NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 24 number 1 - Fall 2003

The Newest NCSU Libraries Fellows

The NCSU Libraries welcomes the Fellows Class of 2003-2005. Steven McCann began his fellowship on July 1, Michele Shular started on July 14, and Bonnie Tijerina began her fellowship on July 1, 2003. The Fellows program, which develops future leaders in science, engineering, and digital librarianship and in library management and administration, continues to attract a diverse and impressive group of talented new graduates. Fellows are appointed to the rank of librarian for a time-limited two-year term as full members of the library faculty, and they combine their work on an innovative project with a half-time assignment in a home department.

Steve McCann's experience and impressive background in digital librarianship is an ideal match for his home department in Digital Library Initiatives. His project assignment in Research and Information Services affords him a unique opportunity to assess and evaluate library instruction. His project involves reviewing current initiatives, assessing the evaluation procedures and instruments in use, and developing a plan to measure the effectiveness of library instruction at NC State.

McCann has several years of experience managing Web sites and marketing programs and in facilitating user access to information. He has worked in a variety of organizations, ranging from nonprofit to Internet companies, including Amazon.com. He recently worked as a usability specialist and research assistant with the University of Washington Libraries' Systems Department, where he designed, conducted, and reported on a usability study of the library's Information Gateway. Past positions include metadata specialist and research assistant with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and database analyst with Energy Newsdata. Fieldwork experience involved a digital library project in which he cataloged and presented historic illustrations of the Pacific Northwest and provided reference service for the Seattle Public Library. McCann received an M.L.I.S. degree from the University of Washington and a B.A. in literature from Montana State University.

Michele Shular brings experience in geographic information systems and an academic background in earth science, horticulture, and physical geography. Her background is a perfect fit with her home department in the Natural Resources Library. In her project assignment, she will develop content and functionality for a searchable database of geospatial metadata. Coordinating with Data Services and Digital Library Initiatives, Shular will explore and assess database interfaces and work with Cataloging on opportunities for integration and transfer of data with the catalog.

Shular worked as a graduate student assistant in the Serge A. Sauer Map Library in the Department of Geography at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). In 2002 she completed a full-time internship as data services librarian assistant in the Data Resources Library (DRL) at UWO. In addition to providing reference assistance, she contributed to the development and assessment of the DRL's digital collections of geospatial data, statistical microdata, and government documents. Shular also completed several projects describing and arranging historical materials, including a collection of photographic negatives in the J. J. Talman Regional Collection at UWO. Shular received an M.L.I.S. from the University of Western Ontario and a B.S. with a combined honors degree in earth science and physical geography from Brock University.

Bonnie Tijerina's innovative project focuses on the creation and implementation of a "Business One-Stop Resource Center" geared toward the information needs of the College of Management. The center will provide state-of-the-art delivery of business information and guidance to patrons in an efficient, effective, and easy-to-follow format. The resource center will support virtual classrooms, resource guides, frequently asked questions, business workshops, community events, and career opportunities. She will have opportunities to collaborate with collection managers, distance-learning librarians, faculty, and students in the design and development of this resource. Her home department will be in Collection Management.

Tijerina completed a practicum in bibliographic instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a reference practicum with the Reference and Loan Library, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. She served as library assistant for the Ethnic Studies Collection, College Library, acting as liaison with the Multicultural Student Center. She received an M.A.L.I.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in religious studies, Asian religious traditions from Lawrence University. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies, and the Estelle Ray Reid Scholarship for the study of librarianship at Lawrence University.

For more information on the NCSU Libraries' Fellows Program, see the Libraries' Web site at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/personnel/jobs/FellowsProgDesc.html.