STAFF NEWS

In May, Rachel Caldwell joined the Libraries as head of academic engagement. She’ll lead our team of liaison librarians for the arts, business, humanities, and social sciences, who provide research assistance and instructional services for students, faculty, and staff. Rachel joins us from the University of Tennessee Knoxville where she has worked since October 2010. She was most recently their scholarly communication librarian for the honors and scholars programs, and undergraduate research.

In June, Jennifer Chaput takes on the role of data services librarian leading the Libraries’ efforts to provide high-quality programming and services to faculty, researchers, and students in the management of research data throughout the research lifecycle. Jennifer will coordinate and manage the services provided for measuring research impact and other data-related activities. Previously, Jennifer was the STEM librarian at University of Connecticut Libraries.

In July, the Libraries welcomes Ryan Clement as associate dean for data, digital strategies, and scholarly communication. Ryan will provide leadership and management to re-envision data services and current workflows to build on the foundation of support for technology services, emerging scholarship, and engagement in the research enterprise. Ryan comes to UMass from Middlebury College where he was the data services librarian. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in information science from the University of Michigan, and a second master’s from Temple University.

Margaret Youngberg joined the Libraries in May as the discovery and eResources management librarian. Most recently she managed teams that build and maintain digital repositories (Islandora and Archipelago) at BornDigital, and her past experience ranges from public libraries and government contracting operations to childcare and accordion sales. Margaret is also an avid folk dancer and cookbook collector.

There was a falcon flyover in May to salute Lauren Weiss, associate editor, digital content for the Libraries. Weiss, in collaboration with colleagues, developed the recently released UMass Amherst Libraries Falcon Curriculum: Open, Common Core PreK-12 Curriculum on Peregrine Falcons. The Curriculum was awarded third place in the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Faculty Open Education Resources Awards. Weiss received a $500 prize and was honored at an event in Worcester; each winner was judged to have “gone above and beyond the call to create, adapt, or adopt OER for academic use.”