MEMBER A-LIRT

Pixey Anne Mosley has packed a lot of experience into her brief career as an instruction librarian. She came to BI from a round-about route, having started her professional life as an aerospace engineer, working both at Boeing and Allied Signal. The drive that made her the recipient of two national engineering scholarships has quickly made her a leader in librarianship as well. She has been on a fast track; after only two days on the job as Assistant for Instructional Resources at Texas A & M University, she found that her supervisor was resigning, and she was immediately presented with unexpected opportunities and challenges. The Evans Library may have had some idea of what a dynamo they were getting as she had worked there as a student employee.

Pixey joined LIRT right after attending a Bites with LIRT luncheon in San Antonio hosted by Kari Lucas who handed her a volunteer form. She loved how simple it was to jump right in and make a difference. It seems only fitting that Pixey's first LIRT committee should be PR/Membership where she now is in charge of the Bites program.

She has published widely, in such journals as: RSR: Reference Services Review, Science and Technology Libraries, Sci-Tech News, Information Processing and Management, as well as several recent Member A-LIRT columns. She has two articles forthcoming in Research Strategies and Journal of Academic Librarianship.

At LOEX in May, 1997, Pixey's session was entitled "Training Course Instructors to Teach Library Instruction", something we all should be interested in doing!

Her ALA poster sessions on virtual tours and handouts on the World Wide Web in New York and San Francisco were both well attended.

When asked how she manages to fit writing and presentations into a busy schedule, she said she's always on the lookout for topics. Several of her projects have tie-ins to her instructional and administrative responsibilities, resulting in more effective use of time. She also admitted that while rejection letters do discourage her, she only mopes for a day or two before picking up the article, revising it, and sending it right on to another publication. When asked to describe a typical day, Pixey said there is no such thing; she lives from one crisis to the next. She juggles responsibilities for scheduling instruction sessions with dealing with equipment problems, and providing support to other librarians. Her advice to other librarians is:

"Don't be afraid of trying something new. Keep it if it works, and throw it out and try something else if it doesn't. Be willing to adapt ideas from other environments. Stay serene and calm when things don't work. Be flexible. Set small, achievable goals."

Pixey was born in Bryan, Texas and is a self-proclaimed "prideful Texan". She swears that her current 4'11.5" height had no bearing on her mother's decision to name her Pixey--I guess she just grew into the name. She attended Texas A & M University as an undergraduate, receiving her BS in Aerospace Engineering in 1987 and her MS in Aeronautical Engineering from Wichita State University in 1989. After just a few years in industry, she decided on a career change and received her M.L.I.S. from Louisiana State University in 1993. Her first professional position was as Information Technology Librarian at University of North Texas in Denton.

Pixey's newest challenge is just beginning: she is Chair-elect of the Library Instruction Round Table of the Texas Library Association and will take over as Chair after the Spring 1998 conference. If her past whirlwind performances are any indication, Texas LIRT members have a great year in store for them!

Linda J. Goff is the Library Instruction Librarian at California State University, Sacramento and Chair of LIRT's PR/Membership Committee.

WELCOME  BACK ISSUES Last revised January 5, 2000.