recently added the Information Literacy Program Coordinator title, which means in addition to the outreach, I’ll be working to make information literacy a more important issue on campus. In my spare time, I work with the Dean of Student’s Office to teach students about Academic Integrity and plagiarism, and I’m also the co-coordinator of the Reference Intern Program. It’s chaotic at times, but I think I have an awesome job!

If you have any questions about general librarian stuff, teaching, reference or being on the tenure-track, I’d be happy to try to answer them!


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LIS Dept./LISSA Mentoring Program Begins Monday

The LIS Dept./LISSA Mentoring Program will begin Monday, September 28 and will run through Sunday, November 1. Each week will feature a different librarian. We are going to run this from the LISSAland blog (http://lissaland.wordpress.com) this year. A post will appear on the blog each Monday from the librarian for that week. You can then reply to the post with any questions you might have, and your questions will be answered there in the comments section of the blog post. The schedule of librarians is as follows:

  • 9/28 to 10/4: Amy Harris, First Year Instruction Coordinator, UNCG Jackson Library
  • 10/5 to 10/11: Gwen Erickson, Friends Historical Collection (FHC) Librarian and College Archivist, Guilford College Hege Library
  • 10/12 to 10/18: Ross Holt, Assistant Director, Asheboro Public Library
  • 10/19 to 10/25: Chip Gobble, Media Coordinator, Jesse C. Carson High School, China Grove, NC
  • 10/26 to 11/1: Gerald Holmes, Reference Librarian and Diversity Coordinator, UNCG Jackson Library

If you have any questions please let me know.

My best,
Jennifer Whicker


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LISSA Meeting Monday

There will be a LISSA meeting on Monday, September 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the LIS Lab Curry 349H. Light refreshments will be served. We will be discussing the mentoring program that begins that day as well as the upcoming events we have planned for the rest of the semester. Hope to see you there.

My best,
Jennifer Whicker


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Careers in Federal Libraries Event at UNC-Chapel Hill, October 1st

This is just a reminder about this upcoming event. The flier is not attached to this email. It is available in the Documents section in Blackboard.
Jennifer Whicker

Please see the attached flier, and join us in 105 Caldwell Hall from 5-8 PM on Thursday, October 1st for an evening of presentations by and discussions with Federal librarians.  This event is co-sponsored by the UNC-CH chapters of SCALA and SLA.

Our four presenters are:

  • Stephanie Holmgren, Biomedical Librarian at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
  • Jennifer Manning, Information Research Specialist, Congressional Research Service (CRS)
  • Tamika Barnes, Head, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Library
  • Nellie Moffitt, Navy General Library Program Manager, Dept. of the Navy

Presenters will discuss a variety of topics, including: types of Federal libraries, position titles, series and salaries, typical paths of recruitment at their agencies, life as Federal librarians and Federal contract librarians, and how to apply for Federal positions.

After the presentations, stay for a group Q & A session and informal networking (food and drink provided!)  All students, professionals and alumni are welcome.

See the government’s site of Best Places to Work
Browse open positions at USAJobs

For more details, see attached flier, and RSVP on Facebook, here.

Please direct questions to Josiah Drewry at jdrewry@nationalhumanitiescenter.org

Josiah Mark Drewry
National Humanities Center Library
7 T. W. Alexander Dr., P.O. Box 12256
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
919-406-0106


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Pics for the State Library and Archives Tour Now Up

I posted the pictures that David and I took during the tour of the State Library and Archives. These photos can be found on LISSA’s Flickr page. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lissa-uncg/ ) I have also posted the handouts from the tour in the Documents section of Blackboard. Links to the State Library and Archives websites are also available in the External Links section of Blackboard. Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for this trip.

My best,
Jennifer Whicker


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State Library and Archive Tour this Saturday

Our State Library and Archive Tour in Raleigh is scheduled for this Saturday, September 19. We will be meeting in the parking lot behind the Graham Building at 8:30 a.m. We are planning on being in Raleigh by 10:30 a.m. The tour should last approximately an hour and a half, and we will be eating lunch afterward. We are planning on having lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. It is still not too late to go if you would like. Just email me, and let me know. :)

For anyone who is attending, here is an email I received from our tour guide Cheryl McLean. It offers some pointers on clothing for the trip and an overview of what exactly we will be doing.

Jennifer,
On Saturdays the state employee lot across from the front of the building is available.  The entrance to it is on Blount Street.  The public lot next to it is free on Saturdays, and that’s probably where you should start looking.  There is an entrance on Jones Street, right across from the steps of our building.  However, if it looks full, go to the stoplight and turn right on Blount and then enter on the employee side.  (The public and employee lots look like one big lot but there is a barrier between the two.)  Come in the front of the building.  Everyone will need to sign in with the security guard and show a picture ID.  However, if you can provide a list of names for me to give to the guard before you arrive, that may save you time.  I’ll meet you in the front near the guard’s desk.
I thought I’d start on the first floor of the library with a short PowerPoint presentation to provide an overview of the library.  Depending upon the time, I’ll either show you around the library and then take you to Archives, or start with Archives and end with the library.  I want to make sure you get plenty of time for the Archives before their lunch time begins.  Chris Meekins, the correspondence archivist, will lead the Archives portion.
Also, please ask everyone to dress in layers.  It may be warm or it may be cold.  A lot of state buildings are heated by a combination of steam and cool air, and Saturday is the start of the annual steam plant maintenance.  If they leave the chiller on, it will be cold.  If they turn the chiller off, it could be a little warm.
Cheryl


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Creators of Unshelved Coming in November

I am excited to announce that I have made arrangements for Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum, the creators of Unshelved (http://www.unshelved.com/), to come and speak to UNCG’s LIS Students on Friday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. on the campus of UNC Charlotte.

For those of you not familiar with Unshelved, it is a comic strip set in a public library written by a real librarian. I urge everyone to become familiar with this comic strip immediately. ;) Below is the comic’s description from their website (http://www.unshelved.com/primer.aspx).

Welcome to Unshelved, the world’s only daily comic strip set in a public library! Writer Gene Ambaum (the made-up name of a real-life librarian) and co-writer and artist Bill Barnes have been publishing since February 16, 2002. Some of the stories are made up, some of them are based on real life, and some are absolutely true stories sent to us from our readers. And the stranger the story, the more likely it is to be true.

Here’s a quick primer about the library and the people who work there and frequent it. Enjoy your stay!

The Mallville Public Library

Most of the action in Unshelved takes place in or near the Mallville Public Library, a branch library in the same system as Outlet City. Recently the library underwent a significant (and unusually rapid) remodel.

Dewey

Dewey

Our hero, the determinedly ironic young adult librarian who would rather read comic books or play games than work the reference desk, or indeed do any kind of work at all.

First appearance: February 16, 2002

Mel

Mel

Beleaguered branch manager trying to keep the chaos to a minimum. Mel’s great passions in life are fly-fishing and office supplies. It is Mel’s fate that she can’t state an opinion that isn’t immediately contradicted by the events around her.

First appearance: February 16, 2002

Tamara

Tamara

Children’s librarian. Cheery and idealistic, but don’t cross her. Tamara’s favorite letter is “T.”

First appearance: March 4, 2002

Colleen

Colleen

Cranky, old-fashioned, computer-illiterate reference librarian who late in life surprised everyone by adopting baby Doreen from China. (“I wanted a clone but the technology wasn’t there.”)

First appearance: February 19, 2002

Merv

Merv

Twelve-year old who spends a lot of time in the library for someone who doesn’t like to read. He enjoys action figures, web surfing, and video games. Dewey is either his idol or the only person who will talk to him, or both.

First appearance: February 16, 2002

Buddy

Buddy the Book Beaver

Former library mascot turned library page who still wears his costume for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. His colorful past is slowly being unearthed.

First appearance: June 26, 2002

Ned

Ned

Mallville’s media-savvy attorney is also a civil libertarian who exercises his freedom of expression in a unique way.

First appearance: March 14, 2002

I am very excited about this event. I hope everyone will make arrangements to be at there in November at UNCC. Admission to this event is free to LISSA members, all non-LISSA members will be charged $5 at the door. If you have any questions please let me know.
My best,
Jennifer
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