MEMBER A-LIRT

When asked about his library instruction philosophy, Andy said he believes that "effective library instruction may be one of our best hopes for securing an important campus role for the library in the next century." He also feels that the growing quantity of scholarly information available through the Internet will create a renewed appreciation of written language. He said the biggest challenge facing librarians is the need to stay current on information technology without losing expertise over print resources. Then instruction librarians must balance these areas and present them in creatively accessible ways.

Additionally, as a library administrator, Andy faces the challenge of trying to provide up-to-date resources and electronic classroom facilities needed by the teaching librarians. He is currently working on a search committee to hire another librarian who will concentrate on the instruction program and further emphasize information and instructional technologies. To increase awareness and understanding of library instruction, Andy said his department now offers course instructors a menu of options when the instructors request library instruction sessions. This recognizes that some course instructors are unaware of the available library resources and the types of information that can be presented. He said he is also exploring ways to "borrow" distance education techniques that could bring library instruction to students and faculty outside of the library.

Prior to working at Tulane, Andy served in several capacities at the West Virginia Graduate College (WVGC). In the library, he served as public services librarian and eventually as acting library director. He holds a doctorate in education from West Virginia University, and, as a faculty member in WVGC's School of Education, he taught courses in educational research methods to teachers, school psychologists,principals, and superintendents in schools around the state. He found that traveling to schools in remote, rural Appalachian communities taught him as much as he taught his students. Back at the library, he was involved in running a home-grown document delivery service for these students.

Andy joined ALA in 1989 and has been a familiar face in LIRT since 1994. His most recent involvement has been as booth coordinator for the past two annual conferences. He is the guy who dotted the i's and crossed the t's to ensure booth space allocation, materials delivery, setup and tear down. He finds the booth work to be informative, giving him the opportunity to speak with instruction librarians from around the country. He also finds it, "interesting to get a firsthand perspective on the waves of librarians grabbing for vendors' give-away items at the start of the exhibits." For this next conference, Midwinter 1998 in New Orleans, Andy will be selecting the restaurants for the BITES with LIRT luncheons.

When he is not managing a department and teaching Internet workshops at the library, Andy indicated that it is easy to find things to do in New Orleans. Many weekends, he can be found fishing in the saltwater marshes. He also spends a lot of casual time with a person he describes as one of the best instruction librarians that he knows, his wife Trish Del Nero who works at Loyola University of New Orleans. LIRT is fortunate to have someone with Andy's insights, experience, and enthusiasm among its membership.

Pixey Anne Mosley is the Coordinator of Instructional Services at Texas A&M University and a member of LIRT's PR/Membership Committee.