1) Denice, tell us about your work in your library…?
My title is the Research and Instruction Librarian for Engineering and Science. As a liaison to Engineering and Physics, I connect students, faculty, and staff to the information they need to support their research endeavors. The how I do that varies:
- I teach credit-based information literacy courses as well as what we refer to as one-shots or bibliometric sessions where I’m invited to teach a specific topic(s) to students in a course.
- I meet with individuals and groups to discuss their research interest and needs.
- In addition, I develop online research guides for my liaison departments, courses, summer programs, and to support my own research endeavors.
My research interests span three primary areas: digital information literacy skills of incoming freshmen, mentoring for BIPOC early career librarians, and the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and information literacy. AI has definitely obliterated the other areas in the past couple of years. I have presented at webinars, workshops, and lighting talks on AI in a variety of different venues in the past three years. Although that’s the core of what I do, I also serve on the ASERL Professional Development Committee, as 2nd year Director of the Engineering Library Division of the American Society of Engineering Education, and as the co-chair of the STEM Librarians in North Carolina (STEM-LINC) section in the North Carolina Library Association. Outside of all of that, there are always different taskforces, committees, special projects, and other work that I’m involved in at ZSR Library, at Wake Forest, or in the community. I’ve learned in the past five (almost six) years that the work of a librarian varies every single day, week, month, and year. The things I work on now in 2024 outside of my core role are completely different that what I did in 2019 when I started at Wake Forest University.
2) What attracted you to this role?
I’m a fourth career librarian in that I’ve worked in corporate America, the food services industry, and in academia. My love of reading actually led me to pursuing a career as a librarian. My punishment growing up was to have my public library card taken away. Once I tried to circumvent my mom and told the librarians at Merritt Island Public Library that I had forgot my card. I was there so often that the librarians knew who I was and were happy to let me check out the multitude of books on the counter. My mother, on the other hand, didn’t appreciate my ingenuity. When I got home carrying all of the books in my backpack, She drove me and the books back to the library and informed the librarians that if I didn’t have my library card that I was on punishment. My tears and saying “All I want to do is read!” did not sway my mother whatsoever. As a result when I was deciding what to major in for my next degree, I reflected on what has always been a part of my life and that’s been reading. Still to this day I read a book (outside of work mind you) every single day. When I added my inquisitive nature and love of research, I applied primarily to academic librarian positions in the final semester of my Masters in Library and Information Science at Indiana University Indianapolis.
3) How have you been involved with ASERL?
In the beginning, I was a consumer taking advantage of the different workshops/webinars ASERL has to offer. I first joined the ASERL Professional Development Committee in Fall of 2023. It has been an honor to work on the committee this past year in helping to plan different webinars and ASERL’s first Tech Immersion Conference this past August. I also presented the webinar “Flirting with AI” in December 2023 and was a presenter for the ASERL-TRLN Leadership Conference this past April and at the Tech Immersion Conference in August.
4) What parts of your job/volunteering with ASERL do you find most rewarding?
I enjoy getting to know and work alongside other librarians on the ASERL Professional Development Committee and to develop/coordinate webinars and events that meet the needs of the ASERL library community. When I can see individuals participating, learning new things, asking questions, and/or reflecting on how they can use the new knowledge and/or skills, it invigorates me to do more and that is what has kept me on the ASERL Professional Development committee for a second year.
5) What’s one great thing that most people don’t know about you?
To say that I’m a foodie is an understatement. I started a restaurant club when I lived in Phoenix, Arizona. When I left Intel, I obtained a degree in culinary arts, did my externship at Epcot, and worked overseas in Germany for the DoD Armed Forces Recreation Center as a civilian for two years. It took me going to culinary school to realize the things that I had never cooked at home before. In the first baking class, I realized that I had never made cookies or cakes before from a box nor from scratch and I rarely make desserts at home now. Although I loved making my own sausages in the charcuterie class, I cook seafood more at home and rarely cook meat. I love making my own jellies, jams, and nut butters as well as experimenting with different flavors and recipes. I’m focussed on Marie Kondo’ing my kitchen over winter break and getting back into cooking on a regular basis after traveling extensively this year.