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STS Publicity Officer Candidate: Catherine Lantz
Reference & Instruction Librarian,
University of Illinois Chicago
She/Her
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian
- My first non-mailroom, non-food service, non-dog walking job was as a bookseller in downtown Chicago. I loved every part of talking about books with customers, creating displays and working events. I sought out librarianship as a way to continue working with information and information seekers in an educational and slightly less budget-motivated setting. As a health science librarian at a community college, I reveled in a set of wide-ranging duties including information literacy instructor, publications manager, accreditation planning, circulation staffing and occasional archival work. Currently, as a Reference & Instruction Librarian and Liaison to the Life Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago, I draw on all my past roles, connecting students and faculty with resources and research support.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section
- I have been a part of STS for 9 years, serving as co-chair on multiple committees including Hot Topics Discussion Group, Program Planning Committee and Membership & Recruitment Committee. I really value the projects I’ve contributed to in STS and the connections I’ve made to science librarians and organizations all over the US and Canada. STS colleagues, programs and publications have provided me with an endless source of professional education, innovation and encouragement.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
- Incorporating equity, diversity and inclusion takes intention and planning. As a co-chair organizing events, I have collaborated with committee members on posting calls for panelists in sections outside of STS and developing rubrics for choosing speakers that value unique perspectives and creative innovations over size of institution or years in a position.
What ideas do you have for making STS a safe space that is as welcoming as possible to members and guests?
- STS has played an instrumental role in my success as a science librarian, and I hope to continue the work of sharing that support and inspiration. That includes investigating where we have failed to provide safe spaces and devising and communicating how we can be more welcoming in postings, promotional materials, events and meetings.
What goals for the section would you have if elected to this position? How do you envision committees and members helping the section achieve those goals?
- If elected, I hope to support the work of STS by managing a wide-reaching and accessible communications plan. STS Committees are doing an impressive amount of amazing work. I will collaborate with co-chairs and council on how to share that work out consistently to a broader audience.
Why I want the position, what I hope to do.
- I hope to build on the work of previous Publicity Officers and continue to expand inclusion in STS by researching new audiences to reach in our communications and supporting the work of STS committees. Including a wider group of contributors to our publications and participants in our events will further STS’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion while also bringing in new ideas and viewpoints.
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STS Publicity Officer Candidate: Amanda Mccormick
Sr. Asst. Librarian. Science & Engineering Team
University at Buffalo Libraries
She/Her/Hers
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian
- I am a second-career librarian. I began my education with an undergraduate degree in biology, and graduated from law school with an intent to practice environmental law. I practiced law in Buffalo and my husband and I started our family. But life, as it often does, had other plans. The practice of environmental law in a small city is not quite practicable, and I was not a fit in my chosen profession, so I left practice after about 6 years. Eventually, I returned to graduate school and earned my masters in library science. Like most librarians, my interest in libraries started when I was young and was sparked by the love of reading. I was very lucky to have the chance to go back for my second degree. After graduation, I worked as a public librarian and moved into academia when my current position opened up at UB.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section
- As a new science librarian, I was attracted to the STS section in the hopes of meeting other science librarians and learning more about the field. Since my membership began with STS in 2019, I have had the opportunity to serve on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (implementation team) and participate in the Mentorship Program. I am currently the Co-Chair of the STEMM Librarianship Resources Committee (fka Science Resources: Discovery and Access Committee). I have found the STS community to be a devoted and creative team of individuals working to advance the science librarianship field, and I am eager to continue contributing to the goals of the organization.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
- In STS, I was a member of the STS EDI Task Force. One of the goals that the TF was working toward was increasing the number of EDI communications to members. Now, as a member and co-chair of the STEMM Librarianship Resources Committee, I work with our team to provide posts about EDI issues in librarianship. (Check out Inside Science Resources!) I am also active in campus efforts to increase EDI. I am a member of the UB Libraries’ Equity and Social Justice Advisory Group, where I am currently on a task force to increase accessibility with the Libraries. Additionally, I was a member of the task force which created an updated mission, vision, and values statement for the Libraries. I work with the UB's Women in Science Cooperative, where I serve on a few committees. Last year, I was a volunteer coach in a local UB-sponsored STEM for Everyone competition (goal: communicate your science in “everyday” language”). This past fall, I was a UB Seminar Student Success Coach, where I was assigned to a Physics seminar as a "coach" working to help new students transition from high school to university life.
What ideas do you have for making STS a safe space that is as welcoming as possible to members and guests?
- In order to make STS a safe space for members and guests, I think that it is important to gather information about members/guests past experiences with STS. This would provide a starting point to develop a plan to improve our spaces. In general, my thoughts lean toward the philosophy of “meeting people where they are” in order to increase levels of comfort with an organization. I would prefer to hear from members regarding how they would like to develop safe spaces within an organizational structure.
What goals for the section would you have if elected to this position? How do you envision committees and members helping the section achieve those goals?
- If elected Publicity Officer, I would like to assist with the current projects toward streamlining the information available to members and potential members. I know that this work is being addressed by a number of committees and I am wholeheartedly in support! Along the same lines, I would like to explore the ALA Connect platform to see if there are additional tools that we could be utilizing and I would like to speak to board members with similar roles within ACRL. Finally, it would be helpful to survey our members to see which social media platforms are most useful to them. I am welcome to any suggestions as well.
