We are excited to be a part of the Ohio Private Academic Libraries (OPAL)’s 2018 conference! This year’s theme “Stronger Together: Voices Raised in Advocacy” explores activism, outreach, collaboration and services.
Catalysts, Pioneers and Provocateurs: 21st Century Academic Libraries
Academic libraries inspire discourse and connect students, faculty and communities to new ways of thinking. At a time of heightened awareness of inequalities for women, people of color, LGBTQ+, immigrants and other marginalized communities, what are the roles of libraries, academic institutions and external partners? Join us as we discuss how academic libraries have positioned their programs and collections to spark dialogue. Panelists will share how their work advocates the library as a platform and how their constituents and community have benefited. Further, we’ll chat about their vision for what’s next. Don’t miss this timely talk with following Q&A!
Meet the Panelists
Jenny Robb
Curator and Associate Professor
The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
Jenny Robb is Curator and Associate Professor of The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, the largest academic research institution dedicated to cartoons and comics. Before coming to Ohio State in 2005, she served as Curator of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco for 5 years. She holds masters degrees in history and museum studies from Syracuse University. Jenny has curated numerous cartoon and comics exhibitions, including Exploring Calvin and Hobbes; The Long March: Civil Rights in Cartoons and Comics; and Looking Backward, Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoons and Comics. She is the author of “Bill Blackbeard: the Collector Who Rescued the Comics” published in the Journal of American Culture and co-author of “Finding Archives/Making Archives: Observations on Conducting Multicultural Comics Research” published in the book Multicultural Comics: From Zap to Blue Beetle, among other comics-related articles and catalog essays.
Krista McDonald
Director
Miami University Regionals Rentschler Library
Krista McDonald is the Director of Rentschler Library at Miami University’s Hamilton Campus. She has just completed a three-year term leading the Academic Library Association of Ohio and is currently serving on its Diversity Committee. At Miami Hamilton Campus, Krista has completed Safe Zone training and works with the MUH PRIDE student organization as well as with the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Services, the Association of Latino and American Students, the TRiO Student Support Services Program and Student Disability Services. Krista earned her Master of Library Science from the University of Kentucky and her Bachelor of Arts in history from Ohio University.
Lae’l Hughes-Watkins
University Archivist, Assistant Professor
Kent State University Libraries Department of Special Collections and Archives
Lae’l Hughes-Watkins is responsible for managing the Kent State University Archives program, which includes the May 4 Collection. Some of her principal duties involve acquiring and appraising archive records, coordinating the process and preservation of Kent State archival material in all formats, digitization, co-administering with the university’s general counsel, the records retention program, providing reference and research assistance and delivering instructional programming about the Kent State University Archives. Her research areas focus on outreach to marginalized communities, documenting student activism within disenfranchised populations and utilizing narratives of oppressed voices within the curricula of post-secondary education spaces. Her most recent publication is “Moving Toward a Reparative Archive: A Roadmap for a Holistic Approach to Disrupting Homogenous Histories in Academic Repositories and Creating Inclusive Spaces for Marginalized Voices” [PDF] in the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies. She is the Founder of Project STAND, a national initiative to create a centralized digital space where academic institutions can provide researchers access to historical and archival documentation on the development and on-going occurrences of student dissent. Project STAND focuses on digital and analog primary sources that document the activities of student groups that represent the concerns of historically marginalized communities (e.g., African American, Chicano/ LGBTQ, religious minorities, disabled, etc.). Lae’l is a 2018 Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Fellow and a recent recipient of the Society of Ohio Archivists Merit Award for Project STAND.
Nimisha Bhat
Technical Services Librarian
Columbus College of Art & Design Packard Library
An Ohioan by way of South Dakota, Nimisha Bhat’s education and career have been grounded in the exploration of dialogues between different cultures and communities. Nimisha earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College where she studied Arabic and spent time abroad in India and Egypt. Further, pursuing her master’s degree from Pratt Institute’s library and information science program fed her passion for visual culture and literacy. Working with collections at the Frick, Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art, she has combined her experience in museum librarianship with information literacy at the Columbus College of Art & Design. As CCAD Packard Library’s Technical Services Librarian, Nimisha is passionate about cataloging, teaching through a lens of critical librarianship and advocating for diversity and inclusion within library services.
Bryan Loar (Moderator)
Co-Founder and Board President
Cbus Libraries
As Co-Founder and Board President of Cbus Libraries, a tax-exempt charitable nonprofit, Bryan champions Central Ohio libraries, library enthusiasts and the love of reading. Through a variety of programming, Cbus Libraries promotes the exceptional work of Central Ohio libraries via monthly features, raises scholarship funds for traditionally underrepresented library students and creates literacy experiences at community events and public spaces. In 2017, Bryan moderated Resistance + Refuge : Bookstores + Libraries at Columbus, Ohio’s Flyover Fest. Bryan earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in History of Art and Italian from The Ohio State University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Kent State University. Bryan serves as a trustee at the Ohioana Library Association and on the advisory council for Choose to Read Ohio. He is a member of ALA’s Association of College & Research Libraries.
The academic year has concluded for students at Capital University, but the Blackmore Library is still a hub of activity!
We had the pleasure of meeting with Library Director Rachel Rubin and Information Services Librarian Matthew Cook to learn about the library’s transformation and upcoming initiatives. The Blackmore Library was built in 1969 and received an impressive face-lift in 2012. Matthew participated in the update and shared it was a campus-wide initiative. The university was dedicated to determining the needs of students and faculty by creating a space conducive to serving them. The result of their work is a bright and inviting space with a focus on service and availability.
The main portion of the library is open to students to meet and study 24/7. It features ample study space, a cafe area with coffee and snack machines and whiteboard tables for brainstorming.
The remodel also gave the library an opportunity to build on partnerships with other college departments. The IT department, which was previously housed in the basement of the building, now shares space at the service desk in the center of the library. This change improved service to students, who often sought the help of IT staff for printer and computer issues at the library. The Offices of Academic Success and Student Success, the Schumacher Gallery and a reading center for education students are also housed within the library. This arrangement offers opportunities for partnership and brings more students into the library. The library’s design team also created vibrant navigation tools to help students find their way around the building. Color coded maps make it much easier for library visitors to find the correct floor and shelf location for materials they seek.
The Blackmore Library is home to several unique collections. They maintain the Capital University archives, the Lois Lenski collection and faculty publications. In the past, Summer Scholars have used the collections to perform documentary research and helped manage the archives. The future holds opportunities to digitize these materials. Library staff are also working to improve the circulating collection, using smart visual cues and statistics to determine which materials are most valuable to their users and what can be removed.
Rachel, who will celebrate her first anniversary at the library this summer, shared that the next few months will focus on increasing library the staff, which currently consists of five full-time employees and around 20 student workers. They are gearing up for the start of the 2018 school year with new initiatives, including a pilot project with “pop-up periodicals” to the business department, which will allow students easy access to materials in their area of study. At the beginning of the new school year, the library will partner with the admissions department for student orientation and offer instruction to first year students.
The library is a viable partner and supportive entity within the university – Library Director Rachel Rubin
Library staff work closely with many departments, as well as the community, partnering with the Bexley Public Library. Rachel looks forward to continuing to strengthen existing and develop new relationships. We encourage you to learn more and explore this incredible academic library!
The Research Commons at The Ohio State University is a fantastic resource for students and faculty embarking on projects at any point in the research process. Located in the 18th Avenue Library, the Research Commons’ mission is to
leverage campus partnerships to provide support services at each stage of the research lifecycle. It enhances the Libraries’ mission by providing a hub for collaborative, interdisciplinary research that is both expertise and technology enabled.
The library offers a wide range of resources, including workshops, one-on-one consultation and high-tech workspaces. The Research Commons maintains a balance of providing research support and resources to support research.
When the Research Commons was created in 2016, a task force began to identify the needs of the campus. Support for geographic information system (GIS) services, information management and data management were uncovered. The Commons’ resources are scalable, free and available. Services include research impact, designed to help measure projects through metrics and enhance their impact, and data management, providing resources to help manage data throughout a project’s lifecycle. With librarians and experts on hand, the Research Commons provides assistance, connects experts with resources and teaches research best practices.
Head of Research Services Meris Longmeier shared launching and growing the Research Commons has been a great experience. When she joined the university six years ago, the Research Commons was just an idea. She has helped to shape the space and programming. Now, she manages a growing staff of 10 employees and continues to identify and support new initiatives as the popularity of the Research Commons spreads.
The Research Commons showcases the work of the researchers across the university. By featuring projects on screens in the library and promoting the work of research collaborators through campuswide communications, students and faculty learn of their colleagues’ work and the Research Commons demonstrates its support. Through monthly faculty forums, professors share their accomplishments. Additionally, the library also hosts special events, including GIS day, collaborative events with the City of Dublin and partnerships with Ohio State Advance.
Research Commons partners and collaborates across the university with industry liaisons, the Office of Research, the Supercomputer Center and many other organizations to highlight services and share information. Upcoming workshops include Corporate Research Engagement and introductory classes on an assortment of advanced software available for use in the Research Commons computer lab.
The library offers a variety of spaces available for classes and groups of all sizes to reserve. The newly designed space is bright, clean and attractive, with easy-to-arrange furniture to accommodate the needs of groups attending events. Rooms are equipped with cutting edge technology, making it easy to present, connect, share and collaborate. The 18th Avenue Library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and librarians at the Research Commons are available for consultation throughout the week. It is phenomenal resource for researchers at Ohio State, with caring staff and outstanding opportunities to learn.