Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate: Jeanne Hoover
Head of Scholarly Communication and liaison to physics and mathematics
East Carolina University
She/her/hers
Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
I’ve been a librarian for about 13 years; initially as a science librarian and now as the head of our scholarly communication department and liaison librarian to the departments of physics and mathematics at the Main Campus Library at East Carolina University (ECU). My interest in librarianship started when I was an undergraduate at Penn State. A year after graduation, I returned to my alma mater and worked part-time at one of the branch science libraries. I enjoyed my experience so much that I decided to pursue a career as a science librarian. While I loved being in this position at ECU, I also enjoyed working with scholarly communication topics, and eventually moved to a position that allowed me to explore this interest in more depth. However, I still have liaison duties in the sciences.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I joined STS when I became a science librarian in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2012 that I started to become involved with the section. My colleagues and mentors encouraged me to get involved with STS to increase my knowledge and skills in science librarianship and to connect with other librarians. At my first ALA Conference, I attended one of the morning STS sessions where a STS member took me under her wing. I was so appreciative of her helping me to understand the value that STS places on community. My first committee experience was on the Membership and Recruitment Committee, which proved to be a great introduction to STS. Since then, I’ve served on the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee, Research Committee, Nominating Committee, Conference Planning Committee, Scholarly Communication Committee and as Secretary. I’m currently serving as a co-chair for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
I am committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in both my personal and professional life. In STS, I served as a member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee from 2021-2023. As a committee member, I contributed to a project on locating potential captioning and translations services that STS could use for future webinars. Additionally, I assisted with an STS, AAAS, & ULS co-sponsored webinar organized by Sam Putnam with Dr. Theresa Jean Tanenbaum presenting “Developing Inclusive Identity Practices in Academic Publishing and Beyond.” I currently serve as a co-chair for the EDI committee. We’re looking forward to continuing the amazing work completed by the previous EDI working group and committee.
At ECU, I’ve completed several professional development and continuing education sessions on EDI topics, including completion of our Safe Zone and Green Zone (Veterans-focused) training. I’m looking forward to completing our Global Zone training this spring. A few years ago, my colleague started a library book club sponsored by our Diversity and Inclusion and Staff Development Committees. The books selected have focused on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as The 1619 Project. For the past two years, I have organized this group. We’re currently finishing our discussions on the Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
Like many of us, I focus much of my work on open access and open education, which also supports equitable access to research and education.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
If elected to STS Vice-Chair, I would like to continue the great work that our STS leadership is already doing! I’m very interested in continuing to explore ways for members to engage with the section as well as encouraging others to join. I love that we have incorporated more virtual programming, which has increased not only attendance but also created opportunities for librarians to be involved in the section regardless of their travel budget. I would like us to continue offering these activities, but also look for further opportunities to collaborate with other sections or organizations to offer more training and networking opportunities for current and potential STS members.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks on my commute. If you have recommendations, please send them my way! 🚗 🎧
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Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate: Rebecca Renirie
STEM and Medical Librarian
Central Michigan University Libraries
She/her/hers
Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
My name is Rebecca Renirie, and I am librarian for STEM and medicine at Central Michigan University (CMU) Libraries with the rank of assistant professor. I decided to become a librarian after graduating with my Bachelors degree in biology. While I loved the information, I knew I didn't want to continue to graduate work in that field; what I really enjoyed the most was studying the taxonomy of living things. Looking back, all the signs were there. I have always loved organization and classification – I was that kid who had a rock collection and made checkout cards for my personal library! Given my science background I was strongly encouraged to go into academic librarianship by my advisor Dr. Robert Holley at Wayne State University. After doing my practicum work at the Shapiro Science Library at the University of Michigan I worked there for several years before moving north to CMU. I have been in a science librarian role here since 2016, and am very fortunate to do work I enjoy with wonderful colleagues.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I have been a member of STS from 2009-2013 and 2018 to present. I was attracted to the section as a new librarian looking to connect with and learn from veteran science librarians. As I began joining committees and working closely with STS members, I felt immediately accepted into a talented and inclusive group of people with many of the same experiences as myself. After taking a break and focusing on distance librarianship for a few years, I was happy to come home to STS and take a more active role once again. I have served on the STS Information Literacy Framework Taskforce, co-chaired the Liaisons, Publications, 2023 and 2024 Conference Program Planning Committees, and been a member of STS Council and the Executive Committee as Member-at-Large.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
Work for equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as accessibility and justice, is critical in libraries, academia, and beyond. I am privileged to belong to a profession whose members largely look a lot like me; we need to expand that privilege. I have been a member of my institution's DEI committee since 2019, working on projects such as gathering data from underrepresented student groups and revising library policies through a DEI lens. I am also a member of the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) IDEA committee, and help manage the IDEA resources list for that organization. Finally, I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts in education focused on curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis on social justice. The course I took on ableism in particular was one of the most interesting in my academic career, and allowed me to research the prejudice of disability that still exists within library classification systems.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
STS and ACRL are not immune to the membership challenges facing the American Library Association. We must provide value in return for our members' dues, time, and energy, beyond that which can be found in an annual conference. In addition, the experience of working through the COVID pandemic has taught us both the benefits of virtual programming as well as the value of in-person networking. STS must grow and change to strike a balance between the two formats and be flexible enough to meet members where they are. STS is also a large section with many committees, discussion groups, and task forces, and in the future we must consider if the current structure serves our members' expectations. I am pleased to see that both initiatives are already moving forward. As an "action items" person, I would use my strengths to implement the decisions that become evident from the information-gathering that is currently underway. Finally, as a tenured professor, I would also like to expand our roles in mentorship and external review, to better support those librarians pursuing reappointment, tenure, or promotion.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
I enjoy every aspect of STEM librarianship and I am happy to share that enthusiasm with new and veteran members alike. My research interests include information literacy in STEM, informal STEM library collections, research data management and data information literacy, and evidence synthesis methodologies. In addition to STS and MiALA I am also a member of the Research Data Access and Preservation Association (RDAP), and enjoy attending the STEM Librarians Collaborative and the STELLA Unconference. I live in mid-Michigan with my husband, our daughter, and one very spoiled cat. Contact me any time to talk about video games, sci-fi, or your local Comic Con!
