Dan DaranciangA librarian on the Facebook?
Students can now friend Joy Weese Moll, who was recently hired by Washington University’s Olin Library to communicate with students in the way that students communicate with each other: via the Facebook, AOL Instant Messenger and LiveJournal.
ÿAs Olin Library continues to become more technologically advanced, the need for a Web Services librarian has become apparent. Shirley Baker, the dean of University Libraries, said that hiring a Web guru with librarian skills was a necessity as the dependence on the Internet continues to increase.
ÿ”The Web is such a part of how we deliver services now,” said Baker. “It is an alternate universe. ÿMost of us have modest skills, we were looking for someone to bring traditional skills and also technology skills to the job.”
Moll’s background in computer science and library science made her a perfect fit of the job. There was, however, a considerable gap in time between Moll’s acquisition of a computer science degree and the completion of her master’s degree in library science.ÿPrior to attending library school, Moll was an entrepreneur, but began to grow frustrated.
ÿ”I didn’t make any money so I had to do something else,” said Moll. “I then decided to go to library school.”ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
Although computer scientists, entrepreneurs and librarians require different skill sets, Moll’s position here at Washington University incorporates a wide variety of her talents.
ÿ”[This job is a] nice blend of many different things in my background between the information technology books and reading,” said Moll. “I wanted more of a customer user service that I didn’t have before with my earlier job.”
Moll’s unique background was something Baker noticed from the start. Baker is impressed by Moll’s ability to incorporate her many talents at the workplace.
“One of the fun things about Joy is that she is not right out college, but she is a new librarian,” said Baker. “At the same time, she brings a lot of experience to the table.”
Moll completed her undergraduate degree in computer science at Washington University. Although she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia for her library degree, she completed her practicum at Washington University.
Moll has noticed the strong impact computers have had on campus since she studied here.
“The whole computer thing makes the campus feel different,” said Moll. “When I was here, the library was just switching over to computers. The same kind of students are here, but with such advanced technology, there is more instruction.”
In order to relate to students’ habits more, Moll decided to tap into the online social network. ÿShe created a Facebook account as well as a LiveJournal weblog (“blog”). Moll also has an AOL Instant Messenger screenname, WULibrarianJoy.
“I just decided myself to get on Facebook,” said Moll.ÿ”Other librarians were trying it, it’s still fairly new, too, so it’s up in the air.ÿI really like exploring the groups. My favorite is the Harry Potter group.”
Moll is also interested in students’ use of technology and Web presence. She has observed that students usually have multiple windows open while using computers. The importance of blogs is something Moll wants to communicate to students.
Due to the newness of the position, Moll and Baker are determining what the position exactly entails. As a result, Moll has been attending many information sessions as well as observing the workings of Washington University.
“This month [librarians] are meeting with Writing 1 sections,” said Moll. “I have been participating in that to learn about the system.”