Author: Lara De Meo Hoyt

  • Seen and Heard

    Rutgers University Libraries recently welcomed Keena Arbuthnot, the new executive vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer for Rutgers, for a tour of several locations across Rutgers University–Camden, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Rutgers University–Newark, and Rutgers Health. These visits were covered in Rutgers University Libraries social media posts during the week of December 1:

    The University Librarian’s Symposium Series launched in November with an inaugural program addressing the theme for the 2025–2026 academic year: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. Posts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook provided a brief synopsis and photos from the event. The full symposium recording will be shared soon!

    This video, produced by the Office of Student Orientation and Transition Programs, a part of Rutgers–New Brunswick Student Affairs, provided a student-centered overview of Douglass Library just before the start of finals.

    Two student publications recently featured the Libraries. The Daily Targum (Rutgers–New Brunswick) covered the InfoViz exhibition by students in the School of Communication and Information at Alexander Library. The Gleaner (Rutgers–Camden) wrote about Robeson Library’s research resources and assistance for students.

    Melissa De Fino, special collections and formats technical services librarian, and Mary Beth Weber, coordinator for training and mentorship, co-edited the book Library Technical Services: Future Forward (Bloomsbury Publishing, November 2025). Sungmin Park, resource description librarian, authored a chapter on resource description.

    Weber also was invited by Associate Professor Keren Dali to speak on a panel for her introductory management course in the Department of Information Sciences at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on Friday, November 7. The course covers the management process and functions as applied to all types of libraries, archives, media, and information centers.

    Becky Diamond, business instruction librarian at James Dickson Carr Library, also is a food writer and historian. She has made several TV news appearances regarding her most recent book, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America’s Golden Era. A Q&A with Diamond (including a recipe from the book) was published in Rutgers Today on December 17.

    Regina Koury, associate university librarian for Rutgers University–Camden, and Ann Marie Latini, head of access services for Paul Robeson Library, presented at the ALA CORE Conference on November 14. Their session, “Access Services Restructuring: Reorganizing Access Services Using the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Access Services Librarianship,” highlighted how they reorganized Robeson Library’s Access Services department using the ACRL Framework, emphasizing practices that enhance and support the mission of both the Libraries and the university.

    Ermira Mitre, a library technician at Smith Library, had some of her poems and a short story titled “Sentimental Antiquities” accepted for publication by the Canada-based Asemana Magazine. This creative work is expected to be published in the upcoming issue in 2026. The poetry and prose reflect Mitre’s continued dedication to writing, revision, and creative exploration across themes of memory, cultural identity, belonging, resilience, and the quiet moments that shape our human experience.

    Mitre also participated in a recent online Brownstone Poets event and read one of her poems during the open mic. The video of her poetry reading is available on YouTube.

    Elizabeth York, electronic resources and interim discovery librarian, gave a presentation, “Exploring Interfaces in Alma Electronic Collections” on October 15 at Ex Libris Northeast Users Group (ENUG) Conference 2025, hosted at Brandeis University. In addition, she gave an invited panel presentation, “SUSHI Struggles & Solutions: Monthly SUSHI Harvest Review” on December 5 as part of the SUSHI Struggles panel at Pet Projects: Ex Libris Southcentral Users Group (ELSUG) Virtual Conference 2025.

    York also was recently quoted in Clarivate’s whitepaper, “Seizing opportunities: Academic libraries in the AI era,” on appropriate uses of AI: “”We have to remember AI is not a toy and we shouldn’t just be using it just to plug stuff in and see what happens. We should be careful to use it for real applications that will have real benefits and not to treat it casually.” The whitepaper also describes how she contributed to the development of Ex Libris’s AI Metadata Assistant as part of the group of Rutgers library personnel who served as testing partners.

  • Need to Know

    Data Visualization Championship for Love Data Week

    For the first time, Rutgers is participating in the Big Ten’s Data Visualization Championship for Love Data Week 2026! Rutgers students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to submit entries. Rutgers University Libraries are partnering with OIT, Enterprise Analytics, and IDRIS to hold a data visualization contest, and the winner will move on to represent Rutgers and compete against entries from other Big Ten institutions!

    Go to the Rutgers Data Viz Championship website for links to the student dataset and submission form. More information about the contest guidelines, including a scoring rubric, is available on the website.

    The submission form is open now and will close on January 21, 2026. Winners will be announced during Love Data Week, February 9-13, 2026. The Rutgers first place student winner will receive a Lego Mosaic Maker set, and two runners up will get Rutgers merch! All prizes are being provided by Rutgers University Libraries, and the BTAA grand prize winner will receive $400.

     

    Open and Affordable Textbooks Program Update

    The Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Team welcomes two new members this year. Tajah Ebram joins as a team liaison for Rutgers–New Brunswick, and Rich Jutkiewicz joins as a team liaison for Rutgers Health (Newark). They join Matt Bridgeman, Abbey DiPaolo, Naomi Gold, Lara De Meo Hoyt, Rhonda Marker, Amanda Presler, Lily Todorinova, and Zara Wilkinson. Paige Morgan is the liaison to LLT for the OAT Team.

    Applications for the next cycle of OAT awards will open in January 2026. Libraries employees were invited to participate in the evaluation process, which will require approximately five hours per week for a week in March and a week in April, plus a mandatory training session in early February. Antonio Barrera, Maria Deptula, Ann Marie Latini, John Powell, Alfreda Richardson, Quionne Scott, and Victoria Wagner will serve in this capacity. Non-Libraries faculty and students will round out the OAT reviewer ranks. The OAT Team is grateful for the generosity of all who are contributing their time and expertise to ensure the success of the OAT Program.

  • Faculty and Staff News

    Raymond (Ray) Balter, library assistant II in Access Services at Douglass Library, is retiring effective January 1, 2026. His first day at Rutgers was July 16, 2001, when he started in University Mail and Document Services. He joined Rutgers University Libraries in March 2003 with a full-time position at the SERC Reading Room, and since then, he has worked in a variety of roles within the Libraries. Since July 2003, he has been based at Douglass Library within Access Services. At Douglass, he has worked in multiple roles over the years, including resource sharing, student employee management, and collection management. His last full day in the library was December 3.

    Renee Clark’s retirement, which is also effective January 1, was mentioned in the previous issue.

    Sara Gonzalez resigned from her position as library technician I, Interlibrary Loan Services, at Smith Library. Her last day was December 6. She has taken on a new role as electronic resources and reference librarian at Marymount Manhattan College.

  • Seen and Heard

    Diane Biunno, metadata archivist at the Institute of Jazz Studies, and Tara Kelley, audiovisual archivist for Special Collections and University Archives, are among the organizers of the New Jersey Archival Film Festival, which takes place Saturday, November 1, at Monmouth University. 

    Becky Libourel Diamond, business instruction librarian at James Dickson Carr Library, published The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America’s Golden Era (Lyons Press, September 2025). 

    Bart Everts, reference and instruction librarian at Paul Robeson Library, wrote the essay “Admiral Wilson Boulevard” in the book The Greater Philadelphia Region (from the Greater Philadelphia series) (October 2025, Penn Press). Everts also was quoted in a WHYY story on the significance of preserving the Peter Mott House. The site once was a stop on the Underground Railroad and now serves the public as a museum. 

    Ermira Mitre, a library technician at Smith Library, is also a poet, essayist, and translator. Recently, she translated a short story, “The Boundless View,” from her native language, Albanian, into English. The translation was published by the National Translation Month newsletter. In addition, her poem “SILENCED” has been included in the Brownstone Poets Anthology 2025, published in Brooklyn, New York. 

    Tony Nguyen, associate university librarian, Rutgers Health, coathored The Librarian’s Grants Handbook: Understanding the Grant Process from Start to Finish (Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2026), which is now available for preorder. 

    Mary Beth Weber, coordinator for training and mentorship, was appointed editor-in-chief of Technical Services Quarterly, a peer-reviewed library science journal published by Taylor and Francis. She also copresented with children’s book author Mona Kerby as part of Edi and Neal’s Book Club, a monthly professional development initiative produced by ALA Editions that facilitates a dialogue between authors and working librarians. Their presentation, “Collection Development Tips for All Librarians,” was arranged to promote Weber’s recently co-authored book, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, 5th edition (ALA Editions, 2025). 

    UK Jazz News covered a special Rutgers alumni event in London spotlighting the Institute of Jazz Studies, including an exhibit of items from IJS collections.

    This Banned Books Weeks roundup by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) includes content from the Books We Read Blog, John Cotton Dana Library, and Paul Robeson Library. 

    ARL’s Open Access Week roundup features all the events that were hosted by Rutgers University Libraries.  

    This feature on our the Libraries’ major expansion of ProQuest offerings appeared in Rutgers Today (Around the University) on Wednesday, October 15. 

    The #RUArchives50th social media campaign, which has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University Archives all year, continued with this #WorldFarmDay post and this Homecoming post. 

    The completion of the 24/7 Pickup Lockers was promoted on all four social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X), and the Instagram post was linked in the Rutgers Today newsletter (Around the University) on Tuesday, September 16. 

    Robeson Library participated in Archives Month Philly, with two exhibits running the entire month of October:  

    • Highlights of Camden Special Collections: This exhibit showcases select items from the Camden campus archives, spanning the near century of campus history, curated by Bart Everts, acting history and Camden special collections librarian.  
    • Whose Story? Narratives of Philadelphia History A collaboration with Rutgers Camden’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH),  this exhibit examines how traditional narratives (such as Philadelphia as the birthplace of American liberty and democracy) came to be, the development of organizations dedicated to preserving and telling Philadelphia history, and the stories that have been challenged, censored, expanded and debated. Curated by MARCH’s Isabel Steven with John Powell, reference and instruction librarian at Robeson Library. 
  • Faculty and Staff News

    Renee Clark, a library technician in Interlibrary Loan Services, a part of Collections and Digital Strategies, is retiring from the Libraries. Her last full day will be November 4. She started her career at Rutgers on August 27, 1979, in the Library of Science and Medicine, and has since worked in a variety of roles within the Libraries. Since 2016, Renee has been based in TSB, where she has helped with tattletaping, stamping, packing, and shipping material from TSB to other Rutgers University Libraries locations: key parts of getting material into our patrons’ hands.

    Raymon-Arthur George, lead library utility worker in Shipping and Receiving, became a regular full-time employee of Rutgers University Libraries on August 13. Previously, he has been a temporary employee.

  • Need to Know

    Information Technology Services (ITS) is the new name for the unit previously known as Integrated Information Systems (IIS). Part of our ongoing reorganizational efforts, this change reflects a fresh start and more accurately represents the scope and mission of the unit. As ITS, the team will continue to provide robust technology solutions and support, while aligning more closely with our strategic goals and the evolving needs of our organization. As a reminder, members of the ITS unit include Kalivani Ananthan, Jonas Desir, Anna Huang, John Gibson, Albert Lee, Mary O’Mara, Tracey Meyer, Andrew Ruggiero, Chris Singh, Ed Smith, and Christopher Sterback.

    Where should you store your work-related files? The answer is: it depends. Kalaivani Ananthan, manager, Information Technology, breaks it down in this article.

    Survey tools: Qualtrics has significantly changed the terms of Rutgers’ license, resulting in the potential for a considerable increase in costs to the university. While Qualtrics is an important tool for Rutgers research and data collection, there are other simple survey tools that are available at no cost to the university. Microsoft Forms is appropriate for event registration and RSVPs, polls, questionnaires, and surveys that don’t require in-depth analysis or large-scale deployment. If you are planning a survey and believe that Qualtrics is the best platform to use, please first consult with central information technology support for guidance.

    Mandatory training deadline: The executive vice president for academic affairs (EVPAA) sent an email on September 19 to announce an internal deadline of November 1, 2025, for completion of a mandatory ethics training module. To begin this ethics training, navigate to the RU Learning platform at https://rulearning.rutgers.edu and log in with your NetID and password. If prompted to enter a username, please enter your credentials beginning with your Net ID (do not include any extensions in your email address; use only the format [NetID]@rutgers.edu), which will direct you to the single sign-on page. Completion of this training is mandatory for all faculty and staff and should take approximately 30 minutes. Note: New employees are required to complete the training within 30-days of their start date and will be assigned the training automatically with the appropriate due date.

    Revised guidelines for filming and photographing in library facilities include an important photo release notice, new sections on graduation photography requests, and clauses intended to protect the Libraries regarding responsibility for damage to library property and adherence to library staff instructions. All Libraries personnel should familiarize themselves with these new guidelines.

    The Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) is still in need of members for the Governance Committee. This committee plays a key role in SAC’s leadership structure, ensuring the work stays aligned and effective. The work commitment is minimal, usually less than an hour per month, and in some months, no meeting is necessary. Staff members who are interested or have questions should contact Tracey Meyer. The SAC will hold a town hall on November 6, for which staff members should have received an invitation on 10/14/2025.

    Nice to know:

    The Busch Faculty Dining Lounge for Rutgers faculty and staff reopened (after a long closure during COVID) on September 8. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The address is 608 Bartholomew Road, Piscataway (Busch Dining Hall). If you enter Lot 59 in Piscataway into Google Maps, that is the appropriate faculty/staff parking lot closest to the entrance. Items are à la carte, and reservations are not needed (with the exception of upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday buffet events).

  • Virtual Poster Presentations from State of the Libraries 2025

    simple illustration showing video play, pause, and stop icons
    State of the Libraries 2025 included 10 virtual poster presentations.

    The annual State of the Libraries was held as a virtual event on August 13, 2025. The following virtual posters provided a glimpse into the diverse work of Rutgers University Libraries faculty and staff:

    An Automated Approach to Enhancing Legacy Library Catalog Records – Our library catalog contains numerous brief records lacking essential information, making it difficult to find items and creating accessibility challenges for users. Manually updating these records is labor-intensive and time-consuming. This poster presents an automated solution using Alma’s Analytics and batch-searching strategies. This innovative approach significantly improves cataloging efficiency, enabling updates of approximately 1,000 records monthly, a substantial increase from 1,000 annually. Presented by Li Sun and Neera Sondhi (Cataloging and Metadata Services).

    An Introduction to the Databases List – This poster provides a brief overview of the Rutgers University Libraries Databases List, including its searching and browsing options, the structure of each database list entry, and best practices for linking to databases. This overview will be helpful to those who are new to Rutgers University Libraries as well as longtime personnel who are interested in refreshing their knowledge. Presented by Elizabeth York (Collections & Digital Strategies).

    Assessing Film Condition: A Collaborative Approach to Preserving Jazz on Film – This poster presents a collaborative project between the Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) at Rutgers–Newark and Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at Rutgers–New Brunswick to assess the condition of a unique collection of 16mm, 35mm, and 8mm films housed at IJS. It outlines the process developed to inspect the films, identify formats and lengths, and apply A-D Strips to test for acetate film degradation. The project highlights key preservation concerns and offers a practical workflow that others may adopt when evaluating similar audiovisual collections. Presented by Diane Biunno and Tara Kelley (Institute of Jazz Studies and Special Collections and University Archives).

    Bookable Spaces – The Libraries redesigned and improved the findability and information related to our bookable spaces. The student-forward effort was intended to provide more efficient access to one of the Libraries’ most used services. Presented by Antonio Barrera (Applications and Development).

    Highlights of Camden Special Collections – This poster highlights selections from Special Collections in Camden, including the Virgilio Papers, campus ephemera, and more. Presented by Bart Everts (Robeson Library).

    Migrating and Modernizing RUcore – This presentation will briefly cover the three-year journey the Libraries Applications and Development Team went through while migrating the RUcore repository and related services to new OIT-managed server environments. This includes upgrading out-of-date software, deploying the entire RUcore codebase via a change control system, and improving RUcore performance. Presented by Chad Mills and Yang Yu (Libraries Applications and Development).

    OAT Program Basics: What Everyone Should Know – This poster provides essential information about the Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Program. This incentive program supports instructors in reducing course material costs for students through the adoption, adaptation, or creation of open and affordable course materials. Designed to help RUL employees confidently answer general questions from faculty and instructors, the poster outlines key program details, including award categories, evaluation criteria, and impact metrics such as student cost savings and the number of awards granted since the program’s launch in 2016. It will also list the OAT Team members who can provide more in-depth assistance with inquiries. Presented by Matthew Bridgeman, Naomi Gold, Rhonda Marker, Lily Todorinova, and Zara Wilkinson (OAT Team).

    Planning Committee – This poster presents a review of the activities of the committee during AY25 and a preview of the year to come. Presented by Melissa De Fino and Ryan Womack (Planning Committee).

    Server Migration Update – The Libraries have been engaged in a multiyear process to improve efficiency and maintenance for our servers. In this update, we will discuss the completion of the migration of 28 linux servers. Presented by Antonio Barrera and Ashwin Bijur (Applications and Development).

    Staff Advisory Committee – This poster includes highlights of the FY25 Staff Advisory Committee Annual Report and plans for FY26. Presented by Rose Barbalace and Jeff Teichmann (Staff Advisory Committee).

  • DEI Spotlight

    DEI Committee: Call for Members

    The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is looking for additional members starting this month. Stemming from a core principle and value of Rutgers University Libraries, this committee centers its work on system-wide collective learning and growth.

    In the last two years, the committee has:

    • published The ABCs of DEI: A DEI Glossary, a resource meant to provide Rutgers University Libraries personnel with a shared vocabulary related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
    • facilitated a Virtual Learning Community Book Club focused on What if I Say The Wrong Thing? by Verna Myers
    • developed 101 Self-Initiated Learning Journey, an asynchronous, self-paced Canvas course with eight modules

    All of this work is intended to foster an inclusive environment and to equip Libraries colleagues to integrate DEI principles into their daily work.

    We are looking for volunteers from all campuses and our central units. If interested, please contact Caroline Muglia (LLT liaison) and Zara Wilkinson (interim committee chair).

    Visit the Staff Resources site to learn more about the committee and access The ABCs of DEI: A DEI Glossary.

    Other links we like:

  • Seen and Heard

    Read a roundup of Rutgers University Libraries representation at the ALA conference in June. 

    Consuella Askew, vice president for university libraries and university librarian, was invited to write an ARL Research & Analytics Impact Report on the Libraries’ recent assessment of the Open and Affordable Textbooks Program. “Impacting Teaching and Learning Through an Open Educational Resources Initiative” was published on the ARL website and promoted in Rutgers Today on July 30. It was then included in the August 1 issue of the Charleston Daily. 

    Diane Biunno, metadata archivist at the Institute of Jazz Studies, is the NJ Caucus Representative to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC). In that role, she’s been organizing events across the state, including a recent virtual webinar focused on community archiving efforts at Newark’s Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), which has been a vital part of Newark since the 1960s and serves as a key advocate for early childhood education, environmental justice, HIV health services, and immigrant support. The webinar mainly focused on how the ICC is using community archiving to preserve local memory and document decades of activism. 

    Joanne Dera, science librarian at Dana Library, was a panelist at the New Jersey Association of School Superintendents Spring Leadership Conference. The panel, “People Power – The Human Connection in the Age of AI,” focused on AI in STEM education at the K-12 level and explored how to strike a balance between innovation and the irreplaceable human elements that drive learning, leadership, and student access.   

    Rutgers Today featured summer reading suggestions from Becky Diamond, business instruction librarian at Carr Library, Joanne Dera, science librarian at Dana Library, Matt Bridgeman, information and education librarian at RWJ Library, Bart Everts, reference and instruction librarian at Paul Robeson Library, and Judit H. Ward, science reference and instruction librarian at Chang Library.

    Becky Diamond, business instruction librarian at Carr Library, Dee Magnoni, former associate university librarian for Rutgers–New Brunswick, Sue Oldenburg, geographical information systems specialist at Rutgers–New Brunswick, and L.M. Miller, library associate II and branch manager at Math/Physics Library, wrote a chapter, “Nurturing Social Connections and Collaboration,” in the book Well-Being in the Library Workplace: A Handbook for Managers (ALA Editions, April 2025). 

    Megan Lotts, art librarian at Rutgers–New Brunswick (Art Library), authored the article “The Power of Play in Libraries: Low Cost, High Impact Ideas” in the April 2025 edition of Public Library Quarterly, as well as the book The Playful Library: Building Environments for Learning and Creativity (ALA Editions, September 2024). Since the book was published, Lotts has given numerous invited presentations, including an appearance at the 11th Sharjah International Library Conference (SILC) in the United Arab Emirates and the keynote at the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference in October 2024, where she presented to more than 500 live attendees. 

    Rhonda Marker, head of open knowledge strategies (Central), was featured in a DOAJ blog post about some of the organization’s longest-serving volunteers. DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world.  DOAJ volunteers come from all over the world, from a variety of backgrounds, and speak many languages. 

    Vincent Pelote, senior archivist and digital preservation strategist at the Institute of Jazz Studies, was featured in a Rutgers Instagram reel for International Jazz Day on April 30. The reel quickly went viral, with more than 15,000 likes and hundreds of comments to date. 

    The New Jersey Jazz Society invited Pelote to contribute to Jersey Jazz Magazine via a monthly column called “Pelote’s Place,” taking over for the late Dan Morgenstern, whose column was called “Dan’s Den.” In his first column in March 2025, Pelote honored Women’s History Month with a column about “women who have played jazz from the earliest days of music.” 

    John Powell, reference and instruction librarian at Robeson Library, was quoted in a Star-Ledger/NJ.com story marking the 155-year anniversary of the historic Atlantic City boardwalk on June 26. Powell’s expertise came from the research he had conducted to create the Boardwalk Empires exhibit at Robeson Library. The story was promoted in the July 1 edition of Rutgers Today. 

    Jonathan Torres, business and data services librarian at Dana Library, has a YouTube channel where he creates video content about AI and business and data research strategies. Among his more recent efforts are his “shorts” in which he reviews academic publications and distills key findings via easily digestible, two- to three-minute videos. 

    Mary Beth Weber, libraries coordinator for training and mentorship (Central), wainterviewed in March for the Lost in the Stacks podcast. 

    Elizabeth York, electronic resources librarian (Central), presented “Leveraging Alma for ebook EBA selection, purchased ebook management, and PO Line creation” at the Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA) 2025 Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in June. She also presented “AI in Cataloging: Alma Developments and the Librarian Perspective” at the 2024 virtual Charleston Conference in December and was a panelist at the Library Journal and Ex Libris Webinar, “Enhancing Library Management with AI-powered Metadata Solutions” in March 2025. She also co-presented as a panelist at ALA Core Interest Group Week 2025 for the Catalog Management Interest Group. Her presentation, “Using & Contributing to the Alma Community Zone, ” was part of the virtual panel session, “Cataloging, Catalog Management & Sharing Metadata with the Community in an Era of Consortia, Linked Data and Machine Learning.” 

    Zara Wilkinsonreference and instruction librarian, and Samantha Kannegiser, student success librarian, both at Robeson Library, recently performed an assessment of the Paul Robeson Library Undergraduate Research Award and published their results in The Journal of Academic Librarianship. The article, “Let’s tell them what they’ve won: Assessing an undergraduate research award,” is open access via the Libraries’ Read and Publish agreement with Elsevier. 

    This infectious Instagram Reel, a collaboration between Rutgers University and Rutgers University Libraries, helped get the word out that Alexander Library was open 24 hours a day during finals and featured three Libraries student employees (and one friend to round out the group). The post has reached more than 17,000 unique users so far.

  • Need to Know

    FlexWork@RU Update

    University Human Resources announced on July 31 that in preparation for the implementation of the new Oracle HCM Cloud HR and Payroll system, the flexible work arrangements will be automatically extended through January 31, 2026.  This extension ensures continuity and provides a bridge to the new system.

    A new FlexWork@RU application process will be launched in conjunction with the HCM Cloud implementation. Detailed instructions and training resources will be shared before the system goes live to ensure a smooth transition.

     

    Travel Reminder 

    All travel that occurs on work time requires approval from leadership and via Concur regardless of whether funding is required. The business team can assist with the Concur system as needed. Please also remember to set business team members as your delegates. Questions related to travel can be sent to libraries_travel@libraries.rutgers.edu.

     

    Reorganization Announcements

    Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Campus Libraries

    Leslin Charles is the inaugural coordinator for instruction and reference services. She will be responsible for the planning, management, and delivery of a broad range of reference and programmatic instructional services in support of the university’s curriculum and mission. Reporting to the associate vice president for campus libraries (AVP-CL), this position will provide and promote high-quality and innovative services to a diverse community of university users and beyond. The coordinator will collaborate with the assistant vice president for scholarly communications and collections, the AVP-CL, and the executive director for administrative and information technology services, as well as with other subject librarians on these library services.

    Joseph Deodato is the inaugural coordinator for research support services. In this role, he will lead the Research Support Services (RSS) Group. Reporting to the associate vice president for campus libraries, the coordinator for research support services will be responsible for the oversight of the RSS team that provides services, training, and programming that support the research lifecycle, including but not limited to data collection and analysis, citation management, copyright and intellectual property, and research visibility and impact.

     

    Reporting to the Vice President for University Libraries

    Mary Beth Weber has assumed the role of coordinator for training and mentorship. Reporting to the vice president for university libraries, Mary Beth will oversee the Libraries’ enrichment program initiatives and strategies, including mentorship, aimed at maximizing success and facilitating continuous learning across the organization. Partnering with Libraries HR, faculty, and staff, the training and mentorship coordinator identifies and/or develops, implements, and assesses professional enrichment programming to address organizational needs and promote overall institutional effectiveness while effecting positive organizational change.

     

    Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Collections and Digital Strategies

    Caryn Radick is the inaugural digital strategies librarian. Reporting to the assistant vice president for collections and digital strategies, Caryn will provide leadership and advocacy for the continued development of the Libraries’ digital collections. Among her responsibilities will be the development and implementation of a programmatic strategy for identifying, building, and promoting digital collections in close collaboration with the coordinator for digital projects and other Rutgers University Libraries colleagues. This position serves as the central point person for the Libraries units engaged in digital collections to ensure shared understanding and practice for developing and assessing digital projects at the local level.

    Melissa De Fino has assumed the inaugural role of team lead for cataloging and metadata services. In this role, Melissa’s responsibilities include working collaboratively to develop policies and workflows for resource description, serving as the voice of the department, and working with the newly established digital team on metadata for digital projects.

    Holdings Management, led by Cathy Pecoraro, now reports to the assistant vice president for collections and digital strategies and is part of the Collections and Digital Strategies unit.

    Interlibrary Loan, led by Orla Mejia, now reports to the assistant vice president for collections and digital strategies and is part of the Collections and Digital Strategies unit.

    Isaiah Beard, digital projects coordinator, will report to the assistant vice president for collections and digital strategies and integrate into the Collections and Digital Strategies unit.

    While day-to-day workflows across the organization will remain largely unchanged, we would like to highlight the following reminders and updates:

    • For holdings analysis or project-related inquiries, please submit your requests via the Holdings Report Request Form. This form should be used for title- or item-level holdings analysis supporting collection evaluation projects such as weeding, overlap review, relocation, or withdrawal. It is also appropriate for generating lists related to space management or other system-wide holdings analyses involving one or more libraries. Please note: Projects will only proceed once reviewed, approved, and prioritized by RUL leadership.
    • All requests or proposals for digital projects should be directed to: rul_digital@libraries.rutgers.edu

     

    Updates related to Rutgers–New Brunswick libraries

    Tao Yang is now interim associate university librarian for Rutgers–New Brunswick. He is based in Alexander Library.

    Jeff Teichmann was promoted to the position of head of access services for the Rutgers–New Brunswick libraries. Previously, he served in the interim position for this role. He will continue to be based at Alexander Library.

    Rose Barbalace was promoted to the position of library supervisor I at Alexander Library and Art Library. Previously, she served in the interim position for this role. She will continue to be based at Alexander Library.

    Jill Morrow, administrative assistant, will officially start reporting to the associate university librarian for Rutgers–New Brunswick and will be based in the administrative suite on the first floor of Alexander Library.

    The Shipping & Receiving Department, including Charles Casseus, Raymon-Arthur George, and Luke Sangiamo, will report through the Administration and Technology division.

    Laura Friday, administrative assistant, is now working within the Shipping & Receiving Department, reporting to Luke Sangiamo and based at Alexander Library.

    Kelly Worth, administrative assistant, now reports to Jeff Teichmann, the head of access services for the Rutgers–New Brunswick libraries, and will remain at Douglass Library.

    Elena Schneider, events and program manager, now reports to Jeff Teichmann, the head of access services for the Rutgers–New Brunswick libraries.

     

    In addition to these changes, the centralization of IT services within the Administration and Technology unit remains on track, and an update will be provided soon.