Meet the new Libraries Fellows!

The Libraries is pleased to announce the appointment of the 2018-2020 class of NCSU Libraries Fellows. Alexa Carter, Emily Higgs, Mia Partlow, and Alex Valencia will all join the Libraries in July.

The NCSU Libraries Fellows Program develops future leaders for academic libraries, with a focus on science, engineering, and digital librarianship, on diversity, and on library management. Since its inception in 1999, the Fellows program has attracted an impressive group of talented new graduates from universities throughout North America. Fellows are appointed for a two-year term as members of the library faculty, combining an assignment on an initiative of strategic importance with an appointment in a home department.

Alexa Carter has been named the Lois Madden Todd Library Fellow for 2018/19. Established by Lois Madden Todd, the first woman graduate in chemical engineering at NC State, this endowment helps support recruitment and professional development for the named Fellow. Carter will join the Research Engagement department. Her initiative will be “Listening to our Users and their Data” (based in User Experience).

She is finishing a Master of Science in Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Currently interning at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Research Library, she supports scientific researchers and assisting in technical services. She also serves as a Practicum Assessment Researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey-Core Science, Analytics, Synthesis, and Libraries Division, where she designs and conducts usability studies.

Carter is a Diversity Scholar in the Association of Research Libraries’ Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce. She participated in the Experience Assessment program through the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st-Century Librarian grant program, where she analyzed the scholarly reading behavior of academic faculty and staff and evaluated graduate students’ experiences with services and spaces. Carter has presented her assessment research at the Empirical Librarians Conference, the College of Communication and Information Research Symposium, the Southeastern Library Assessment Conference, and the Charleston Conference.

Emily Higgs has been named a Donald E. Moreland Library Faculty Fellow for 2018/19. Donald Moreland, an alumnus and professor at NC State, established this endowment to help support recruitment and professional development for the named Fellow. Higgs’ home department will be in the Special Collections Research Center. Her initiative will be “Prototyping and Preparing for a New Learning Space: The Innovation Studio at the D. H. Hill Jr. Library” (based in Learning Spaces & Services).

Higgs is completing the Master of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and is focusing on digital archives and programming for cultural data analysis. Recently, Higgs used machine learning in Python to identify patterns in online metadata from 35 cultural institutions accessed through the Digital Public Library of America API.

While pursuing her degree, she has been serving as the Digital Projects Intern at the Southwestern University Special Collections and Archives where she has used digital scholarship tools to support faculty projects and has taught courses on Omeka, SketchUp, and how to properly use Special Collections materials. In her previous position at the IT lab at the University of Texas School of Information, she expanded the lab’s maker space and associated documentation for 3D printing technologies. She will present “Beyond Outreach: Working with Students and Classes as Curators” at the upcoming Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Annual Conference.

Mia Partlow has been named the Cyma Rubin Library Fellow for 2018/19. Cyma Rubin, past president of the Friends of the Library and holder of an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from NC State, is an award-winning producer of musicals, documentaries, and exhibitions, whose endowment helps support recruitment and professional development for the named Fellow. Partlow’s home department will be in Data & Visualization Services. Her initiative will be “Context-Aware Services: Towards a More Streamlined and Informative Experience” (based in Access Services).

Partlow will earn the Master of Library Science with specialization in digital humanities from Indiana University Bloomington. Partlow is currently a Digital Methods Specialist and Graduate Assistant at the Institute for Digital Arts & Humanities where she provides consultations to students and faculty on digital skills acquisition and methodological framing for quantitative humanities research. She has worked with scholars to create, clean, and normalize datasets and has developed workshops and programming, including a Code With Your Kid community event.

Partlow brings with her a rich background in public radio and television, having served as both a Corporate Development Associate and Projects Coordinator at WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television. As an AmeriCorps team member, she planned major fundraising events and developed monthly workshops in partnership with community groups and nonprofits as part of post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. She holds the Master of Arts in American Studies from New York University and the Bachelor of Arts, with highest distinction, in Political Science and Gender Studies from Indiana University Bloomington.

Alex Valencia has been named a Donald E. Moreland Library Faculty Fellow for 2018/19. He will have a home assignment in Learning Spaces & Services. His initiative will be “Developing & Integrating Video Gaming Collections for NC State Research & Teaching” (based in Collections and Research Strategy).

Valencia is completing the Master of Library and Information Science at UCLA. Valencia is currently serving as the Inquiry Specialist for the UCLA Library, providing academic research assistance and developing the library’s graphic novel collection. He has been serving as the Co-President of Books Beyond Bars, a student group that collects, organizes, and delivers reading materials to the children residing in the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Detention Center in Sylmar, California. Valencia acquired grant funding for the group and has doubled the number of volunteers active in the program. He is an ALA Spectrum Scholar and the recipient of both the CLA Begun Scholarship and the Osbourne Family Fellowship.

Prior to beginning his graduate studies, Valencia was a program volunteer in the Santa Cruz Public Library System and Librarian at Skyline Elementary School in the South San Francisco Unified School District, where he implemented a variety of new programs, including a superhero-themed academic reader progress chart, puzzle competitions, and a chess club. He also added books featuring diverse female protagonists to the library’s collection. Valencia holds the Bachelor of Science in Business Management from San Francisco State University.