Engineering and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Samantha Dannick authors jocose essay in a national library science publication.

“The Invertebrates Scale of Librarianship”, published in the January issue of College & Research Libraries News (C&RL News) , is a playful and “irreverent” guide to finding your niche in librarianship. C&RL News is the official newsmagazine of the Association of College & Research Libraries.

Dannick encourages library professionals to establish their own personal  “policies” and “professional value system” by way of behavior analogies between librarians and jellyfish, nudibranch, and octopus. Dannick writes, “The Invertebrates Scale of Librarianship is intended to help librarians recognize and name their own professional tendencies… There will be times to be an Octopus, a Nudibranch, and a Jellyfish. Most of us will have a form that is more comfortable than the others. What’s appropriate is to recognize what that form is, how it helps and hinders, and whether a different form would be more suitable for a given situation.”   What’s a nudibranch? Learn more here.

The full article can be read here: The Invertebrates Scale of Librarianship

Scholes Library will be open Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm.
Herrick Library will be open by appointment only.

Library materials from both Herrick and Scholes are available for pick up via the item request system. Directions on how to use the item request system can be found here.

All requested library materials, including interlibrary loans, will be made available for pick up in Scholes Library.

Printers, scanners and computers are available to current AU students, staff, and faculty in Scholes Library. No appointment is needed.

Services such as Archives and research consultations will be available by appointment in Herrick and Scholes. Please contact directly, the staff or librarian you wish to meet with to make arrangements. Contact information can be found here: Herrick Library; Scholes Library.

The entrances will remain locked and instructions for entry upon arrival will be posted on the doors.

Both book drops will remain available for returns.

For more information on services or how to use the item requests system visit: https://libguides.alfred/COVID

For questions please email: libraries@alfred.edu

After 29 years at the Samuel R. Scholes Library of Ceramics and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Mark Smith will be retiring at the end of this year, signaling the end of an era for the Alfred University Libraries.

For nearly three decades, Mark has been recognized, appreciated, and widely beloved across campus for his passionate advocacy for and devotion to the College of Ceramics, his boisterous laughter, and his dynamic and all-encompassing fervency in everything he does. After obtaining his Master of Library Science degree from the University at Buffalo, he has served the Alfred University Libraries, and Scholes Library in particular, in a variety of positions, including Reference Librarian, Information Systems Librarian & Head of Technical Services, Collection Management Librarian, and, most notably, Director of Scholes Library & Associate Dean of Libraries.

During his extensive career, he has shepherded Scholes Library with his characteristic nurturing style and roll-with-the-punches attitude, through all of the tremendous computing and technological shifts of the past few decades, including the implementation of numerous digital systems, tools, and resources. In addition, he led several strategic planning processes, directed multiple library space redesign initiatives, and helped to establish lasting cross-library partnerships while tirelessly championing the unique and specialized mission of Scholes Library. Mark served on myriad College and University committees including Middle States Steering Committees, Promotion and Tenure Committees, Search Committees, the College of Ceramics Faculty Council, Faculty Senate, and the Advisory Council on Technology.

Mark came to librarianship as a second career after a decade of teaching music and theater in Canisteo, NY. He has continued to share these gifts with the community though his leadership and involvement with The Orpheus Chorale, the Hornell Area Community Cantata Choir, the Hornell Community Theatre, and as a board member of the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, from which he received the Arts Partnership Award in 2013.

As a leader and mentor, Mark has consistently modeled how to lead with empathy, using the heart as well as the mind. Colleagues through the years could tell stories of times they brought Mark an idea and watched him immediately light up with excitement and enthusiastic support in direct proportion to their own excitement and enthusiasm. Mark has always been a master at nurturing the seed of an idea and ensuring it has ample opportunity to thrive. His approach to the cultivation of people has been similar, providing just the right mix of encouragement, direction, and space for each person to soar as their best self.

Throughout his career, Mark has drawn energy and inspiration from the relationships he created through his professional involvement in groups outside of Alfred. For instance, he has been the president and executive board member of the SUNY Librarians Association, the Chair of the SUNY Council of Library Directors, a member of the SUNY Provost’s Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching & Technology, a board member of the South Central Regional Library Council, and a contributor to the New Media Consortium’s highly influential Horizon Report. He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship in 2004 and the Friend of SUNY Librarians Association Award in 2012.

Mark’s colleagues throughout the years are grateful that he answered the call to forge a new vocational path into the world of librarianship. His second act has inspired, uplifted, and left us smiling a little bit more than before we heard and joined in his song.

Thank you for all of the laughter, support, and creativity you have given us, Mark. We wish you all good things in the next act of your life’s adventure.

In order to support students in their preparations for final exams, Alfred University Libraries announce extended hours for Herrick Memorial Library and Samuel R. Scholes Library. For more information on AU Library Services during COVID-19 go to: https://libguides.alfred.edu/COVID

Scholes Library: https://scholes.alfred.edu/

Herrick Library https://herrick.alfred.edu/