Academic Librarian Faculty Status: CLIPP #47

Edgar Bailey has a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College, an M.A. in English from the University of Chicago, and an M.L.S. from Rutgers University. He did additional graduate work at Simmons University. His career spanned thirty-five years, including five at Eastern Connecticut State University and thirty at Providence College where he served as reference and instruction librarian and, for ten years, as library director. He also served on the committee that established the Center for Teaching and Learning. He has published on a variety of library and non-library topics including help-seeking behavior, library anxiety, government publications, library school curricula, and Ursula K. LeGuin. He currently teaches a course in academic librarianship at the University of Rhode Island library school. He lives with his wife in Providence, RI, where they own a house at the beach.

Melissa Becher is the Associate Director of Research, Teaching and Learning at American University Library. Her job responsibilities include management and supervision, as well as administering platforms that support research assistance such as LibGuides, the Library’s FAQ, and a 24/7 chat service. Over the years she has conducted user testing for the Library, other campus offices, the local consortium, and a professional association. Melissa’s research agenda focuses on how the academic library intersects with broader trends in higher education. She has published on instruction coordinators’ use of higher education accreditation documentation, the library’s visibility on college and university websites, and the experiences of full-time nontenured library faculty.  She maintains a WordPress site on librarian status. Melissa is a member of ALA’s Reference & User Services Association and recently chaired the RUSA Emerging Technologies Section. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and a cranky guinea pig.