Author: Anne Leonard

The second meeting of the City Tech Banned Books book group is coming up soon: Friday, March 27 from noon-1pm. We will meet in L432 in the Library, and everyone in the City Tech community is welcome to attend and participate. The book we’re reading together is Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, a graphic memoir that is equal parts heartbreaking and humorous. Copies are available in CUNY libraries and throughout New York City’s public libraries: Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, and New York Public Library. Get in touch if you have questions about locating a copy before we meet! Interested but want to learn more before committing? Read a synopsis and critical acclaim of Fun Home.

Space is limited so please register by March 26. The Banned Books book club is sponsored by the IDEA subcommittee of the City Tech General Education Committee.

The library’s new series of faculty workshops on information literacy continues this month. If you heard about last month’s workshop (or even if you didn’t) but were unable to participate, please consider registering for either or both of the March workshops. Here are the details:

Revising your (low-stakes) assignment | register

March 18, 1pm-2pm | Participants are encouraged to bring a research-based assignment or class activity that they wish to revise to get more consistent results with students’ research efforts. The goal will be to update an assignment or classroom activity to clarify expectations about its research component and improve research results. Please register by March 17 on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and examples to the workshop. Part-time faculty who participate will be compensated at their hourly non-teaching adjunct rate for attending.

Strategies for countering misinformation and disinformation | register

March 24, 3pm-4pm | We routinely encounter misinformation and disinformation when we’re online, and even if we identify it, we don’t always have the capacity to find credible sources of information. Participants will learn and practice the techniques that professional fact-checkers use to evaluate information and find reliable sources. Together we will generate ideas about using these strategies in class or in written assignments. Please register on Zoom by March 23. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and examples to the workshop. Part-time faculty who participate will be compensated at their hourly non-teaching adjunct rate for attending.  

Last Wednesday, December 3, a small group of faculty from across the college met to discuss our first book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This 1999 coming-of-age novel has been widely acclaimed and also widely challenged and banned for its truthful depiction of some of the universal challenges of adolescence.

The Banned Books book club will meet again in late February to discuss The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Everyone in the City Tech community is welcome to participate! Stay tuned for details about when and where we will meet. The City Tech library, all CUNY libraries, and all NYC public libraries own copies of this book that you can borrow. If you have questions about getting The Bluest Eye from City Tech or another library, visit us and ask any librarian. Hope to read banned and challenged books with you in 2026!

The first meeting of the City Tech banned books book club is coming up soon: Wednesday, December 3 from 3-4pm. We will meet in L432 in the library, and the entire college community is welcome to participate.

The first book we will discuss together is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. While our library doesn’t own copies, it is available from other CUNY libraries as well as most public libraries across New York City: Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Public Library. Visit the Ask a Librarian desk in the City Tech library for help finding a copy near you. Interested but want to learn more before committing? Read a synopsis about The Perks of Being a Wallflower, including an author interview and responses to the bans and challenges to this book. Space is limited so please register by November 24. The Banned Books book club is sponsored by the IDEA subcommittee of the City Tech General Education Committee.

City Tech Library seeks to hire Reference and Instruction librarians for part-time work during the Spring 2025 semester, which runs from January 25 to May 22, 2025. Adjunct reference and instruction librarians will be responsible for providing high quality reference service in person and online, for teaching in-person library instruction classes, and for contributing to instructional design and outreach projects. Other projects, including blogging, maintaining library guides and tutorials, assisting with collection development, occasional website updates, and collaborating on promotion and outreach efforts are within the scope of this position.

Successful candidates will have experience working in an academic library, experience providing in-person and online library reference, experience with library instruction, the ability to work as part of a team of diverse individuals, and excellent communication skills, including the ability to interact positively with colleagues, students, faculty, staff in the library and at the college. Experience with LibGuides and WordPress preferred.

Shifts during the Spring 2025 semester will likely be scheduled between 9am-5pm Monday through Thursday, with a possibility of occasional reference desk shifts on weeknights from 5pm-9pm and Saturdays from 10am-5pm. The successful candidates will be able to work around 15 hours per week over 2 or 3 weekdays. Applicants must have an ALA-accredited MLIS; an additional graduate degree is required for appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor.

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV by email to Prof. Anne Leonard at Anne.Leonard81@login.cuny.edu. The position is open until filled, and review of applications will begin immediately. Preference is given to applications submitted before December 18.

Hourly rate: approximately $50 per hour; consult the PSC-CUNY salary schedule for non-teaching adjunct hourly rates.