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. |
