Previous: Improvement Activities
An ongoing goal of mine is to have all patron- or student-facing information be as easy to understand as possible and free from library jargon. I want to continue to work on updating language on the Interlibrary Loan webpages and policy pages as well as in the notifications and emails we send out to patrons. Related to this, I continue to work on integration of our different library systems to ensure greater ease of finding and requesting materials for students either through CUNY libraries or Interlibrary Loan.
I am also working on improving our discoverability of library materials through the online catalog (OneSearch). By updating the different search options and also thinking about the importance of how they get named, again seeking to avoid library jargon, will allow us to better serve our students’ information-seeking needs. While I am in the beginning stages of this, I plan to do usability testing with students.
I am in the process of planning a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to highlight our recently acquired LGBTIA collection that I was able to purchase with the LGBTIA+ grant. I started the collection last year as a project lead after receiving funds through the LGBTIA+ Consortium grant, which Prof. Laura Westengard spearheaded. I was able to purchase many titles that we would not usually be able to acquire through typical library vendors, and thus I was able to order more unique materials including many queer art books, small press books and zines while simultaneously supporting important small locally owned bookstores. The Wikipedia Edit-a-thon would help students (and hopefully faculty and staff as well) become familiar with the collection. And through the process of using the materials through Wikipedia, they would both learn more about how to use Wikipedia and also about the items themselves and the queer histories therein. This year I requested additional funds to continue building our LGBTIA collection, which we received, part of which will go toward ordering queer science fiction titles in conjunction with Prof. Jill Belli and this year’s CityTech SciFi Symposium, for which I am also on the Planning Committee. I also have scheduled a visit to showcase the collection with our campus Pride Club visit, and I plan to work with students to design signs and bookmarks to highlight this great collection.
I would like to be able to do more instruction sessions in my subject areas of Gender & Sexuality Studies and Chemistry. Now that more classes are back on campus post-COVID shutdown, this is a great time to encourage professors in these areas to get their students back in the library. I plan to update my Chemistry instruction handout and think of ways that it could better serve the needs of students getting started with the research.
I am on the Executive Board of the NY Metro Chapter of the American Studies Association (NYMASA) as well as the planning committee for our 2024 Institute on Abolition, which will take place June 24-27, 2024. Each of the board members have taken on planning one day, and my day will include thinking about the connection between zines and the theme of abolition as well as a visit to Interference Archives here in Brooklyn.
