ALAO Mentor Biographies

John Burke

Library Director

Miami University Middletown

Areas of expertise: Career / Recruitment and Hiring, Circulation, Department Management, Instruction, Library Management, Marketing and Outreach, Reference, Reserves / Electronic Reserves, Student Supervision

Professional background: I've worked in academic libraries for over 30 years, 28 of them in Ohio. My experience has been at two regional campuses (for Miami and UC) and one small four-year college in West Virginia. I've had reference, instruction, circulation, and web design responsibilities all the way through, but I've also been responsible for interlibrary loan and, since 2005, have been a library director. Aside from my experience in libraries, I've also published books and articles and presented many times, and would be happy to share my advice on those proposal processes. Oh, and I have been running a makerspace since 2014, so I have things to share about that experience, too. And I have served in elected and volunteer roles in a variety of library professional organizations, so that may be of interest.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor?: Whether a mentee is new to the field or is changing to a new role in the library, I hope that I could offer advice and perspective. I do not have all the answers, but I have faced a variety of situations and worked with many coworkers, and I am a good listener, so I hope I could be of assistance.

Heather Crozier

Electronic Resource Librarian

Ohio Northern University

Areas of expertise: Collection Development, Electronic Resources, Reference

Professional background: I have worked in public, community college, and university libraries. I also work at a small university which allows me to wear a lot of different hats. In addition to e-resources, I do collection development, serve as a liaison to different academic (business, nursing, theatre, and music) and service departments, teach, supervise the library's social media, create videos, and am now an Alma administrator and web manager. I believe I can be most helpful for someone who needs to balance multiple responsibilities or is interested in learning a little about a lot of different areas.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I hope to provide support for someone with less experience in order to help the profession as a whole continue to benefit from new library workers with new ideas and perspectives. I've also enjoyed forming new relationships with librarians at other institutions over the years!

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I've been very involved with ALAO and OhioLINK. I have volunteered as an adult literacy tutor for the last 11 years. My research interest is chronic illness/invisible or nonapparent disabilities in librarianship, as I have a chronic illness. I tend to talk about my cats a lot.

Michael Flierl

Associate Professor & Student Learning Librarian

The Ohio State University

Areas of expertise: Instruction, Reference, Student Supervision, AI, Information Literacy

Professional background: I have 5 years of experience in a faculty development program and 6 years of experience managing reference services at Ohio State's main library. During the past three years I've gained significant experience with AI, regularly presenting about AI and education for local, national, and int'l audiences.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I want an engaged mentee willing to experiment and explore new ideas. Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I love board games and experimenting with different AI systems.

Ken Irwin

Web Services Librarian, Miami University

Areas of expertise: Collection Development, Instruction, Reference, Web Development

Professional background: I spent 20+ years as a reference/instruction/collection development faculty librarian at a small private college prior to my current role as in web development at a medium-sized public university. My current role has also included leadership in the libraries Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts (no curtailed by SB1, but that's an area I'm still happy to talk about with those who can.) I expect I can offer general early-career advice, as well as perspectives on making big job changes. In addition to the specific areas of reference, collections, instruction, web development and DEI, I think I have a pretty good understanding of academic libraries as workplaces, and can help develop a person's preparedness to meet their employers goals and find their own professional niche. I have some experience with digital scholarship on both library-based and non-library projects. Recently, I have also been involved in unionization efforts in our library and am beginning to have an understanding of the role that can play in library workplaces. I have done some informal librarian mentoring in the past, and have been doing more “organized” mentoring through ALAO and ALA in the past few years.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? Having been around the profession for a long time, I have found that mentoring helps keep me in touch with the ways newer librarians see the profession. In any area of life, I know that I have a lot to learn from people with a fresher perspective, newer training, etc, and I'd hope to expand my own ways of looking at the profession by learning from my colleagues. The mentees I have worked with in the past have impressed me, and I see the mentoring relationship as also one in which I get to help foster future colleagues and collaborators.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): * professional: coding, DEI, writing/library scholarship * hobbies: hiking, mushroom hunting, dancing, board games, caving

Mandy Knapp

State Librarian

State Library of Ohio

Areas of expertise: Career / Recruitment and Hiring, Department Management, Library Management

Professional background: I have over 20 years of library experience, including public, academic and government libraries.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I would like to be able to help someone who needs advice and guidance.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I have lots of fun hobbies, but not sure they would be helpful here!

Krista McDonald

Director, Rentschler Library

Miami University Hamilton

Areas of expertise: Career / Recruitment and Hiring, Collection Development, Instruction, Library Management, Reference, Student Supervision

Professional background: I have worked in academic libraries since 2002, and have worked in libraries since 1997. While not an expert in everything, I have been responsible for all managerial and supervisory tasks, reference, instruction, collection management, website maintenance, copy cataloging, reserves, ILL, and the circ desk over my career. Like many branch campus folks, I know a little about everything. I have been a mentor through ALAO since the mentoring program's inception, have also served as a mentor at my own institution, and have informally mentored many early career librarians over the course of 20+ years. In this role, I have assisted my mentees in reaching the goals they have set for our mentoring relationship, from helping them with job applications, to developing instruction skills, to working through the tenure process.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor?: Mentoring is definitely not a one way street. I always learn from my mentees and appreciate the opportunity to do so. My learning ranges from improved communication skills to picking up details about library work that I may not have been responsible for recently to problem solving with my mentee.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I have 3 cats and 3 teenage kids, including a set of identical twins. I am currently working on a Master's degree in Instructional Design & Technology. I serve on the board of Hamilton Ohio Pride, the organization that plans our annual Pride festival in Hamilton. I listen to nonfiction audiobooks and podcasts on various science and social science topics. I rock out with Shinedown, Seether, Linkin Park, Queen, and Muse. I cheer for the Green Bay Packers and Kansas Men's Basketball. And, I'm a Marvel girl and Star Trek nerd. :)

Johanna Meetz

Publishing & Repository Services Librarian

Ohio State University

Areas of expertise: Career / Recruitment and Hiring, Department Management, Digital Scholarship, Scholarly Communication Professional background: I have worked at small, private institutions previously in my career, and made the transition from working as a department of one to supervising a small team at Ohio State. Most recently, I have dealt with re-organizations, software migrations, and management issues. I have been through both tenure and non-tenure evaluation processes. I am a good, non-judgemental listener.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I would like to offer assistance to others and, hopefully, be the person I needed earlier in my career for someone else.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I just taught myself to crochet, and I enjoy reading.

Gerald Natal

Health and Human Services Librarian

The University of Toledo

Areas of expertise: Instruction, Reference, Scholarly Communication

Professional background: In addition to my many years as an academic librarian I also worked in a public library system as staff in a variety of positions (circulation, graphic artist, bookmobile driver, small branch substitute), in corrections librarianship, and as a staff supervisor in an academic library (26+ years in library work).

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? The relationship is reciprocal--it never fails that I learn from mentees. I have managed to keep in touch with my previous mentees, even when they leave the state. A good mentor-mentee relationship seems to result in friendships.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): I have a fine arts background and love to read and create art. I am into all things pop culture and I am a musician (I currently play in a cover band and a church band). I am a Navy veteran.

Mandy Shannon

Associate Professor; Director of Teaching, Research, and Engagement

University of Dayton

Areas of expertise: Department Management, Instruction, Library Management, Reference

Professional background: I came to academic librarianship in a very indirect path. I started my professional career as a policy analyst and communications specialist at a nonprofit law firm focusing on low-income rights advocacy, followed by teaching political science (with a focus on American politics, political psychology, and research methods), grants management, and public librarianship with a focus on readers' advisory. I bring a range of experiences outside of the library that informs my work as a librarian. Since making the shift to academic librarianship, I have primarily focused on instruction and assessment, but with positions as department head and administrator. I also am actively engaged with colleagues outside of the library in conversations about student success, retention, and integration of information literacy into the curriculum. My research focuses on the integration of information literacy in the classroom and in the political world. Finally, my experience in the past five years has included a careful reflection and examination about at what level of management I'm most professionally satisfied and personally happy, intentionally returning to a position as a department head rather than continuing on as an administrator.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I think it would be valuable for me to connect with someone earlier in their career without a supervisory relationship. I look forward to hearing new ideas and perspectives to continue to grow and build my own professional practices. I have a lot of enthusiasm for what I do, and I think that a mentoring relationship can help keep that fresh.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): Outside of the library, I am active in a variety of local theater organizations (primarily acting, but also on the Board of Directors of a local organization). I also sit on a committee for our county Homeless Solutions Policy Board, and am interested in public policy solutions for poverty-related issues.

Kari Siders

Library Director

Wilmington College

Areas of expertise: Circulation, Department Management, Instruction, Library Management, Reference, Student Supervision

Professional background: Library Director with 14 years of management experience from various roles including branch manager, public services director, and library director. I have worked in a community college and private universities of various size. As such, I have had to be knowledgeable in multiple areas of the library from functioning as essentially a solo librarian, small team, and mid-sized team environment. These experiences have allowed me to understand the breadth of library work and aspects related to them. I can offer mentees a perspective that can span a variety of situations and roles in the library, especially from a leadership, management, or supervision perspective.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? In the mentor role I always grow and benefit as much as the mentee. Being a mentor gives many opportunities to grow as you learn more about other libraries and other librarian's experiences and ideas. Just listening to what concerns and issues are brought to light by the mentee gives opportunity to consider perspectives that differ from your own and allows you to grow.

Please describe any special interest that may be helpful in matching you and your mentee (i.e. hobbies, special skills, service, or volunteer organizations): In librarianship, I have a strong focus on building myself as a leader and encouraging others to see themselves in a way that focuses on their strengths. On a personal level, I do enjoy board games and traveling which also offers many opportunities to learn about aspects of the world you may not otherwise encounter.

Maureen Walsh

Scholarly Sharing Strategist, Associate Professor

The Ohio State University Libraries

Areas of expertise: Scholarly Communication

Professional background: Over my career in the scholarly communications field I have extensive experience with international and national professional service. I can offer a mentee insight into chairing governance groups, serving on library advisory boards, and how one might approach new service opportunities. I have also served in a number of roles within The Ohio State University Libraries and I am currently the head of the Scholarly Sharing Program Area. I can offer my experience in service at the local level, in proposing and operationalizing strategic initiatives, and working with campus and consortial partners on scholarly communications programs.

What motivates you to serve as a mentor? I hope to gain new perspectives and contribute back to the profession by providing guidance and an open ear to help others grow professionally and achieve their goals.