Getting to Know the 2007-2008 InULA Executive Board

We meet each other in committee meetings and often know what other librarians think about big library and information science issues but what do we know about each other? InULA Notes asked executive board members to answer some personal professional questions. Five brave members --Fran Huehls (FH), Gary Charbonneau (GC), Monique Threatt (MT), Dina Kellams (DK), Kristen Leonard (KL)-revealed a little bit about themselves.

What was the last thing you read for your job?

• Bekkers, Rene and Olaf Crutzen. Just keep it simple: a field experiment on fundraising letters. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 12, 371-378, 2007. (FH)
• The last thing I read was Jenn Riley's Metadata Discussion Group blog, http://metadatadiscuss.blogspot.com/ . It's a very interesting discussion group and the blog is a great way to broadcast the information. I'd like to suggest a wiki as well to enable multiple-way communications and include a broader group in the discussion. (KL)
• I guess it was the Gilliland article on metadata for the Metadata Discussion Group. (GC)
• Armstrong, E. A., Hamilton, L., & Sweeney, B. (2006). Sexual assault on campus: A multilevel, integrative approach to party rape. Social Problems, 53(4), 483-499.
• Just finished it this morning! I know, I know, it has nothing to do with archives - it's for a committee I'm on, which is very much my "job" these days! (DK)
• November 2007 Understand Media Newsletter. Media Literacy on the Web. (http://www.understandmedia.com/) (MT)

What was the last thing you read just for you?

• Cheever, Ben. Strides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete. (Rodale Press, 2007). (FH)
• I re-read Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series. This is a young adult series. I remember going back to find these at my Jr. High School library while I was in college because I couldn't remember the author or the titles of the books, but I did remember exactly where they were in the stacks at the Jr. High School library. They combine Arthurian legend and good versus evil themes and are set in the British countryside. It was this series and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series that first hooked me on Britain. I've been to all of the places mentioned in the Dark is Rising series. (KL)
• I've just started reading Scott C. Patchan's Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. (GC)
• The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. Even in my spare time I read correspondence - I guess being an archivist really is in my blood! (For the record, I didn't love the book and probably wouldn't recommend it.) (DK)
• The war: an intimate history, 1941-1945 by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (companion book to the seven-part PBS documentary). (MT)

What's your favorite restaurant in Indiana?

• You mean I have to choose ONE??? (FH)
• Claddagh Irish Pub in Indy (KL)
• Texas Roadhouse. (GC)
• Any Aurelio's in Northwest Indiana. I grew up eating Chicago-style pizza and I really miss it! (DK)
• There are so many wonderful restaurants in the Bloomington area, but I seem to gravitate more to Chili's. (MT)

If you were not a librarian, would you be a library user?

• Most likely. One of the reasons I decided to become a librarian was because I was spending tons of time in libraries for no good reason. (FH)
• Absolutely! (KL)
• Yes. (GC)
• Absolutely! The public library was within walking distance of my house when I was growing up and I visited every week. (DK)
• Yes. (MT)

Google or Library Web Page?

• Depends (FH)
• Both, integrated in a seamless user-friendly way with the precision of the catalog and the full-text searchability of Google. (KL)
• Google. (GC)
• Google. Sorry. (DK)
• Library Web Page. (MT)

Print Books or Kindle?

• Print (FH)
• I'd try the Kindle if someone gave it to me. I have used my PDA and phones to read ebooks. I've loaded travel and massive history books to take with me on my trips to Britain because the ebook versions are MUCH easier to haul around on those long hiking trips. (KL)
• Print books. I'm reserving judgment about Kindle for now (and have no plans to buy one). (GC)
• Print books (DK)
• Long live the printed book. (MT)

PC or Mac?

• PC (FH)
• PC (KL)
• PC. (GC)
• PC. I'm in awe of Mac users, though - I see them as the real pros! (DK)
• PC. (MT)

Do you have a "library hero?" If so, who is it and why is this person your hero?

• That would be Steve Towne (University Archives, IUPUI)-finds time to research and write, sing, and bakes dynamite cookies. You can always count on him to be thoughtful and deliberate when everyone else is losing their heads. (FH)
• Many librarians have inspired me, too many to list here. It is an impressive group. I am inspired by those who forge ahead and then do the hard work to realize our imaginations, by those who remain positive and remember to laugh in the face of frustrations, and by those who strive to keep the user foremost when making decisions. (KL)
• Hmmm - no. (GC)
• My heroes are Vaughn Nuest and his staff. I initially fretted over sending our collections to the ALF but Vaughn worked with us until we were entirely comfortable with the transfer process. He and his staff have continued to do a fabulous job for us, even accommodating special deliveries when we needed to get our hands on some of our boxes as quickly as possible. I don't know how other operations run, but from my perspective I'd say Vaughn runs a model facility! (DK)
• Although I really like the whole Nancy Pearl super librarian/action shero with accessories thing, I'm going to say First Lady, Laura Bush. As a former school teacher and librarian, Ms. Bush is in a prominent position to uplift and inspire young adults to become librarians. (MT)

How do you describe what you do as a librarian to your friends and relatives who do not work in libraries?

• I smile and return the blank stare. Actually, I think academic librarians need to write more about what we actually do and publish it where the public will read it. (FH)
• I work with and manage computer systems to organize and make accessible billions of pieces of information. I also work to acquire more information. Oh, and I manage our federal depository of government information in order to help preserve democracy in the United States. What we do is impressive and important and I am proud of that. (KL)
• They don't ask....(GC)
• I tell them an archivist is kind of like a librarian but I work with records and correspondence rather than books. Based on the emails I get from friends and family, I'm pretty certain they still do not understand that my area of expertise is Indiana University history, period! My favorite was when my mother emailed me a very detailed description of a shrub she wanted to buy and told me I should be able to find out the name "since you're a librarian." I did not succeed in that mission. (DK)
• This is a tough question, and even harder to answer. I think as librarians there are so many things we naturally do on-the-job that we're often too modest to acknowledge, or forget to give ourselves a pat on the back. I would say that I have many opportunities to make a difference in my profession, and to the academic community. I am involved in decisions which affect my department. I am able to create content for library web pages which will improve customer service. I help patrons at the reference desk to find and weed out credible information that is relevant to their course assignment. I select resources which, I hope, will enhance existing library collections. There are times when I feel like I am therapist when patrons just want to talk, or vent. But, most importantly, as a librarian, I hope I am someone who is perceived as approachable and patrons feel comfortable enough to ask me for assistance. (MT)