Introducing Education Librarian Sarah Gilchrist and Library Associate for E-Resources Shannon Blackburn

New faces at Cook Library, like that of Sarah Gilchrist (left), are always cause for celebration, but so are new roles for those who are familiar, like Shannon Blackburn (right).

Sarah Gilchrist's interest in libraries was sparked one day, while reading a New York Times article, "A Hipper Crowd of Shushers?" which discussed the allure of librarianship as a cool and diverse profession. She mulled over - and, like any good librarian, researched - this prospective career path, and then, just a few years later in December of 2011, Sarah graduated with her Master's Degree from Indiana University, Indianapolis. Sarah ultimately decided upon this path because it allowed her to help others learn and encourage others to read. This love of teaching makes her a great fit for her position as Education Librarian. In this position, Sarah will share liaison duties with Claire Holmes for the College of Education. Sarah will serve as liaison to the Secondary Education, Instructional Technology & Literacy, and Instructional Leadership & Professional Development programs, while Claire will liaise with the Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Special Education programs. Happy to be here and excited to learn as much as she can about the library and the university, Sarah was drawn to Towson by the positive responses she heard from librarians about their experiences here. Feel free to contact Sarah at sgilchrist@towson.edu.

Shannon Blackburn has been with Cook Library for over 5 years. As the Library Associate for E-Resources, she not only has a new job, she also has a new department, moving from Media Resource Services to Technical Services. She describes the change as a big one: "It was like learning to decipher hieroglyphics." In this position, Shannon keeps links updated so the TU community can access journal titles with ease and collects usage statistics. This may sound simple, but this detail-oriented task is no small feat as Cook Library has some 50,000 electronic journal titles. If anyone has a problem gaining access to any one of these journals, Shannon troubleshoots and works with electronic resource providers to get the issue resolved. Shannon is excited to see how libraries transform as more and more resources move online, but she still values what Cook has in print. As a busy mom with two daughters, a yellow lab, a hamster, and a beta fish, Shannon appreciates the benefit of borrowing books to help with her daughters' homework projects.

Please join Cook Library in welcoming these two wonderful new and not-so-new colleagues!

Written by Amanda Youngbar