Imagine that you’re taking a long drive to a place you’ve never been before, guided by a trusty GPS. You have a pretty good idea of where you’re going and how you’ll get there, until the GPS unapologetically announces “rerouting.” Suddenly, you’re merging into a different lane, avoiding a collision and squinting to read a road sign on a highway you hadn’t planned to take. This is what a day in the life of Tomalee Doan, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is like, and I’m that pesky GPS. Actually, I’m a lot of things — protector of her time, gatekeeper of the calendar, a backup drive for all the things she needs to remember, her email wizard and her editor. And I’m uniquely positioned to see and appreciate just how hard she works each day.

Tomalee likes to say that there is no job description for her job. It changes every day depending on the needs and priorities of the people and divisions she serves, but she takes every one of those “rerouting” moments in stride.

She is on the Digital Education implementation team, the Honors College Advisory Board and curriculum committee, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, Dean’s Council, and the Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee. She chairs Learning Council, leads the Planning and Operations Council this semester, weighs in on searches that report up through her and makes salary offers, and still oversees the management of HSSEB while her former position remains open. She is the PI for four IRBs dealing with active learning spaces, acts as a reviewer for The Journal of Learning Spaces, shares her expertise on effective learning spaces at numerous conferences every year, and collaborates on manuscripts on a regular basis.

With so much to juggle, it’s especially admirable that when asked what she wanted to stress about her daily life as an associate dean, she told me to remind everyone that her door is always open. She may only have a few free minutes between meetings each day, but she spends them talking with faculty and staff, visiting our libraries, and smiling when I tell her that we need to “reroute” her day again. She has only been an associate dean since July 2015, but she understands that flexibility, empathy, and a desire to facilitate and move projects forward are the most valuable prerequisites for the job. So please remember that her door is always open ... unless she’s forgotten her keys.

Editor's Note: If you are interested in participating in the series, "A Day in the Life Of" please discuss it with your supervisor and contact Teresa Brown for inclusion in future issues of INSIDe.

This past year, Purdue University Libraries created three new student ambassador positions to support Libraries student engagement and outreach efforts. The student ambassadors support regular Libraries events such as study break activities, orientation events and information fairs. In addition, the student ambassadors plan and communicate messages regarding Libraries services, resources and activities on Libraries social media outlets. As a result of their work, our Libraries communication and outreach efforts are offering a more authentic student voice and perspective. The student ambassadors also provide important feedback to Libraries administration in Libraries planning, communication and decision-making.

The 2016 Libraries student ambassadors include: Brooke de la Croix, sophomore, movement and sports sciences major; Sebastian Kenny, freshmen, biochemistry major; and Xavier Villeda, sophomore, civil engineering major.

Brooke de la Croix, Sebastian Kenny, Xavier Villeda

Specific Libraries student ambassador duties include:

• Support the Libraries presence at university-wide outreach events and information fairs
• Assist with event planning and logistics — including Boiler Gold Rush (BGR) and Purdue Day of Giving (PDOG)
• Help communicate and promote the Libraries through Libraries social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)
• Provide feedback on Libraries marketing and communication content from the student’s point of view

These students have provided important student insight into Libraries initiatives that will allow us to better align and elevate future efforts.

Have you worked on an interesting project lately? Has your library or unit implemented a new and innovative service or practice? Share your experience with the rest of your colleagues at the Libraries' 9th annual One Book Higher poster session!

When: April 22, 10-11:30 a.m. (Poster session) and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Lunch & Awards)
Where: PMU South Ballroom
Who: All Libraries Employees

Vote for the best poster in these categories:

• Most Interactive
• Most Creative
• Most Scholarly
• Viewer’s Choice
• Made me LOL
• Most Innovative Idea
• Best Furthers the Strategic Plan
• AD/s Choice

Voting will end promptly at 11:15

Poster awards will be presented during lunch. The winners will receive award certificates and this year each winning poster will receive a monetary prize of $375 to be split equally between the contributors.

To present a poster, enter your information at the following link before April 1 at 5 p.m.
https://purdue.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5A0Zx48fep7W27H

1. Title of poster
2. Presenter(s)
3. Estimated cost if supplies are needed
4. If you will need electricity; an electrical outlet
5. If you will need a table, display stand, or both

Supplies for posters will be ordered through your area's designated supply coordinator. Please ask your coordinator to place any One Book Higher orders in separately with a note in the comments field indicating the supplies are for One Book Higher. Deadline for ordering supplies is April 8. If you are wanting to print your poster, you will have to do that on your own, there will not be printing available through the Libraries.

If you have any questions contact one of the One Book Higher committee members: Angie Ewing (chair), Diana Grove, Ann O’Donnell, Ashley Hutchcraft, and Lil Conarroe.

The Purdue University Libraries Seminar Committee invited Dr. Rikk Mulligan, Public Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and program officer for scholarly publishing at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to speak about “Promises and Pitfalls: ARL Institutional Digital Scholarship and Collaboration.” He presented the results of a preliminary environmental survey of ARL members regarding their current support for digital scholarship, particularly those who operate digital scholarship centers or hubs or are looking to do so in the near future. His talk highlighted some of the most experienced efforts, such as Brown University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Virginia and he gave an overview of current projects that exemplified the possibilities of the collaboration between research library and departments. Mulligan pointed out some of the challenges for future collaboration including scalability, sustainability, and how such work is assessed and regarded within the academy.

M Cadwallader
Library Assistant
Hicks Repository

Hi there, I received my undergrad degree from Purdue in Linguistics and Spanish a few years ago. Since then, I have taught English as a Second Language at the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy and worked in Circulation and Technical Services at the Tippecanoe County Public Library before landing back here at Purdue. I am located in the Hicks Repository and have been helping with the increased workload (particularly transfers, withdrawals, etc.) as we all prepare for library closings and the opening of the WALC.

Thanks to those of you who have extended a warm welcome during my first month here. I can be reached by email at mcadwal@purdue.edu or by phone at 49-67264. My office space is located in HIKS B849.

Melissa Waterworth
Library Assistant
Hicks Repository

I began working in Hicks Repository in late February and have been met with many warm welcomes from the Libraries staff. I am currently assisting with the prodigious transfer and withdrawal project.

Before Purdue, I worked in the libraries at DePauw University, wrote for a small newspaper, taught English for a few years, and tried to further the cause of public health in my community as the administrator at the county health department. I am pleased to be among books again and curious to see exactly how libraries are evolving.

At home, I enjoy cooking and baking, crocheting, gardening and relaxing with my family.

You can find me at my desk in HIKS B849, through email at mwaterwo@purdue.edu, or by phone 49-67346.

I would like to thank colleagues and friends in the Purdue Libraries for your continuous support of my work on the Libraries’ web presence. As a person from another discipline, I have learned a lot about libraries, library users and how user experience can be applied to the library context. It has been a great pleasure to work with many of you on the Libraries’ website, Primo, e-books, GIS, Career Wiki and other web projects.

Purdue is where I have spent the longest time in the United States so far. I met so many wonderful people and have many good memories here. Fiona and I are excited about our new adventures, but we will always remember the people at Purdue.

Boiler up!
Tao

Libraries Student Staff Member

Alex Carbone
Senior, Aviation Management
Hopkinton, MA

Q. What library or Library Unit do you work in and what is your job?
A. I’m a student assistant in Auxiliary Services

Q. What do you like about your job at Purdue Libraries?
A. Driving to all the different libraries.

Q. If you could add a class to Purdue’s curriculum, what would it be?
A. Something where all students are taught correct grammar.

Q. Who would you like to meet and have dinner with?
A. Too many possibilities, but Michael Bloomberg would be one of my top choices at this point.

Q. What do you do for fun?
A. A variety of activities including sports, discovering new music and reading about aviation.

Q. What are you future plans after you graduate?
A. Graduating in May and moving to Chicago to work for United Airlines in Network Planning.