Five new information professionals have
joined the Libraries' roster this year. There are four
new reference librarians based in the Scott Library
Reference Department: Norda Bell Majekodunmi (one-year
appointment), Thumeka Mgwigwi (Social Sciences), Lisa
Sloniowski (Information Literacy Program Coordinator)
and Adam Taves (three-year appointment). Michael Moir
is the new University Archivist and Head of Archives
and Special Collections. Here's a quick introduction
to each.
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Norda Bell Majekodunmi is
a recent graduate of the University of Toronto's
Master of Information Studies program. Scott is
familiar ground to Norda, who earned her Bachelor
of Arts degree in Linguistics at York and worked
at Scott's Information Desk and Disability Services
during her time here. That experience piqued Norda's
interest in library work. "I love interacting
with library users and helping them understand
how to locate and evaluate information" she
says. Her interests include linguistics, early
childhood development, urban planning, and Caribbean
Studies. During her time at York, Norda will also
collect library resources in Social Work and Africana,
and she invites faculty and graduate students
to contact her at nordam@yorku.ca
with suggestions.
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| Thumeka Mgwigwi has recently completed
her Master of Library & Information Studies
degree at Dalhousie University. She worked for several
years before that as a Reference Librarian at the
University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she
had earned a Diploma and Honours degree in Library
& Information Science. At the University of
Cape Town Libraries, Thumeka did collections and
liaison work in Sociology, Anthropology, African
Languages, and Social Work. |
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Thumeka finds library work interesting
and challenging, and notes that working in a technology-oriented
field which experiences rapid changes means that
librarians must ensure that they are aware of
new developments. She enjoys working with students,
helping them to cope with information overload
and solve the 'information puzzle'. "Being
a librarian means you learn something new almost
every day both from patrons and colleagues."
Thumeka sees the Libraries' mission
to advance teaching, learning and research at
York University by building quality collections
and services as an important goal. To that end,
Thumeka encourages Social Sciences faculty members
and students to keep her abreast of their teaching
and research needs. She can be reached at thumekam@yorku.ca.
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| Michael Moir comes
to York from the City Clerk's Office for the City
of Toronto, where he served as City Archivist and
Director, Corporate Records Systems. Michael holds
a Bachelor's degree in History from the University
of Toronto, and a Master's degree in History (Scottish
Studies) from the University of Guelph. |
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Michael is active in professional organizations
such as The Champlain Society, and lectures on topics
involving archives and the future direction of record
keeping to anyone who will listen. Michael looks
forward to pursuing research into the history of
shipbuilding in Toronto, which began with his earlier
work as Archivist for the Toronto Harbour Commissioners.
He would like to hear from any faculty who have
suggestions regarding potential acquisitions that
may support their own research, as well as opportunities
for the involvement of Archives and Special Collections
in their graduate and undergraduate courses. Contact
Michael at mmoir@yorku.ca. |
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| Lisa Sloniowski
has worked for the last three years as the Information
Literacy Librarian and Subject Specialist in Communication
Studies at the University of Windsor. Lisa holds
a Master of Information Studies degree from the
University of Toronto, a Master of Arts degree in
English Literature from York, and a Bachelor of
Arts (Honours) degree from Queen's University. Her
interest in library work is sustained by the belief
that libraries are inherently progressive institutions.
"Libraries are all about sharing - which is
a very radical idea." |
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Lisa's research interests
deal with the relationship between information literacy,
media literacy, critical pedagogy and transformative
or liberatory education. "So I ask questions
like, how does the technology we use to store information
work to shape the historical record, and to in fact
produce that record? How can the teaching of information
literacy be used not only to help students achieve
academic success, but also to transform the world
into a more inclusive, equitable and humane place?"
Lisa can be reached at lisasl@yorku.ca. |
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Adam Taves comes to Scott
from a contract position as Reader Services Librarian
and Acting Systems Librarian at the E.J. Pratt Library
at the University of Toronto. He holds a Master
of Information Studies degree from the University
of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree
in Sociology and Philosophy. Adam finds that his
work helping students with research assignments
inspires his reading habits. "My recent interests
have centered around issues in the philosophy of
science, philosophy of social science, and early
20th century German culture," he says. Weaning
undergraduates from relying on Internet research
is one of Adam's pet projects: "Too many think
that everything can be found with Google. Of course,
I love Google too." Adam may be contacted at
taves@yorku.ca. |
