Spotlight On the I.S. Library Librarians!
Elizabeth Mahoney, Michael Bolam, and Clare Withers

What are your current projects?
Elizabeth: I'm the Coordinator for the ULS Digital Reference (Ask-a-Librarian and chat). I'm also writing the AK (library science) section for the next edition of the ALA Guide to Reference Books.
Mike: Reference, Instruction, Database Evaluation. I've also started a research project evaluating chat reference transcripts.
Clare: I'm assisting Elizabeth in evaluating the general reference collection. And Mike and I are always looking at Bibliographic Instruction sessions with an eye to changes every semester. These are in addition to other duties like Sunday e-mail reference, recording statistics ...

If you could select the location of the next ALA conference, what city would you choose and why? Elizabeth: Pittsburgh. I'd like the rest of America's librarians to see our libraries and universities. Just so they can see how great it is to live and work in Pittsburgh. And of course, who could resist the image of 14,000 librarians turned loose at Kennywood or Sand Castle? Mike: Seattle. I've only been there once, and I really liked it. I would like to spend some more time in the Pacific Northwest. Clare: New York City - lots of authors and editors show up, even the reclusive ones, when the conference is there. An added bonus is that the museums and theater are great, if you can wedge any time in for them.

What is your earliest memory of a library?
Elizabeth: I was given a tour of the school library in Clifton Springs, New York at the start of the 2nd grade. (You can see the image - high ceilings, impossibly tall windows and dust motes in the air.) I was taken by a series of books in the 92s (biography). I thought; "If I could just start at the A's and read through to the Z's, I will know everything there is to know in the world." You probably haven't heard of the series, Childhood of Famous Americans, but they were backed in orange buckram and filled 6 or seven cases in the library with titles like Clara Barton: Girl Nurse; Thomas Alva Edison: Boy Inventor.
Mike: Probably the library at Butler Catholic Elementary. I clearly remember the Librarian reading Stone Soup to the class when I was in second grade.
Clare: I remember walking down the dark stairway to the children's section of my hometown library so that I could get a library card. I have two older sisters who already had library cards and I had practiced writing my name so that I could get my very own card. (My last name had eleven letters and I had to practice writing small so that it would all fit on the card.)

What do you wish you had learned in library school that you didn?t learn until you arrived for your first job as a professional librarian?
Elizabeth: How to trace the Blood Line of an AQHA horse. Actually, the story here is that I thought I was ready for any reference question thrown my way. So, of course, first question I got on my first day at the desk was from a student asking me help find the great-great-great sire and dam for a Quarter Horse. Databases make this easy today, but at the time I had never heard of the AQHA Directory?nor did I have a clue about how to make use of the 97 linear feet of related reference books.
Mike: I think one of the harder parts of my job is dealing with irate patrons regarding fines. Fortunately, it doesn't really come up often in the IS library. When it does, I always have a hard time. I know there is some literature out there on diffusing situations like that. It would have been nice to cover that in the one of the courses.
Clare: I was a children's librarian for almost 15 years and I remember wishing that we'd learned some surefire finger-plays to use between books at storytimes.

If you were not a librarian, what job would you ideally have?
Elizabeth: I'd figure out a way to make a living in the creative arts. I enjoy papermaking, paper engineering, etc. Of course, my studio would have a window facing the Atlantic Ocean.
Mike: How about an Astronaut or a Cowboy?
Clare: Writer

How would you spend a day with no work commitments?
Elizabeth: I'd spend it watching my kids compete somewhere.  You either find me in a gym watching folk-style wrestling or at a barn watching the Pitt Equestrian Team compete (I bet you didn't know we HAD an equestrian team!)
Mike: Right now, I'm on a 9 month contract, so I have a lot of days in the summer with no work commitments. For the last three years, I did tours of various lengths with my band.
Clare: Writing!

What books are on your spring break 'professional development' reading list?
Elizabeth: I'll be reviewing a variety of library science titles for the ALA Guide to Reference Books.
Mike: I'll probably be poring over some books and articles on chat evaluation.
Clare: Children and Their Books: a Celebration of the Work of Iona and Peter Opie. There's a black and white photo frontispiece of the Opies skipping rope. It's so charming.

What books are on your spring break 'fun' reading list?
Elizabeth: Harvard Yard by William Martin
Mike: Probably some horror or sci-fi. I stick mostly to that kind of stuff. I've got a whole pile of books I've been waiting to read.
Clare: The Midnight Disease, The Mind at Night, Lionboy (which is just out this month and looks like a great read for school-age kids).

What CD is in heavy rotation in your CD player?
Elizabeth: Crucial Unit, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Aretha Franklin, Josh Ritter, Bonnie Raitt, Tim O'Brien (obviously I have an addiction).
Mike: Anatomy is Destiny by Exhumed, Below the Lights by Enslaved, Angel Witch (eponymous), Human=Garbage by Dystopia, and Thoughtless by Man is the Bastard
Clare: Here Among Strangers by Siucra

For you, what is "Must-See TV"?
Elizabeth: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Mike: I don't watch much TV, but I try to catch The Simpsons, and cooking shows on PBS. When I have access to cable, I like watching the Food Network, Cartoon Network and Comedy Central. I was also watching some football, but that is over for the year.
Clare: Mystery!

What is your Favorite Restaurant in Pittsburgh:
Elizabeth: The Bat Cave
Mike: Taste of India in Bloomfield, Taco Loco on the South Side, Udipe Cafe in Monroeville, and D's Six Pack and Dogs in Regent Square.
Clare: Ali Baba's

Publication of the
Department of Library & Information Science
School of Information Science
University of Pittsburgh  
135 N. Bellefield Avenue  
Pittsburgh , PA 15260  

biblio@mail.sis.pitt.edu