Melissa brings a wealth of specialized knowledge and experiences to Davidson. She is a native of western North Carolina and graduate of the MLIS program at the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies (UA SLIS) where she received a Certificate in Archival Studies with additional concentrations in metadata, cataloging, digital libraries, and user services. She holds additional graduate degrees in American Studies (Cal State) and Liberal Arts (Emory) and has subject expertise in American history and American studies, liberal arts and interdisciplinary studies, English language and literature, composition and rhetoric, women’s and gender studies, disability studies, and health science humanities. Prior to joining Davidson, Melissa worked as the electronic resources librarian at Birmingham-Southern College (BSC). Her professional ethics focuses on comprehensive and sustainable preservation of cultural heritage, transparency and accountability in records management, the provision of meaningful long-term access, user-centered design of search and discovery tools, inclusivity in the service of social justice. Her mission is to maximize discovery of and access to library resources via existing and emergent technologies. 

The next time you’re in the library, please stop by and say hi! Melissa’s office can be found in the back area of the library, near ILL services (just ask Joe for direction). No doubt, you will also catch her out and about at campus events this fall. We’re go glad you’ve joined us, Melissa!

Ellen is a graduate of University of Iowa, where she earned her B.A. in Creative Writing with minors in American Studies and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies. At Iowa, Ellen participated in various on campus organizations that promoted local labor rights by highlighting worker voices from the past and present, including the Iowa Women in Trades Network and The Iowa Labor History Oral Project. After graduating, she went on to work at the History Colorado museum, where she assisted in cataloging the “Chicano Elders” oral history collection, part of an exhibit celebrating the 1960’s Chicano Rights Movement, or “El Movimiento,” in Denver.

Alongside her passion for local history, Ellen has also worked as an editor/ research assistant for KPOPIANA, an academic database begun by Dr. Crystal Anderson of George Mason University dedicated to cataloging and contextualizing KPOP history. After completing her fellowship at Davidson, Ellen hopes to attend graduate school in American Studies in order to continue her study into the mysterious, but terrifyingly intense, cultural power of boy bands. In her free time, Ellen loves listening to disco music, searching for affordably priced furniture on Facebook marketplace (me too, Ellen!), and taking long naps whenever possible. Ellen shares that she’s extremely excited to join the wonderful E.H Little Library team and learn more about Davidson. Stop by her office located in Archives to say hello (and share your favorite tidbit of Davidson College history…or favorite boy band?!).

Zara is a New Jersey native and a recent graduate of Davidson College where she majored in Political Science. Before joining the Digital Learning Team, she was an intern with the IT department at Brother International Corporation. There, she worked on the help desk and security teams, providing technology support and writing policy. She also volunteered at her local library in Princeton, where she helped design and run youth programming and served as an honorary board of trustees member. Zara is excited to be back working in librarianship, bringing her experience working with technology to Davidson. 

Zara is passionate about scented candles and sit-coms. In her free time, you might find her chucking plastic on the disc golf courses at Bradford and Bailey Road Parks. She also enjoys going on walks around Davidson’s campus, practicing yoga, cooking comfort food, and exercising her creativity as an amateur photographer. Ask her about political philosophy or ice hockey if you want to start a conversation!

We are so glad that you have joined us, Zara. Welcome to the team!

The “Library Excellence Award Program” recognizes both individual and group accomplishments that exemplify what it means to live into our enduring values as an organization. Our values, developed during our 2018-2019 strategic planning process, include: 

o    Inclusion – We value, honor, and respect the dignity of all persons. We stand against racism and commit ourselves to the building of a more just and humane future. We provide a safe, respectful, and inclusive space for our community.

o    Discovery -​ We value the community’s discovery of ideas and creation of knowledge. We foster curiosity through our resources and services, and embrace innovation in learning and scholarship.

o    Openness – We value diversity of thought and provide resources that represent multiple perspectives. We encourage open scholarship in service to equitable access to information for all.

o    Engagement ​- We value deep engagement with the curriculum and the work of our community. We collaborate with partners across campus to facilitate teaching, learning, and research. We develop programming to amplify marginalized voices and promote justice and understanding.

o    Stewardship​ – We value the curation and preservation of information in all forms. We develop diverse print and digital collections that support the curriculum and provide a truthful record of our complicated history. We respect Davidson’s resources by making responsible use of our budget, time, and space.

Five “Lived Values Awards” were presented to individuals or teams and included professional development funds–along with a trophy and other fun prizes (such as movie tickets, Davidson Wildcat gear, and day passes to the Charlotte Art Museum). In addition, the colleague selected for the “Leading Change Award” is provided $250 to purchase an item for the library that has the potential to make the workplace better for all staff; the colleagues selected for the “Amazing Colleague Award” are provided $250 to host a team-building activity of their choice.

2022 Awardees (text below is pulled from submitted award nominations and may be edited for clarity): Additional photos coming soon!

Lived Values Inclusion Award: Cara Evanson has been involved in a variety of DEI efforts at the library and across campus– leading initiatives to promote diversity in the hiring process, including the development of hiring toolkits for student and staff hiring. During the fall of 2021, she was trained as an equity advisor and served on her first search in that role.

Cara can always be counted on to provide leadership and guidance for special projects that contribute towards the building of a more just and human future, most recently the creation of the library’s “Anti-racism Resources” and “Crisis in Ukraine” guides. She has been an active leader in the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Program, empowering others to take proactive steps to create a safe community– and she has served as a Davidson host family for the last 8 years–welcoming incoming international students to Davidson with kindness and warmth and serving as a trusted mentor to many.

Lived Values Discovery Award: Kelly Denzer plays an extremely significant role in the library’s ability to live out the value of Discovery. Over the last two years, she has taken on significant work to address years worth of electronic resource cleanup projects, clarifying acquisitions data, straightening out subscription terms and licenses, and tackling needed workflow changes. The amount of time required to monitor existing electronic collections, assess and review subscriptions, evaluate potential new resources, identify resource needs, and maintain positive vendor relationships is substantial. The importance of this work can easily be overlooked until something isn’t working properly! Her work in leading the library’s migration from a locally hosted instance of EZproxy to a free hosted option was an exhaustive process, handled with minimal disruptions. Kelly approaches the challenges of her role with professionalism, patience, and positivity– keeping even the most stressful days in perspective.

Lived Values: Openness Award: The Archives, Special Collections, and Community (ASCC) Team’s work has been especially focused on on expanding access to Davidson’s unique collections to support the efforts of the Commission on Race and Slavery. One colleague shares,”The team carries the emotional weight of critique and criticism directed towards the nature of their collections. This emotional labor, although important, is often unseen and under-appreciated…” In the past year, ASCC has made outstanding progress towards adding materials to Alma Digital, massaging and migrating data, and focusing on accessibility of their web presence. As one nominator stated “As I think more about their work… one can easily make the case that ASCC is the true embodiment of ALL of our core values. I admire their conviction and dedication to this important work, even when the volume seems insurmountable.” In addition, the team’s work with Davidson Learns, Shared Stories, and “re(collecting) COVID” reaches beyond campus to engage the broader community with Davidson in creative and meaningful ways.

Lived Values Engagement Award: The Research, Learning, and Outreach & Digital Learning Teams live out the value of engagement in all that they do– whether through course development, aligning resources and programming with campus conversations, new partnerships and collaborations, co-designing and co-teaching classes, mentoring peer tutors, creating new resources, welcoming new Wildcats, or working directly with students to support research, creation, and sharing of information in all formats. In collaboration with their colleagues both in the library and across the college, they help to develop resources– such as current programming around the war in Ukraine or supporting audio documentaries on the LatinX experience– to amplify marginalized voices and promote justice and understanding across the community.  

Lived Values Stewardship Award: The Collections Strategies & Operations Teams “puts stewardship at the center of all their work. They are thoughtful about making careful use of all the library’s resources, including the collections budget, library space, and staff time. They have a monumental task which they handle with loads of professional expertise!” Another colleague shared: ”For their work around weeding the collection, assessment of the microfilm collection, managing the EAST project, centralizing e-resource, promoting new resources, and expanding access through ILL services. Denise, Michael, Dave, and Alice are especially deserving of the stewardship award as they support the operations of the library. They demonstrate a genuine care of the library as a physical space, making the rest of our work possible. Most importantly, as the Collections Strategies team continues to tackle the backlog of physical collections projects, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to make the necessary decisions, move materials, and coordinate deselection/sharing of materials without their help. As we continue to move along the path towards the library of the future, Denise, Michael, Dave, and Alice will undoubtedly carry us on their backs! We are all greatly appreciative for their support of all of our work!!”

The Leading Change Award is presented to Matt Davis. Since starting at Davidson in 2020, he has exemplified what it means to be a “good colleague”.  As one colleague writes “he is always kind and friendly in their interactions and quick to help those in need”. Even when stressed (and down two team members!) he is always eager to listen, lend a hand, serve as a stabilizing force on their team, and lead the way– from the design and creation of the new library website, documentation on Omeka S, mentoring of students, constant troubleshooting of our syllabi-intake process-– he leads with kindness, curiosity, empathy, and an open heart. 

Amazing Colleague Awards are presented to Joe Gutekanst, Michael Forney, and Dave Heinz: Recipients of the Amazing Colleague Award model excellence in all that they do– not only through their consistent high standards of work but in the kindness, empathy, and respect they show to their colleagues. Their presence makes the library– and all of Davidson College– a better place for all. 

Joe Gutekanst is always quick to help a colleague in need–if he hears of a problem–he’s there trying to solve it (even if that is messaging a friend in need– from his car, on his day off– who needs a nail clipper back at the office). He maintains a kind demeanor even at his busiest and is always ready to offer a joke. One colleague writes: “You can tell he’s an excellent supervisor by the way his students are happy to be here–they’ve helped the archives with numerous projects and always do an excellent job–a sure sign they’ve been given great guidance.” Another writes: “You can count on this colleague to make someone feel welcome, tell a joke, lend an ear, or a helping hand – whether you are library staff, teaching faculty or a student – all while making the ILL department run like a well oiled machine.” His tireless work as our champion for Interlibrary Loan needs no additional recognition – the speed and quality of service speaks for itself. His genuine kindness and appreciation for his colleagues is deserving of recognition. “I’ve come to appreciate his vocal support of colleagues both in times of stormy seas and in times of clear skies. He speaks from a place of care, is inquisitive, and encourages me to think beyond the scope of what I already know. Joe is a steadfast member of the library team, is selfless, and the true definition of an “Amazing Colleague.”

Words like INSPIRING, ENCOURAGING, AND DEDICATED were used to describe Micheal Forney and Dave Heinz–who have worked so hard during the pandemic to keep the library clean and accessible. One colleague writes: “While many of us were working from home, they were here keeping the building clean and safe for our students. Above all, these two not only do their job well keeping us all safe–and the building shiny–but the word “special projects” in their job description is endless: in addition to managing broken water pipes and other fun emergencies– they assemble book trucks; move furniture; load books; remove books; remove covers from books; and discard corroding microfiche and microfilm.” Another colleague shares: “They are awesome– always smile– then ask ‘what else do you need?’ As our work across the library is a collective effort, I want to nominate both Dave David and Michael for their welcoming presence in the library and collegiality in all they do. From cookouts to the heavy lifting around here, they go above what is asked of them in their job title to make our library a better place.”  

Congrats to the entire library team!

At our library, we’ve developed some informal (and fun!) ways to internally recognize one another’s good work, such as creating a “Kudos” channel on SLACK where team members can give each other timely shout-outs. We also have a “Glitter Wand of Appreciation” (which has also been substituted with a “sparkle bunny” when the glitter wand is lost!) that we pass around to one another on on regular basis.

These small gestures are not hard to implement; it’s just a matter of taking the time to pause and be intentional about sharing appreciation for one another. 

This year, we’re adding a series of peer-nominated awards to the recognition program. My hope is that the awards program can help amplify the seen and unseen work of the library– as well as demonstrate how we in the library contribute to the college’s primary purpose of helping students “develop humane instincts and disciplined, creative minds for lives of leadership and service.” The library’s enduring values of Inclusion, Discovery, Openness, Engagement, and Stewardship are foundational to supporting this mission and guide us along the way. 

The new “Library Excellence Award Program” will recognize both individual and group accomplishments that exemplify what it means to live into our enduring values as an organization. Our values, developed during our 2018-2019 strategic planning process, include: 

o    Inclusion – We value, honor, and respect the dignity of all persons. We stand against racism and commit ourselves to the building of a more just and humane future. We provide a safe, respectful, and inclusive space for our community.

o    Discovery -​ We value the community’s discovery of ideas and creation of knowledge. We foster curiosity through our resources and services, and embrace innovation in learning and scholarship.

o    Openness – We value diversity of thought and provide resources that represent multiple perspectives. We encourage open scholarship in service to equitable access to information for all.

o    Engagement ​- We value deep engagement with the curriculum and the work of our community. We collaborate with partners across campus to facilitate teaching, learning, and research. We develop programming to amplify marginalized voices and promote justice and understanding.

o    Stewardship​ – We value the curation and preservation of information in all forms. We develop diverse print and digital collections that support the curriculum and provide a truthful record of our complicated history. We respect Davidson’s resources by making responsible use of our budget, time, and space.

I’ll be announcing the awards at our annual “Our Library Conference” (a really great program that our team developed to share details about our work and celebrate the success of the academic year) on May 18. Five “Lived Values Awards” (one for each value) will be presented to individuals or teams, and include professional development funds of $500 for each award. Awarded funds can be used for professional development opportunities or materials (books, software, technology tools) outside of allotted team funds.

There will also be Individual awards in the following categories:

Leading Change Award: Recipients of the Leading Change Award inspire and engage others to work towards our goals for the library. They model our workplace agreements and serve as strong catalysts for organizational change.  The recipient of this award will receive $500 in professional development funds. Awarded funds can be used for professional development opportunities or materials (books, software, technology tools) outside of allotted team funds. In addition, the recipient of this award will receive $250 to select and purchase something for the library that has potential to improve daily work-life for the entire team.

Amazing Colleague Award: Recipients of the Amazing Colleague Award model excellence in all that they do– not only through their consistent high standards of work but in the kindness, empathy, and respect they show to their colleagues. Their presence makes the library– and all of Davidson College– a better place for all. The recipient of this award will receive $500 in professional development funds professional development opportunities or materials (books, software, technology tools) outside of allotted team funds. In addition, the recipient of this award will receive an additional $250 in funds to sponsor a team-building event. 

I’ve been collecting nominations over the last few weeks and can’t wait to share the inspiring stories shared by our colleagues. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days.

At Davidson, Jacob will lead the Digital Learning team in providing direct support for technology-enabled pedagogies, digital scholarship methodologies and tools, as well as in designing and implementing instructional design methods and programs. As a member of the library leadership team, he will work with campus partners to advance the integration of new and emerging technologies in teaching, learning, and scholarship at Davidson College, and be a key partner in shaping and implementing strategies to support our library of the future.

Welcome to the team, Jacob!

A warm welcome to Holly White, who will serve as our Instructional Designer for Research, Teaching, and Learning beginning June 1, 2022. Holly arrives to Davidson with an impressive background of library and instructional design experiences. Most recently, Holly served as the Instructional Design Librarian at Luther College in Iowa. While at Luther, she led the Moodle support team and collaborated closely with the Center for Excellence and in Learning & Teaching to support courses and spearhead faculty development. Prior to her stint at Luther, she worked as the Reference-Web Resources Librarian at Muskingham University, where she helped integrate a credit-bearing information literacy course into the curriculum, developed the library’s web presence, and assisted with library renovation efforts.

At Davidson, Holly will co-lead Moodle support, assist with student research and digital projects, and provide instructional design support. In this new role, Holly will help our library realize our vision for open educational practices. As part of these efforts, Holly will support Leganto (our new course resource list builder) and promote OER adoption and creation. We are simply thrilled that Holly is joining the team! Come June 1, you’ll find Holly near the library’s information desk on the first floor.

Ashley Mills joined the team in January 2022 in the position of Acquisitions & Collections Specialist on the Collections Strategies team. Prior to taking on this role, Ashley worked as a case manager for AllState Financial Services and as a financial solutions consultant and a senior preferred account service representative with Bank of America/Merrill Edge. Ashley has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Florida and is currently attending East Carolina’s online M.L.S. program.

Since arriving to Davidson College, Ashley has been busy overseeing the procurement and processing of new materials in both physical and digital formats. As the primary point of contact for purchase requests, she works with faculty, staff, and students from across campus to expand access to resources and support projects that help to define our existing collections. In a very short time, Ashley has brought some amazing ideas and energy to our team. You’ll find Ashley in the library’s ILL area (back of the first floor).

Welcome Holly and Ashley! We’re so glad that you’re here with us.

We advance the College’s purpose in developing disciplined and creative minds by providing expertise, space, resources, and services for research, access to, and creation of information. We partner to provide convenient access to services from across the college—including tutoring, pedagogical support, and technology. We foster a welcoming and inclusive learning environment through our collections, outreach, and collaborations, and establish sustainable initiatives and develop anti-racist practices to support dialogue across differences and advance intercultural competence.

In January 2021, during the height of the pandemic, our library team was thrilled to receive the ACRL Excellence in Libraries Award. The write-up from ACRL summarized that our library “impressed the award committee with its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its work in advancing social justice.” Despite this amazing recognition of our organizational purpose surviving a world-wide crisis, we need to constantly reevaluate and ask: What do we keep doing (or do more often)? What do we start doing? What do we stop doing? When it comes to reevaluating our purpose, I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership, community engagement, and teaching & learning partnerships as related to the future of the library:

Leading During Good Times & Bad:
Author and speaker, John Maxwell, shares that “leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” Never has this been more real than during the emergency remote situation that we found ourselves in March 2020. As faculty rushed to adapt their in-person courses for remote formats and students adjusted to the challenges of the pandemic, the library’s teaching and learning experts worked to support the community at a scale that was previously unimaginable. In addition to partnering with faculty to prepare the community for a future of online learning, our team members took the lead in transforming core services to meet the needs of students and faculty. We expanded our service model to offer chat, text, and Zoom drop-in and virtual appointments; we redesigned our instruction model to provide engaging and inclusive online learning experiences; created a digitization center to meet the needs of the remote community; moved to an entirely electronic reserves model; transitioned to a self-service check-out model; expanded access to our online resources; created new opportunities for community building; and reimagined how we provide print materials to our community via contactless pick-up. But all of this just didn’t happen…it took an entire team of leaders working together. What do we keep doing/do more often: Every member of the organization (no matter their title) influences one another to be okay with uncertainty, to broaden our perspectives, to problem-solve, to stay positive and remember our purpose. What do we start doing: Continuously assess every element of our service model (yes, even the book drop). What do we stop doing: Holding on to outdated models of service that no longer make sense.

Engaging Our Community:
We’ve all heard the library referred to as the “heart” of the community–but that sentiment doesn’t happen though place alone. The “heart” is nothing but a stack of bricks [or a non-intuitive website!] without people engaging as a community. Even before the pandemic hit, we collaborated closely with our colleagues from the college’s Center for Teaching & Learning and other campus partners to offer programming relevant to the needs of our students and faculty. During the pandemic, we worked with our students and faculty to better understand challenges and successes in the online classroom. What do we keep doing/do more often: The realities moving forward beyond the pandemic call for us to keep engaging with our community to understand their needs in and out of the classroom–and closely align our programming and resources with curricular priorities and campus initiatives. What do we stop doing: Guessing what the community needs and wants.

Partnering for Teaching & Learning: In these unprecedented times, the library’s role in student learning and faculty teaching has never felt more tangible or imperative. The pandemic provided us opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of faculty research needs and teaching practices; these experiences continue to provide us an expanded view of our own abilities and roles as library professionals. What do we keep doing/do more often: Partner with faculty and students to share knowledge and skills; continue to expand and share our own expertise; What do we stop doing: Underestimating the expertise we bring to the table as library professionals.

There’s more to come on this topic as we continue to expand our vision for the library of the future. Stay tuned!

New collaborations with partners across campus have allowed us to expand orientation programming in exciting ways. For example, in fall 2019, our Research  and Academic Engagement Librarian, Meggie M. Lasher, collaborated with colleagues in Student Life to reimagine what our first-year students’ initial encounter with the library could look like. During orientation week, the library transformed its space to host a welcome event for over 500 new students. Staffed by library and student life  personnel, we welcomed students to the library and offered a map of the library featuring a variety of creative activities in every corner of the space, including: a screen-printing station (where we used archival images of our Wildcat mascot to print on posters, t-shirts, and pillow cases), custom laptop sticker creation, a photo booth with props of Davidson memorabilia from our Archives, glow in the dark bowling  between the stacks, a D.J., dance floor, and disco ball. Dinner was served under the library’s portico and featured offerings  provided by local food trucks. Here are few photos from the inaugural 2019 event:

Following the event, students shared that they felt more comfortable entering the library space and connecting with library staff; library staff also formed new connections with first-year students that carried over into the academic year.

My group of freshmen especially liked the library party and I think it was a really good way for everyone to meet new people and socialize without feeling forced to do so…                                                                 

-Orientation Team Leader, 2019

Although we weren’t able to host the party last year due to the pandemic, we were excited to collaborate with Student Life to host the first-year party again this year in the library. Once again, students enjoyed making tote bags at the screen-printing station (the archival images of our Wildcat mascot is a perennial favorite!), creating “Wildcat” laptop stickers, button making, a photo booth, and learning about Davidson’s history in the Archives. Although the event was a little bit different from 2019 due to the pandemic, it was definitely a great day to be a Wildcat!

“The Thing Is” text

Since we launched the project in March 2021, we’ve been joined by guests from all different types of institutions (including posts from Davidson colleagues, Sundi Richard, Cara Evanson, and Yancey Fouche). Colleagues have shared ideas ranging from embracing flexible working schedules to building cultural competence in library workers. Interested in hearing more? Follow us on Instagram or Facebook! If you’d like to participate, just message me for more information.