Librarian

About Ronan
Ronan Madden is currently Acquisitions Librarian at University College Cork Library,
UCC. In this role he is responsible for serials and monographs acquisitions, donations
and legal deposit. Previously he was Arts and Humanities Librarian at UCC Library. Main
interests include the role of the library in teaching, learning and research, and information
behaviour in that context. He is also interested in the financial/economic aspects of
university libraries. He is a member of the Shush! – Sounds from UCC Library team Twitter @ronanpmadden
The critical role of the librarian in the development of a critical skills
community of practice
Lorna Dodd, Maynooth University
This case study will describe how librarians at Maynooth University (MU) used the opportunity presented by
a new curriculum to develop close working relationships with staff in MU’s Centre for Teaching & Learning
(CTL), academic departments and other key student supports to create a new ‘community of practice’. In
September 2016, MU launched an ambitious new undergraduate curriculum with a strong focus on ‘critical
skills’ such as problem solving, reflection, critical thinking and information literacy. The path to reforming
the curriculum was a challenging process which required staff from across the university to collaborate in
new ways and create ‘communities of practice’. The inclusion and importance of information literacy in the
new curriculum presented a unique opportunity for the Library to become involved and lead one of these
new ‘communities of practice’. As librarians, we are accustomed to developing relationships across campus,
negotiating academic cultures and bureaucratic structures in a way that other university colleagues are
not. This case study will demonstrate how this experience as ‘sociable librarians’, alongside our expertise in
information literacy made librarians key to the development of a new community of practice centred around
critical skills in the curriculum at MU.
About Lorna
Lorna was appointed Senior Librarian at Maynooth University (MU) in January 2015. She
joined MU from University College Dublin (UCD) where she was User Services Manager.
Prior to this, she was a Liaison Librarian in UCD for several subject areas across the Social
Sciences and Science. In November 2015, Lorna was awarded an MU Teaching & Learning
Fellowship for the GAeL (Graduate Attributes eLearning) project. Lorna is Honorary
Treasurer of the LAI and represents MU on the CONUL Teaching and Learning sub-committee.
Twitter @LornaDodd
Better together: your village and your voice
Aoife Connolly, PwC, & Margaret Irons, School of Celtic Studies, DIAS
At the Academic and Special Libraries Section AGM in 2007, Aoife Connolly and Margaret Irons found
themselves becoming members of the A&SL committee. Fast forward 6 years and both decided to step
down at the same time! But what happened in the intervening years? What have they done since? Were they
#bettertogether? Through their stories Aoife and Margaret will share the different paths that brought them
to the A&SL committee, and beyond. Knowing that putting yourself forward to be part of committee is not
always easy, they want to show how it can be done to the enrichment of your professional and personal life.
Inspired by the conference theme, Aoife and Margaret will outline how they became “Sociable Librarians”
and the guises that title can take in careers and communities, behind the desk and out the door. This case
study will focus on how as professionals we can come from different directions to form alliances, learn
and share new skills making us #bettertogether and sending us forward with confidence and plans for the
future. It will illustrate how finding your voice and your village can be daunting and dangerous – in the best
possible ways.
About Aoife
Aoife is a Senior Manager in the international professional services firm PwC, primarily
focused on content management and operations Global Tax Networks & Markets. In her
20+ years with PwC Aoife has been Knowledge Manager and responsible for the day-today
management of the firm’s Information & Research Centre, moving to a global role in
2012. Aoife was a member of the A&SL Committee 2007 – 2013, enjoying the role of Hon
Treasurer 2009 – 2011. With a growing interest in content communication and social media
she set up Librarian Links to share events and resources for librarians in Ireland. Aoife completed a Diploma
in Digital Marketing & Strategy in DBS - this broadened her skills and fuelled her interest in how we connect
and collaborate. Twitter @AoifeConnolly
About Margaret
Margaret completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Media & Communications
at the University of Limerick in 1996. She worked in the area of genealogical research and
libraries before obtaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Library & Information Studies from
University College Dublin in 2001. Margaret subsequently worked in third level academic
and medical libraries before taking up the role of Librarian in the School of Celtic Studies
in 2006. Margaret is a member of the Library Association of Ireland and was a committee member of the
A&SL Section from 2007-2013, holding the role of Secretary from 2009-2011. Having always felt that there
was no definitive website to advertise library jobs in Ireland, Margaret launched www.LibraryJobs.ie in 2012.
The site has gone from strength to strength.
Twitter @magsironelly / @SCSLibrary / @LibraryJobs
Make a connection: be social with your collection
Liam Wylie, RTÉ Archives
Every day RTÉ Archives is making content available to a new audience. In this presentation I will share our
approach to curation at RTÉ Archives. I will take you through how and where we publish and demonstrate
how we engage with the public. I will give examples of how we have gone about this, the impact it has made
on our audience, what has worked well and what we thought might work better! Finally I will give you a look
at what we are planning to do next.
About Liam
Liam Wylie is the Curator at RTÉ Archives. He is responsible for the website, www.rte.
ie/archives and the @RTÉArchives social media channels. He has also been the Content
Producer for the RTÉ 1916 project (https://1916.rte.ie/). In 2013 he won the FIAT/IFTA
Most Innovative Use of Archive award. He was Content Producer for the RTÉ team, which
received a special mention in the best transmedia experience for WW1 100 Years http://
www.rte.ie/worldwar1/ at the 2015 Prix Italia. Twitter @RTÉArchives
12 ACADEMIC & SPECIAL LIBRARIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2017
THE SOCIABLE LIBRARIAN: CONNECTING & CREATING COMMUNITIES
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