Alison Blaine, of Durham, N.C., will work with the Library and Information Technology department. She will be part of the team that is responsible for technical development of the Carolina Digital Repository and the Curator’s Workbench. She is a graduate of Duke University and holds a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School.

Hillary Miller, of Birmingham, Ala., will work with the E-Resources & Serials Management department, where she will be involved in the acquisition and management processes for electronic resources. Miller holds a B.A. in English from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Sarah Morris, of Asheville, N.C., will have a placement with Davis Library Research and Instructional Services. She will provide traditional reference services and also participate in a full range of liaison services. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jaci Wilkinson, of Decorah, Iowa, will have joint appointment with the Preservation and Music Cataloging departments. She will work with both units on a combination of special projects and ongoing processes. She holds a B.A. from Luther College in Decorah.

The Library also congratulates its graduating CALAs: Christopher Holden, Benjamin Jahre, and Sara Suiter.

The Library introduced the CALA program in 2000 to help prepare graduate students at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS) for careers in academic librarianship.

CALAs work 20 hours per week in their assigned department, for which they receive a salary, tuition awards, health insurance, and professional development opportunities.

To learn more about the CALA program, visit the CALA web page or contact Tiffany Allen, Director of Library Human Resources, at twallen@email.unc.edu.

Download a copy of the report (pdf)

Despite budgetary setbacks, writes University Librarian Sarah Michalak, the Library has transformed itself dramatically in a time of rapid change.The Library has helped to drive scholarship, teaching, and learning with outstanding research collections and leading-edge technologies.

To request a print copy of the report, please contact Judy Panitch, Director of Library Communications, panitch@email.unc.edu.

Erika will provide leadership in the acquisition, maintenance, and support of electronic resources and print serials. She will also participate in policy development regarding e-resources and serials, and she will join the Library’s licensing team,  and supervise the five staff members in the E-Resources & Serials Acquisitions Section.

Prior to this appointment, Erika was the Assistant Director of Collection Development, Serials and E-Resources at Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries in Dallas. She previously served there as the Periodicals Librarian and as the Interim Assistant Director of Public Services.

She holds an M.L.I.S. and a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.

Contact Erika at (919) 962-1067 or eripley@unc.edu.

UNC Librarian Rebecca Vargha has been named a Fellow of the Special Libraries Association

UNC librarian Rebecca Vargha has been named a Fellow of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). Vargha has been head of the Information and Library Science Library since 2001 and is an adjunct faculty member at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS).

SLA is a “nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners that serves more than 9,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists.”

Vargha is a past president of the association; immediate past chair of SLA’s leadership management division; chair-elect for SLA’s Museums, Arts and Humanities Division; archivist for the North Carolina SLA Chapter; and faculty advisor for the SLA Student Group at SILS.

SLA Fellows are recognized mid-career for their leadership in the library and information science professions. Only a maximum of five SLA members are selected as Fellows each year.

“This is such a high honor personally and for our excellent university,” Vargha stated. “Being named as a Fellow of SLA recognizes my current work for our profession and for the future of information professionals, whether on campus working with students and faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill or virtually with library colleagues in South Africa, India, Germany, or Spain.”

Prior to her appointment at UNC, Vargha worked as senior research specialist at Nortel Networks. She was also an information analyst for the Research Triangle-based software company SAS. Her career began as an assistant librarian at the National Humanities Center. She is actively involved in the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and presents globally on current challenges in library and information science.

Vargha holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in library science from North Carolina Central University. She is a member of Beta Phi Mu and won the Meritorious Achievement Award (1994) from the North Carolina SLA Chapter for making outstanding contributions to the profession and chapter. On October 31, 2008, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award from North Carolina Central University. In May 2012, she received the SILS Deborah Barreau Award for Teaching Excellence.

“Carol leaves a legacy of leadership and innovation,” said University Librarian and Associate Provost for University Libraries Sarah Michalak. “Her outstanding career and tireless passion have advanced the provision of health information on campus, across the state, around the country, and throughout the world.”

Only the third professional librarian to lead the Health Sciences Library (HSL), Jenkins oversaw numerous developments. Under her leadership, the HSL became one of the first libraries to provide access to MEDLINE and other key databases to users anywhere on campus. During her tenure, the HSL instituted the AHEC Digital Library, providing online books, journals, and databases to health professionals across the state, and NC Health Info, a unique consumer database of authoritative health sources and local resources.

At UNC, Jenkins also oversaw and extensive renovation of the Health Sciences Library in 2005, adding spaces and technology to meet changing needs and expectations of library users.

In 2010 the HSL was administratively joined with the University Library. Jenkins has co-chaired a new joint strategic planning process that focuses on a new vision for twenty-first-century library services.

Jenkins’s awards and accomplishments include serving as president of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (2001) and the Medical Library Association (2002), and leading two programs to identify and mentor future library leaders. She was a founding member of BRIDGES, a program begun at UNC to prepare women for academic administrative leadership.

In recognition of her career contributions, Jenkins recently received two prestigious professional awards: the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries’ Cornerstone Award in 2010 and the Medical Library Association’s Marcia C. Noyes Award in 2011. She is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and a Lifetime Fellow of the Medical Library Association.

In an email to HSL librarians and staff Jenkins wrote, “One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is being able to recruit and work with such a wonderful staff.”

Jim Curtis, deputy director of the HSL, will serve as interim director until a replacement is named.

Related Links

About the Director (Health Sciences Library website)

Left to right: Jan Paris (honorable mention); Sarah Michalak, University Librarian; Greg Jansen, outstanding employee of 2012; and Melissa Salvanish (honorable mention)

The University Library has awarded its 2012 Outstanding Employee Award to Greg Jansen of the Library Systems department. Honorable mentions went to Jan Paris of the Conservation Lab in the Wilson Special Collections Library and Melissa Salvanish of the Undergraduate Library.

The award, presented at a Feb. 12 gathering for Library staff, honors a University Library employee for excellence in one or more of the following categories: Community Service Activity, Commitment and Dependability, Creativity and Innovation, and Teamwork and Leadership.

Greg Jansen, Applications Analyst, was recognized as the 2012 Outstanding Employee for his teamwork, commitment, and creative work on the Carolina Digital Repository (CDR), a digital archive for materials produced by members of the UNC community. During the past 18 months, Greg has offered workshops in Scotland, Canada, and in the Triangle area about his work on the Curator’s Workbench, a utility designed to prepare data files and metadata for the repository. Recently, Greg was named a member of the technical team for the Academic Preservation Trust Advisory Group. Thanks in large part to Greg’s work, UNC is nationally recognized as a leader in the digital preservation of research data and cultural history.

Jan Paris, Conservator for Special Collections at the Wilson Special Collections Library, was nominated for her creativity, commitment, and teamwork in managing the four-year Wilson Library sprinkler installation project. Jan served as the primary Library contact with UNC Facilities, the architect, and the contractors, ensuring that the project was done according to specifications and carrying out the relocation of collections to minimize the inconvenience to users through the process. Throughout the project, Jan displayed a talent for clear and timely communication and a remarkable blend of practicality and imagination.

Melissa Salvanish, Acquisitions/Facilities/Circulation Supervisor at the Undergraduate Library, was recognized for her dependability, teamwork, and creativity. Melissa works to ensure that the Undergraduate Library is a safe and welcoming environment and that facilities work is completed in a timely, non-disruptive manner. Melissa encourages student employees and colleagues to identify issues in need of attention and to share information openly. Her innovative suggestions have made workflows more efficient and improved communication, including transforming the UL reserves hold process in a way that has resulted in reductions in delivery time and duplication and lessened patron frustration.

Related Links

• Library Honors Outstanding Employees of 2011
• Library Honors Outstanding Employees of 2010

Download event flier (pdf)

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012
Wilson Special Collections Library
Cookies at 5 p.m. | Lobby
Program at 5:30 p.m. | Pleasants Family Assembly Room
Free and open to the public
Information: Liza Terll, Friends of the Library, (919) 548-1203

Storytellers and musicians will entertain children of all ages at the Friends of the Library’s 20th annual Winter Stories program on Dec. 6 in Wilson Library.

Brian Sturm, associate professor at the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS), and SILS students will enchant with folk tales and literary tales from around the world with the theme “Chilly and Charming.” Library staff members and SILS students will provide music and lead sing-alongs.

To mark the 20th anniversary of this winter tradition, Winter Stories founder Jeffery Beam and professional storyteller and early participant Terry Rollins will take part. Beam, a poet based in Hillsborough, retired from the Library in 2011 after 36 years of service.

Also telling stories and making music will be SILS students Kate Barr, Marianne Bell, Emily Childress-Campbell, Veronica Koven-Matasy, Brianna Leesch, Virginia Neisler, Peter Shirts, Emily Vardell, and Nicole Lehotsky; senior English major Hugh Koeze; and Chris Lehotsky.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a new or gently used children’s book to contribute to a book drive for the Book Fairy, an organization that donates children’s books to the Pediatric Oncology Clinic at UNC Hospitals.

Ellie Coen Boote is Research Services Librarian, a temporary appointment that began Sept. 1.

Boote will collaborate in supervision of the R.B. House Undergraduate Library Reference Desk and Design Lab, and will participate in outreach, promotion, and tailored instruction activities.

Prior to this appointment, Boote served as Temporary Program Coordinator and Assistant to the Director of Administration at the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC) at Duke University in Durham, N.C.; as a contract writer at NoveList/EBSCO Publishing in Durham; and as a library assistant at the Orange County Public Libraries in Carrboro, N.C.

She holds a B.A. in French, International Studies, and Religion from Hope College in Holland, Mich., and an M.S.L.S. from the School of Information and Library Science at UNC.

Contact Boote at (919) 962-1355 or boote@live.unc.edu.

Doug Diesenhaus is Administrative Projects Librarian, a one-year temporary appointment that began Sept. 1.

Diesenhaus will work with the Library Personnel Office to develop new staff training programs and with the Library Communications office to develop communications and promotional plans for library collections, events, exhibits, and staff. He will also compile annual library statistics and provide general reference and course-specific instruction services.

Diesenhaus holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio; an M.F.A. in Nonfiction Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington; and an M.S.L.S. from the School of Information and Library Science at UNC.

Contact Diesenhaus at (919) 962-8027 or ddiesenh@email.unc.edu.

Barbara Ilie became Newspaper Digitization Project Librarian Oct. 1.

Ilie will coordinate activities for North Carolina Historic Newspapers, a multi-year collaborative grant project with the North Carolina State Archives.  The project will digitize approximately 150 reels of microfilmed North Carolina newspapers for the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America website.

Prior to this appointment, Ilie worked as a Research and Reference Services Associate at UNC’s Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library. She also worked as the Project Information Scientist on the Historic Hillsborough Commission’s Institute of Museum and Library Services grant-funded Burwell School Digital Archive and Research Project.

Contact Ilie at (919) 962-1172 or ilie@unc.edu.

Brenda Linares was appointed Librarian and Institute on Aging Liaison in the UNC Health Sciences Library Sept. 17.

Linares will help to identify information needs of library users affiliated with the Institute on Aging; to articulate, implement, maintain, and evaluate services; and to build the Institute’s library collection.

Prior to this appointment, Linares served at the Louis Calder Memorial Library at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as head of Library Outreach and Community Engagement, and as Administrative Librarian. She was also an Associate Fellow at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md.

Linares holds a B.S. in finance from California State University, Northridge, and an M.L.I.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Contact Linares at (919) 962-0801 or blinares@unc.edu.

McGeary will manage the Library Systems Department, with responsibilities that include planning, budgeting, and setting policy for information resources.

McGeary will lead a program that researches, develops, and supports advanced information systems for the Library, and ensures operational management of information systems and support of end users. He will directly supervise unit managers responsible for desktop support, application development, and infrastructure architecture and administrations.

Prior to this appointment, McGeary served as Manager of Library Technology at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. He was previously Senior Systems Specialist at Lehigh University.

He holds a B.A. in Music and an M.S. in Information & Systems Engineering from Lehigh University.

Contact McGeary at (919) 962-1288 or tmcgeary@email.unc.edu.

Award winner and UNC business and economics librarian Rita Moss

UNC business and economics librarian Rita W. Moss received the Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship on June 24 at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.

The Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) presents the award and $3,000 prize annually “to an individual who has made a significant contribution to business librarianship.” Previous recipients include former UNC Associate University Librarian for Public Services Diane Strauss in 1990.

The award committee selected Moss for her outstanding contributions to business librarianship over more than two decades of professional work in the field. The committee also recognized her role as a mentor and educator, and her active participation in professional organizations.

Moss has worked at UNC since 1991. She is the author of the second and third editions of Strauss’s Handbook of Business Information: A Guide for Librarians, Students, and Researchers.

Moss served as chair of RUSA BRASS in 2008-2009, and previously chaired BRASS’s nominating and vendor relations committees, co-chaired the Business Reference in Academic Libraries Committee, and served on RUSA’s nominating and membership committees.

Prior to coming to UNC, Moss was a business reference librarian at Elon University. She holds an M.A. in economics and education from the University College of North Wales and an M.S.L.S. from UNC.

Related Links

• Rita Moss recognized by RUSA BRASS for outstanding contributions to business librarianship (ALA news release)