Speakers

Kristin Antelman

Associate Director for the Digital Library, North Carolina State University Libraries. She is currently the principal investigator for an IMLS-funded project to build a Learning Space Toolkit, which will serve as a resource for libraries and other stakeholders who are engaged in learning space projects.

Donald Beagle

Director of Library Services, Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC.

Bridgett Birmingham

Media and Technology Librarian at Florida State University Libraries. She currently works with students and staff to incorporate technology and media in innovative ways into their research projects and assignments.

Susan Beatty

Susan  Beatty is the Head, Learning Commons, Taylor Family Digital Library, University of Calgary. She has extensive experience in  both academic and public libraries.  Her main responsibility is coordinating the delivery of reference service and technical support in the new Learning Commons. Susan has presented at various international conferences in Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States, England and Scotland.

Lynn Benn

Director, Student Development responsible for Learning Centres in the Learning Commons and Disabilities Services at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC.   Within the division of Student Life and Community, Lyn provides leadership in program development and Learning Centre services and support for students with disabilities. As Learning   Commons partners, the Learning Centres are housed in three of the four campus libraries, with close links to library services and partnerships with faculty to support learning in and out of the classroom.

Robert C. Davis

Manager of the Office of Information Technologies, Academic Computing Computer Classrooms, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His department is responsible for computer technology support in 11 classrooms, the Learning and Teaching Commons, the Assistive Technology Center, three video conferencing venues and the two new Team Based Learning classrooms.  His department works closely with the Library, the Instructional Media Lab, and the   Center for Teaching and Faculty Development in creating and maintaining environments conducive to active teaching and learning.

Lynn Deeken

Instruction and Assessment Coordinator, Librarian in Research Services, Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons, Seattle University. Before Seattle University, she was a Reference and Instruction librarian at Pierce College and coordinator of a state-wide grant for information literacy in the Washington Community and Technical College libraries.

Erin Delathouwer

Learning Communities Program Coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan’s University Learning Centre. Her academic background is in Philosophy (BA - University of Saskatchewan, MA – York University).

Michelle Demeter

Academic Partnerships Librarian at Florida State University Libraries. She works with academic groups across campus to provide undergraduates access to various academic services, including advising and tutoring.

Paul Dexter

Coordinator for Learning Assistance, University of Southern Maine. Paul has worked in the fields of community mental health, education, and career development, providing consulting in each of these areas.  He has served in several roles at USM involving program development, teaching, grand writing, campus administration and direct service.

Elaine Fairey

Associate University Librarian, Learning and Research Services, Simon Fraser University Library.  Partnering with colleagues at SFU and beyond, she is engaged in building on the SFU Library's highly-regarded integration of writing, learning, and research services in order to create enhanced in-person and virtual programs, services, and spaces for SFU faculty and students, and the larger BC post-secondary community.

Joel Fonstad

Coordinator of the Learning Communities program at the University of Saskatchewan’s University Learning Centre. His academic background is in English (BA & MA – University of Saskatchewan).

Marissa Funaro

Student Life Educator, Peer Programs, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. She has worked at SFY since 2006 as an Academic Advisor and as the Manager of Academic Advising before moving into her current role within Student Engagement in 2011. Marissa has a BA and CLA from SFU.

Teri Grant

Student Development Coordinator, Chapman Learning Commons, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia  with a joint report to UBC Library and the Department of Student Development and Services. She has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University. In her current role, Teri works directly with fourteen student-staff and eight student volunteers to provide a high level of support and service to the UBC community through programs, events, campus initiatives, and academic coaching. As a Student Affairs professional, Teri also works with the rest of the Student Development team to support and promote student orientation and transition, student learning, and leadership development and involvement.

Bill Grubb

Head of Reference and the Information Literacy Program, University of Southern Maine. Spanning 30 years, Bill’s career has included all aspects of academic librarianship ranging from law school libraries, small private colleges and state universities.

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe

Coordinator for information literacy services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Associate Professor for library administration, and Adjunct instructor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois. Lisa is Past President of ACRL.  Her service within ACRL has included positions on the Information Literacy Competency Standards Review Task Force, among others. She also has served on the LOEX Advisory Board and was a member of the ARL Task Force on Library Roles in Enhanced Environments for Teaching and Learning. Lisa’s most recent publication is “The Future of Information Literacy” in The Information Literacy Instruction Handbook (ACRL, 2008).

Sarah Hutton

Head of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Services, W.E.B. DuBois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her department includes the Learning Commons to support undergraduate student learning, and the Teaching Commons for faculty collaboration and support.  Sarah also works closely with first-years programs, such as the Commonwealth Honors College and the Writing Program, working to integrate information, media and visual literacies into the curriculum. 

Keith Kirkwood

Lecturer, School of Language and Learning, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. He has been instrumental in developing the University’s Student Supporting Student Learning Strategy. Keith coordinates the Writing Space, Victoria University’s peer-assisted writing centre, in the Learning Commons, and has developed and maintains SNAPVU, a virtual student peer social learning environment.

Rudy Leon

Technology Training & Outreach Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Assistant Professor for library administration. Rudy chairs the ACRL Leadership Discussion Group, and the Information Commons Discussion Group.  Rudy speaks widely on the topics of innovation, learning organisations and the use of emerging technologies for learning and outreach. Rudy blogs at http://deepening.wordpress.com and can be found on Twitter as @Rudibrarian.

David V. Loertscher

Professor, Library and Information Science, San Jose University, California.  He has written extensively about the creation of Learning Commons in the K-12 arena and has presented many times across Canada to both school and academic audiences. He is co-editor of the periodical Teacher Librarian and teaches graduate classes at San Jose in the construction of both physical and virtual learning commons, knowledge building centers, instructional design, and collection development.

Margaret Mackey

Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton. She has published widely on the subject of new literacies. Her most recent book is Narrative Pleasures in Young Adult Novels, Films, and Video Games (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).

Megan Marcoux

Coordinator of the Learning Communities program at the University of Saskatchewan’s University Learning Centre. Her academic background is in Education (BEd – University of Saskatchewan).

Donna McGee-Thompson

Head, Student Learning Commons, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. She has been in the field of Post-secondary Learning Strategies for 15 years, at Douglas College and Capilano College (now Capilano University) as well as at SFU. Donna has a MA in Adult Education from UBC.

Sandra Mills

Student Support Assistant and Assistive Technology Coordinator, The Commons, Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Following the completion of her B.A, Sandra was hired as a Student Support Specialist with Memorial’s award-winning Distance Education Learning and Teaching Support (DELTS) department. She works at The Commons as Student Support Assistant and Assistive Technology Coordinator, though she remains a part of the DELTS team. She is both surprised and extremely pleased to find that her experience as a Commons student assistant has transferred into a permanent career. In her spare time, Sandra is an actress, singer, video editor, and blogger.

Julie Mitchell

Managing Librarian, Chapman Learning Commons, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia.

Alex Monegro

Student Development Manager, Canaccord Learning Commons, University of British Columbia. Alex’s passion is co-creating solutions that satisfy stakeholder needs and drive value for students. He has a strong focus on using technology to scale learning resources while still providing a rich learning experience.

D’Arcy Norman

IT Partner, Teaching and Learning Centre, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary.  He is also a grad student, working on an MSc thesis studying the effect of software design and pedagogical affordances on communities of learning.

Frances O’Neil

Associate Librarian, Information Services, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.  Her experience in academic librarianship includes executive-level management in dispersed, multi-campus and diverse, multi-sector education environments. Her achievements and research interests include organizational change and development, and client service innovations including Learning Commons initiatives.

Lesley Pease

Head, Learning Commons, Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, NY. Lesley Pease has been head of the Syracuse University Library Learning Commons since 2008. Her previous positions included Head, Social Sciences & Area Studies and Head, Maps & Government Information Department at Syracuse University Library. She has served as Adjunct Faculty for the Syracuse University School of Information Studies and the Web Administrator for American Library Association GODORT (Government Documents Roundtable).

Kristine Plastow

Chairperson, Library Information Common, Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta. . She has worked in various departments within the library over the last 15 years, from Technical Services to Reference to Information Literacy. She was part of the design team that built the Library Information Commons ten years ago and has revelled in the fact that the space has stood the test of time and is as popular and well used today as the day it opened. She has also been involved with planning, staffing and running the other learning commons within the college.

Garry Potter

Manager, Campus Libraries, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Sue Reynolds

Reference Services, University of Toronto Scarborough Library. Sue has over 30 years of experience in academic and public libraries.  Sue has a BSc from the University of Toronto and is a candidate (2012) for MScEcon (ILS) from Aberystwyth University in Wales.

Melinda Scott

Director, Student Experience at George Brown College,  Toronto.

Ruth Silverman

Learning Services Coordinator and divisional Advisor for the Learning and Writing Peer Educators at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.She has held this position since 2007 and in previous careers was a lawyer and a career counsellor. She has a Med in Counselling Psychology from SFU.

Nathalie  Soini

Learning Commons Coordinator, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Judy Solberg

Director of Public Service and Coordinator of the Learning Commons Partnership, Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons, Seattle University. She has a long history of working in academic library public services.  Her MLS is from University of Maryland and she has a MA in political science from UC, Berkeley.

Sarah Stang

Learning Services Librarian- Learning Commons, UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. Sarah’s responsibilities include student outreach and coordinating the Learning Commons at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna. She started the Student Library Advisory Council in September 2011.

Judith Sykes

School Library Service Manager, Government of Alberta, Education. Judith Sykes is in her fourth year as School Library Services Manager, Government of Alberta, Education, and has been leading the "School Library Services Initiative".  Judith is a former teacher-librarian, school library specialist and principal from the Calgary Board of Education, and author of books relating to school libraries. School Library Services Initiative committee members joining Judith would be introduced during the presentation. 

Chris Thomas

Chief Librarian, University of Calgary-Qatar (UCQ) in Doha, Qatar.  He is the lead developer and instructor for the UCQ credit-course UNIV 205: Become an Effective Learner.  Prior to his secondment from the main Calgary campus, Chris was also the Information Literacy Librarian for SIAST in Saskatchewan and taught English in Japan. His research interests also include video games, learning, and libraries.

Barbara Tierney

Head of Research and Information Services for the Information Commons Department of the J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Barbara’s publications include “Transforming Library Service Through Information Commons:  Case Studies for the Digital Age” (by Donald Russell Bailey and Barbara Tierney, ALA Editions, 2008) and “The Information Commons Handbook” (by Donald Beagle, with contributions by Barbara Tierney and Donald Russell Bailey, Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2006).

Rob Tiessen

Head, Access Services, Libraries and Cultural Resources, University of Calgary.

Cherry Wang

Senior Student Ambassador, Student Library Advisory Council, UBC Okanagan, Kelowna BC. Cherry Wang is a 4th year student in the Barber School of Arts and Sciences at UBC’s Okanagan campus and helped Sarah start the Student Library Advisory Council.

Carol Will

Coordinator, Learning  Commons, W.E.B. DuBois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Carol has been involved with the Learning Commons since its inception in the fall of 2005 when she worked as the day supervisor of the Learning Commons and Technical Support Desk supervising student employees. She has been the Coordinator of the Learning Commons since fall 2009, concentrating on providing assistance to students through collaborations with complementary library, academic and technical campus supportive services.

Maurice York

Head, Information Technology, North Carolina State University Libraries. He is currently engaged in executing the technology plan for a new state-of-the art 200,000 square foot facility, the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library.