New Faces in the Library – Meet Brooke!

I was recently hired as a part-time library assistant, working in both tech services and circulation. I was born and raised in High Point, North Carolina.  In May of 2012, I graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Dance Studies.  At Appalachian, I worked at Belk Library and realized how much I enjoyed the atmosphere of a library.  I moved to Charlotte in the summer of 2012 to pursue graduate studies at Pfeiffer University in Marriage and Family Therapy.  When I am not working or studying for classes, I enjoy doing Pilates and taking dance classes.  I am excited to be here at Charlotte School of Law and I am looking forward to getting more involved with the Library!

~Brooke Rideout~

 

Metrolina Library Association: 7th Annual Information Literacy Conference

Last Thursday June 14^th I had the pleasure of attending the Metrolina Library Association’s 7th Annual Information Literacy Conference in uptown Charlotte. I attended the conference with three other colleges, Mary Susan Lucas, Cory Lenz, and Betty Thomas. (Our other colleague, Susan Catterall, found herself as Cinderella back in the library on the Reference desk.)

This conference was a very enriching and informative experience. It was my first time attending so I made sure to leave the house early enough to allow for the expected lost-in-uptown 10 minute diversion before locating the Johnson & Wales University Charlotte campus where the conference was to be held. Thankfully, parking was only a short walk from the campus so my feathers weren’t too ruffled by the time I walked in doors.

After a pleasant few minutes of coffee and chat with other local librarians where I had the pleasure of meeting the famous reference Svengali Dr. Moniz, I attended the panel “Remodel – No Train, No Gain: Instituting an Information Literacy Professional Development Program” presented by Jenny Dale and Amy Harris Houk from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Following this panel everyone mingled outside in the great hall for a “poster session” where we all had the opportunity to review and speak with the various librarians who had created information literacy themed posters.

After looking at all of the posters I scurried off to the second panel titled “Sharpen – The Feedback Loop: Student Reflection on Research, Writing, and Information Literacy” presented by Jennifer Arnold of Central Piedmont Community College. I attended one more panel “Engage – QUEST: A Learning Game Information Fluency” presented by Helen Fowler of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools before joining my newfound friends and colleagues for a delicious barbeque lunch prepared by the wonderful Johnson & Wales University chefs.

The spread that they had laid out for lunch was fantastic! The pulled pork and barbeque chicken were certainly far better than much of the fare that one can find for sale around the Gateway Village area. The ice tea was refreshing and the peach cobbler was tres bien.

After lunch I (sleepily) attended the final panel  “Engage – Beyond the Basics: Effective and Engaging Information Literacy Instruction for Upper-Level Students” presented by Lynda Kellam and Jenny Dale of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lucky for me their presentation was quite energetic, otherwise the barbeque would have worked its magic and left me as one happily sedated librarian in the back of a freezing classroom.

The whole shebang was wrapped up by a keynote presentation from Jessamyn West, an extremely entertaining woman who expounded on everything from the digital divide, adult literacy, social networking, and Vermont floods. I look forward to attending next year’s conference and will endeavor to make the Metrolina Information Literacy Conference an annual tradition.

~Leanna Fitzgerald~

27th Annual Computers in Libraries Conference

Last week I attended the 27^th Annual Computers in Libraries Conference in Washington, D.C. This was a fascinating experience and an incredible opportunity to interact with colleagues in the profession of librarianship. In addition to librarians, there were many conference attendees who worked in the IT departments of libraries as well as various Metadata Specialists and Information Architect professionals.

I relished the opportunity to meet diverse library personnel and discuss the conference topics with them. There were six tracks (Track A Mobile Trends & Practices, Track B Web Presence, Track C Inspiring Innovation, Track D Navigating Information Overload, Track E Content Management, and Track F Library Issues & Challenges) that you could attend. Luckily conference attendees were allowed to attend panels in each track. There were too many interesting panels to choose from! “Super Searcher Secrets for Success” and “Embedding Digital Literacy in the Curriculum” were two of my favorite panels.

Each morning of the conference began with a keynote speaker. One of the best keynote speakers we had was Michael Edson from the Smithsonian Institution. The keynote speaker’s presentation was followed by a brief coffee break where attendees could mingle and talk about the panels they had attended the day before. There were also “dine-around” sign-up sheets where conference attendees could find a group of librarians to try out a local restaurant with. The “dine-arounds” had set discussion topics and attendees could sign-up based on their interest in the restaurant venue or the topic of discussion. I choose a digital literacy discussion topic complete with a Greek restaurant venue. (Both of these factors proved to be great qualifying factors for my first “dine-around” choice!) The Computers in Libraries proved to be far more intensive and focused than the library conference that I had previously attended in 2010.

Every evening left me exhausted from a day of paneling, socializing, and walking around Dupont Circle. I sojourned at the Windsor Park Hotel which was located off of Kalorama Road. This hotel was in an excellent walking area and afforded me the opportunity to visit the home of Woodrow Wilson and the famed Anderson House. Embassy Row was also just a stone’s throw from the hotel’s front door. All in all it was a great trip and I was very happy to have the opportunity to attend! I am looking forward to sharing conference content with my colleagues and trying out some of the new conference ideas in our home library.

~Leanna Fitzgerald~

Introducing Shannon Fitzpatrick!

My name is Shannon Fitzpatrick, and I am one of several new faces among the faculty and staff here at Charlotte School of Law.  I am a reference librarian, and I come in several hours per week to assist students, faculty, attorney members, and public patrons with their legal research needs.  This position is a great fit for me as I truly enjoy both legal research and working with others.

When I am not here, I am at my law office in Cornelius where I have a small civil litigation practice.  Although being a solo practitioner requires a lot of hard work and self-discipline, it also provides a lot of freedom and flexibility to engage in activities and other types of work I also enjoy (such as working at Charlotte Law!).  In addition, I participate in various pro bono projects through the Young Lawyers Division in Mecklenburg County.

Before opening my office and working at Charlotte Law, I studied for, took, and passed the North Carolina bar exam after moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina.  I graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law with Moot Court Honors and a certificate in Advanced Legal Research, Writing, and Drafting.  During law school, my work experience included a judicial externship with a state judge, a summer externship with a county attorney, and a clerkship with a private firm in downtown Jacksonville.

Prior to law school, I lived and went to college in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  I am a proud graduate of Appalachian State University where I studied Communication and English, played Division I Women’s Field Hockey, and worked part-time at a small law firm.  If or when I had downtime, I liked to hike or ski, depending on the season.

Now, I enjoy my downtime by reading, taking yoga classes, and spending time with my fiancé Tom and our two dogs Maggie and Rudy.  Tom and I are getting married on August 25, 2012 in my hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Although we stay busy with work, wedding planning, and watching college football (namely Tom’s alma mater, Notre Dame… Go Irish!), our first priority is making time for our friends and family.

I look forward to the New Year, and I expect that 2012 will provide many opportunities to meet and get to know the friendly folks at Charlotte Law.

~Shannon Fitzpatrick~

Introducing Cory Lenz!

I am excited to be the newest reference librarian at the Charlotte School of Law and look forward to promoting the studies and scholarship of the students and faculty.  Research can be fun, encouraging and, most importantly, painless – very similar to a safe, effective workout.

How did I get interested in law and arrive at the Charlotte School of Law?  Well, it was simple – I followed a very crooked path and pedaled a lot of miles to get here.  I started my career in Los Angeles working in film production and development as a story editor.  Stories and films fanned the flame of my interest in artists and creativity which vaulted into the area of their legal concerns, specifically trademark and copyright law.  In addition to my legal studies, I continued my education in human kinesiology as an ACE-certified personal trainer and added library science to the mix.  Creativity, curiosity, and customer service have always been and will continue to be the common themes of my professional development.

So what can I do for you?  Having just graduated from North Carolina Central University School of Law with a JD/MLS and finished the journey many of you are taking, I can help fend-off common mistakes in your research strategy, exam study, or bar preparation.   So please stop by my office with any questions, be it research or assignment-related or about your health and fitness concerns.  Or stop by just to introduce yourselves – I would love to share favorite films or books, externship war stories, or anything else you might want to discuss.

~Cory Lenz~

Greetings from Betty Thomas!

Hello!

My name is Betty Thomas. I am one of the two new part time reference librarians.

Originally from Maryland, I have lived in Charlotte for 28 years….enough to qualify as a native Charlottean?  I received my BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Go heels! And thank goodness football season is over.) After I graduated with my MBA from the University of Georgia (Go dawgs!), I worked for two Fortune 500 companies:   Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Philip Morris USA in the areas of human resources, production management and organizational design.

Outside of living in libraries during my college years, my library work experience began with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.   After my position was eliminated with the first round of budget cuts, I decided to go back to graduate school and earn my library degree. I realized during my coursework that I really love doing research and focused on academic and special libraries in my studies.  I also volunteered at the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room and on the reference desk at Morrison Regional Branch of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  I am a Certified Public Librarian with the State of North Carolina. In August, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with my Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS).

As part of my internship last spring, I provided a new research consulting service to the faculty at Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte. This pilot project was a greater success than we had anticipated. An article I wrote with the Director of Library Services and my faculty advisor about the experience entitled “Informationists in a Small University Library” will be published in Reference and User Services Quarterly (RUSQ) this spring.

When not at the reference desk at Charlotte School of Law, I am either working as the part time librarian at Central Piedmont Community College’s Merancas campus in Huntersville or spending time with my family. I am married to a great guy. Our son is a junior at the University of South Carolina and our daughter is a freshman in the IB program at Myers Park High School and loves to dance. I like to read, bike, hike, travel, photograph, and work out at the Y.

I am excited to be working at Charlotte Law and looking forward to learning all about legal resources. Please stop by the reference desk and say hello.

~Betty Thomas~

New Faces in the Library

I would like to devote this blog posting to the recognition of new faces here at our Charlotte School of Law Library.  Perhaps you have recently noticed some new faces as you’ve drifted past the reference desk during the last week.

Last week our new full-time Reference Librarian Corey Lenz began working here at the law library. Corey hails from Connecticut and his new office is located next to the reference desk. I can’t say much more about his background as he will soon be posting a short autobiographical introductory blog posting so I won’t spoil the fun!

In addition to our newest full-time member Corey Lenz, the reference department has also gained two part-time Reference Librarians, Shannon Fitzpatrick and Betty Thomas.

Shannon is a recent Juris Doctor graduate and is considering obtaining her Master of Library Science. We hope her experience at the law library will contribute positively to helping her make this decision about her career.

Betty is a recent Master of Library Science graduate who does not have a Juris Doctor but has considerable experience in academic libraries. Betty is currently familiarizing herself with legal sources and mastering our collection.

Again, I won’t give away too much info regarding their unique backgrounds so you will just have to keep your eyes peeled for their up and coming blog postings!  Feel free to stop by the reference desk and say hi to our new staff whenever you find yourself in the library.

~Leanna Fitzgerald~

More Reference Team Fun…

Fall 2011 will witness the launch of a new Library Research Instruction component to CSL’s Lawyering Process (“LP”) program. The Reference department has risen to the new challenges facing CSL in accommodating a large entering class. The Reference department has opted to forego traditional face to face instruction formats for new innovative electronic based learning formats that build on CSL’s emphasis on practice ready skills.

To achieve this purpose, the Reference team is currently creating a series of online demonstrations of legal research concepts and further enhancing the Library’s TWEN page with these online research tutorials. Expect to see plenty LP students in the library this fall as they mill about in the collection looking for the correct resources to complete the Research Exercise that has been chosen for them by members of the Reference team in conjunction with the LP faculty. Rather than remain isolated in the classroom, LP students will find themselves embroiled in adventure in the stacks.

Wish them good luck and feel free to lend them a helping hand by pointing them to the nearest Reference Librarian!

~Leanna Fitzgerald~

CALI’s Unbound Conference

I had the pleasure of attending the Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) conference at the Marquette University Law School from June 25-27.  The law school building was a sight to behold.  The building is only a year old, cost over 82 million, and has as much state of the art technology as anyone could ask for.  The classrooms are designed to engage students – from push to talk mics to clean sight lines to configurable spaces that are geared towards collaboration or traditional lecture, depending on the class being offered.  Their “conference center” is set up to accommodate guests, let local tv stations plug into their state of the art recording studio, and give conference goers a beautiful view of downtown Milwaukee at the same time.

View of the School from one of the upper floors – notice the “exploded library” located on every floor!

The CALI conference was a real eye-opener on a variety of topics.  Speakers presented information on topics ranging from the latest uses of iPads in the classroom to new technology options for sharing and collaborating on faculty scholarship.  The crowd was nearly as enthusiastic as the speakers were for all the sessions I attended, and the questions were interesting as well.  To see the list of conference sessions, view the recordings, and listen to those questions, go to http://conference.cali.org/2011/webcast

The iPad sessions focused on not only the latest apps available in the legal market, but on some very creative classroom uses of apps.  At least two of the sessions used Xtranormal to illustrate ways of capturing students’ attention and introducing a topic that might normally be a little dry.  The speakers suggested that new apps and cartoons created using Xtranormal may just be the trick for getting students away from those FaceBook pages and back to concentrating on the law school topic of the day!

~Bobbie Studwell~

Reference Summer News

This summer is turning out to be pretty busy at Charlotte Law Library! Even as I write this I cant help but feel that I should be working on the multiple tasks that I have been assigned to do this week.

The Reference staff is in the process of updating our library research instruction curriculum for the new term. We are also updating the Reference Manual, pro se patron information handouts and various LibGuides. Additionally, I am working on our Interlibrary Loan procedures.

Lots of fun! I could tell you more but it might be too exciting for you. Stay tuned for more juicy Reference tidbits!  Cheers!

~Leanna Fitzgerald~