The McIntyre Library Staff Association hosted its 25th annual giving project to support the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association’s rice pantry and raised $1,411.00. Thank you to everyone who donated!
Mary Koontz
We are sad to announce that Mary Koontz, who worked for McIntyre Library for over 20 years until her retirement in the early 1990s, has passed away. She is remembered as a very kind coworker with a great sense of humor.
Roxanne Backowski, assistant professor and electronic resources librarian, presented "Something to Talk About: The Intersection of Library Assessment and Collection Diversity" with library colleague, Tim Morton, of the University of Virginia at the Charleston Conference on November 7, in Charleston, SC.
Carrie Butler Becker, acquisitions and content coordinator, served as a judge for the elementary and middle grade nonfiction categories of the annual CYBILS Awards (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards). Judges read 143 books in the last three months of 2019. Butler Becker also served as a poetry reader for the third issue of Barstow and Grand, Eau Claire’s literary arts journal, published last fall.
Greg Kocken, head of special collections and archives, and Susan O’Brien, professor of Art & Design, co-curated an exhibition called “Special Meanings” in the UW-Eau Claire Ruth Foster Art Gallery in October and November. The exhibition featured select pieces from the LaBelle Miller Southwest Pottery Collection and was the first major exhibition of pottery from this collection.
Jill Markgraf, library director, presented “Float the Morale Boat: Boosting Staff Engagement Using What You Have” at the Southwest Wisconsin Association of Libraries (SWAL) conference on November 8 in Fennimore.
CURRENT STUDENT EMPLOYEE NEWS
Delaney Collins, peer research consultant, has been hired as the UW-Eau Claire Suicide Prevention and Research Collaborative (SPARC) intern. The SPARC initiative brings together multiple campus offices to provide mental health outreach, programming, training, research, and policy development.
Leeshaun Evans, peer research consultant, was elected as Executive Vice President of Black Male Empowerment (BME) this spring.
Erin Hall, special collections and archives, will graduate with a degree in public history this spring. Hall has enjoyed her time in special collections so much that she has decided to pursue a graduate degree in library and information science, with a specialization in archives, at UW-Madison this fall.
Maria Lynch, peer research consultant, led a curated book display titled “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors: Race and Representation in Children’s and Young Adult Literature.” The display was created in collaboration with Dr. Micki Fasteland, professor of English, Fasteland’s English 272 class, and Jenna Vande Zande, research and communications associate. It was exhibited on the library’s first floor in November and December.
Rebecca Mennecke, lead student assistant in circulation, was hired as the Editorial and Marketing Intern for the local literary journal, Barstow and Grand.
FORMER STUDENT EMPLOYEE NEWS
Rachel Lavender, former student assistant in special collections and archives, will graduate with a master’s degree in library and information studies from UW-Madison this May and has accepted a metadata specialist position at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Congratulations, Rachel!
Jeremy Swick, former student assistant in special collections and archives, is now the curator coordinator of the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, GA. Swick sent us an update on what he has been working on--he is busy building exhibits, conducting interviews with college football Hall of Famers, and was recently featured on CNN. Congratulations, Jeremy!
