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Marielle McNeal, Hines Medical Library and Veterans Health and Information Library
Statement of Concern
Illinois libraries are the cornerstones of the community, providing access to information, educational enrichment, opportunities for life-long learning, and safe spaces that facilitate social engagement. Conceptually, Illinois libraries are an easy sell. However, the competition for funding and the support from stakeholders continues to be a challenge for many libraries across the state. Throughout my career, my work has focused on strategies to address these challenges. My approaches include building strong relationships with stakeholders, understanding the needs of the community served, advocating for services and programs that support diverse populations, providing visionary leadership, and creating opportunities for librarians across the state to collaborate and learn from each other.
The most recent highlights of my career within Illinois libraries include the following: 1) working with stakeholders at North Park University to develop a curriculum-integrated approach to first-year information literacy instruction, 2) creating a scaffolded information literacy instruction series for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at North Park University, 3) developing a workshop series to address the academic challenges and needs of underrepresented college students, 4) serving as co-chair of the CARLI Instruction Committee and hosting the 7th Annual CARLI Instruction Showcase which focused on topics related to creating more inclusive learning environments, 5) facilitating CARLI twitter chats for the academic library community, and 6) serving as chair of the Chicago Research Summit Programming Committee, in which 100 attendees (faculty, staff administrators, librarians, etc.) gathered to discuss how Chicago institutions can work together to promote undergraduate research.
The Illinois Library Association (ILA) has served as a fundamental resource for me during each of these endeavors and throughout my career. I am delighted to be a candidate for the 2020 ILA Executive Board. I am energized by the opportunity to represent the voices of library staff from around the state. As a member of the ILA Executive Board, I will work diligently to use my knowledge and experience to foster advocacy, leadership, collaboration, inclusion, and informed decision-making. Illinois libraries continue to play a crucial role in the community eco system. I am eager to see how our services, resources, and impact will expand in the years ahead.
Experience
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration, Edward Hines VA Hospital
Supervisory Medical Librarian, 2020 - present
North Park University
Head of Teaching and Learning Services
Liaison Librarian for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, 2014 - 2020
City Colleges of Chicago
Instruction and Reference Services Librarian, 2011 - 2014
University of Illinois Main Library
Graduate Assistant, Reference, Research, and Scholarly Services, 2007 - 2009
Education
Masters of Higher Education Administration (MHEA), North Park University, December 2018
Masters of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, August 2009
Bachelor of Arts in English and Professional Writing, Eastern Illinois University, December 2006
Recent Continuing Education
CARLI Counts Program: Analytics and Advocacy for Service Development, Consortium of College and Research Libraries in Illinois, November 2019
ACRL Immersion Program, Association of College and Research Libraries, August 2019
Certificate in Leadership, North Park University, December 2018
Professional Memberships and Activities
American Library Association, Member
Association of College and Research Libraries, Member
Health Science Librarians of Illinois, Member
Membership Recruitment Committee, Co-Chair, 2018-2019
Illinois Library Association, Member
Medical Library Association, Member
Consortium of College and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
Co-Chair, Instruction Committee, 2018-2020
Chicago Research Summit
Steering Committee, Co-Chair and Co-Founder, 2018 – present
Programming Committee, Chair, 2018 – present