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:
- Rutgers–Newark: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
- Rutgers–Camden: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
- Rutgers–New Brunswick: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn
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.
