Author: Kimberley Giard

Burkholder, Kristen

Kristen Burkholder is Head of Access & Visitor Services at the Homer Babbidge Library on the Storrs campus. She collaborates with other staff to create the best experience possible for library patrons and is always looking for new ways to improve the library’s services. Kristen has worked in academic libraries since 2010 and holds an M.L.I.S. from the University of Oklahoma, an M.A. and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Minnesota, and a B.A. in History from Scripps College. In her free time, she reads widely and voraciously and writes the occasional piece of fanfiction.

Professional Affiliations

 

Publications

  • “Dreaming of Eggs and Bacon, Seedcakes and Scones.” In The Hobbit and History, edited by Janice Liedl and Nancy R. Reagin. Nashville, TN: Wiley, 2014.
  • “Threads Bared: Dress and Textiles in Late Medieval English Wills.” Medieval Clothing and Textiles 1 (April 2005): 133-53.
  • “‘Attempree diete was al hir phisik’: The Medieval Application of Medical Theory to Feasting.” In Social Practice in the Middle Ages, edited by Thomas H. Bestul and Thomas N. Hall. Essays in Medieval Studies 13. Illinois Medieval Association, 1997.

Paul, Ian

Ian is the Digital Imaging Technician in the Library’s Imaging Lab. He got his start working as a student photographer for UConn Library under the direction of Michael J. Bennett while completing his BA in Anthropology. After graduating, he continued to work in the Imaging Lab, digitizing materials from The Maurice Sendak Foundation’s archive. This included finished artwork for his published books, certain manuscripts, preliminary sketches, color overlays, and dummy books created by Maurice Sendak. Ian returned to UConn from MIT Libraries, where he worked with rare and fragile materials from MIT’s Institute Archives and Distinctive Collections. This included photographs and architectural drawings from the Aga Khan Visual Archive, manuscript materials from the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel Records, and much more.

Walsh, Robert

Rob Walsh is the Waterbury Campus Library Director. He never thought he would be a librarian when he grew up, but he is glad he is. At the heart of Rob’s approach is his passion for empowering students to engage critically with information. He collaborates closely with Waterbury’s faculty to integrate information literacy into the curriculum in innovative ways, so that students develop the critical sensibilities needed both inside and outside of the classroom.

Rob holds an MLS from Southern Connecticut State University and an MA in African American Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Outside of work, Rob can be found riding (and occasionally racing) bicycles, coaching kids to race bicycles, and trying to stay warm at hockey rinks across the Northeast where his kids pursue their dream of one day playing as a Husky.  

 

Areas of expertise

  • Critical Pedagogy
  • Popular Culture

 

Professional Affiliations

Finegan, Kate

Kate Finegan is a Marketing & Publicity Assistant for the UConn Library. In ten years of working in the field of communication, Kate has assisted organizations both big and small in creating and implementing effective communication and public relations strategies. She enjoys using her content creation skills (writing, video production, graphic design) to collaborate on marketing assets that educate, entertain and inspire internal and external audiences. Kate earned her B.S. in Communication with a minor in Digital Art and Design from Eastern Connecticut State University.

Kate’s weekends typically include competitive pinball, practicing classical guitar, playing board games, and curling up with her cat and a good book.

Taylor, Laurie

Laurie Taylor is the Associate University Librarian for Collections & Discovery at the University of Connecticut Library. She leads Acquisitions & Discovery, Archives and Special Collections, Collections Strategies, Digital Imaging & Conservation, and the Digital Preservation Repository Program (Connecticut Digital Archive). Laurie joined UConn after serving at the University of Florida as Senior Director for Library Technology and Digital Strategies, Chair of the Digital Partnerships and Strategies Department, and the Editor-in-Chief of the LibraryPress@UF, and the Operational Lead and Digital Scholarship Director of the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC). Laurie holds a Ph.D. in English/Media Studies and Digital Humanities and a Master of Arts. She has published extensively, and has been the principal investigator, co-PI, and investigator on many grants. In 2018, Laurie was awarded the Caribbean Information Professional of the Year by the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL). Laurie is new to New England and thrilled to learn and explore while growing her community here.

Bernier, Maria

As the director of the Avery Point campus library, Maria works with faculty and staff to support student learning and research. She is available to provide information literacy training in classrooms or online and welcomes suggestions for resources to add to the library collection. She worked most recently in the CT State Library’s Division of Library Development, offering grants, helping public libraries expand their broadband access, supporting professional development for the library workforce, and gathering and sharing data about Connecticut’s public libraries. Prior, Maria worked at the Redwood Library & Athenaeum, Salve Regina University, and Mystic Seaport Museum. She has a BA in English and History from Amherst College, an MSLIS from Simmons University, and an MBA from Salve Regina University. Outside of work, Maria enjoys flower gardening, reading and listening to fiction, and eating good food.

Areas of Expertise

  • Maritime Studies
  • Statewide library services
  • Community engagement
  • Excel

 

Professional Affiliations

  • Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Connecticut Chapter (BCALA-CT)
  • Connecticut Library Association (CLA)
  • New England Library Association (NELA)
  • Rhode Island Library Association (RILA)

Flynn, Kara

Kara Flynn is the Archives Education and Outreach Coordinator at Archives and Special Collections, working to engage students, faculty, and the larger community with the archives through instruction and outreach programming. Kara holds an MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Puget Sound. Before coming to the University of Connecticut, Kara worked as the Special Collections Librarian at Augusta University, and as the Education & Engagement Archivist at the University of Arkansas. In her free time, Kara enjoys being in nature, working on various craft projects, and being entertained by her cats’ antics.

 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Archival outreach
  • Teaching with primary sources
  • Archival education

 

Professional Affiliations:

Trinque, Jonathan

Jonathan is an Archives & Special Collection Assistant at the UConn Library. Jonathan helps coordinate research and reproduction services including reference desk operations, scheduling and supervising reading room appointments, and fulfilling digital reproduction orders. Jonathan also assists with overall departmental operations and works to provide excellent customer service to all patrons.  

Jonathan graduated from UConn with a B.A. in both Biological Science and English, a minor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and a concentration in Creative Writing. He refined his customer service skills working for UConn Dining Services, the New Britain Museum of American Art, CT DEEP’s park service, and the UConn Library’s Access and Visitor Services department.

In his free time, Jonathan enjoys gardening, binging TV shows, creative writing, and reading graphic novels.

 

Fiducia, Kathryn

Kathryn is a Geospatial Services Librarian at UConn Library. She has a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, and a certificate in Geographic Information Sciences from Tufts University. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Politics and Sociology from Southern New Hampshire University. Prior to her graduate studies, Kathryn did a year of service as an AmeriCorps Data and Research VISTA with the City of Hartford’s North Hartford Promise Zone, which greatly impacted her approach to social science research, data analysis, and of course, mapping! Her other research interests include land use policy, researching the environmental impact of lead and how it relates to environmental justice, and affordable housing policy. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys spoiling her two cats Ben and Jerry, hiking, reading fantasy novels, and bird watching.