I’m interested in the effects of new technology on the ways we find and use information of all types. In today’s increasingly connected digital age, how we construct knowledge, define expertise and find answers to our burning questions is radically shifting.
As an academic librarian, I help others locate, evaluate and use the information they need, currently at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, where I am the Instruction and Assessment Librarian.
Before that I served as an Information Literacy Fellow at the University of West Georgia, where I taught a semester-long course on college-level research and critical thinking.
Much of my writing is connected to my professional interests, including my Social Web Q and A blog. I also maintain and write for websites in different domains, such as soccer, bowling, and native plant gardening, and I have also provided freelance writing and consulting services.
In recent years I’ve also become fascinated with urban history, including preservation, redevelopment, and urban planning. I write articles on these topics relating to Dayton, Ohio on DaytonVistas.com
My Background
I have a Spanish degree from Grinnell College, a small liberal arts institution in Iowa. After graduation and a year spent writing, I started the master’s program in library and information science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My coursework was varied, ranging from advanced research methods to database design and computer networking.
At Illinois I worked as a graduate assistant for Reference, Research and Scholarly Services and the Literatures and Languages Library, where I taught instructional sessions for undergrads, grad students and library staff, provided research assistance both in-person and virtually, and helped manage the library’s web presence.
For the past several years I have also worked part-time as a writer, created several websites of my own, and presented and published in my position as a librarian. Check out my work experience page to see some of the work I’ve done.