We are happy to welcome mentors from each of the New England states. If you are a mentor and need further information contact NELLS co-chairs Betsy Bray and Cheryl Bryan.

Would each mentor please write a brief introduction to the other participants just under their contact information using the edit tab above.

NELLS 2008 Mentors

 

Mike Moran, Director of Library & Information Services

Bay Path College

588 Longmeadow St.

Longmeadow, MA 01106

(413) 565-1284

MMoran@baypath.edu

 

I've just updated my contact information above to reflect my new position as of July 7.  I look forward to meeting everyone next week at NELLS, where I'll have lots of ideas to share about transitioning to a new position after three weeks on the job!

 

Mike

 

I'm sorry to be the last mentor out of the starting gate, but my excuse is that I've had a lot on my plate lately!  At the end of this month, I'll retire from almost 36 years in my current position as the founding director of the Learning Resource Center at Asnuntuck, and early next month I'll start a new job as Director of Library & Information Services at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, MA.

 

While tying up loose ends at Asnuntuck last week, I learned that one of the Bay Path librarians will also leave her job at the end of this month to join her husband at his new job in New Hampshire.  So by the time I get to NELLS, I'll have a wealth of new skills to share, from applying for and transitioning into a new position myself (after my first 3 weeks at Bay Path), to participating in a search process to refill a vacancy before I even get there!

 

At the Asnuntuck LRC, which I built "from scratch," relocated twice, and expanded once into new facilities, the five full-time staff who report to me include three other professional librarians, an audiovisual coordinator, and a media technician.  Their duties range from traditional library services to distance learning support, campus web design and maintenance, and operation of a low-power FM radio station (where I've produced and hosted a two-hour weekly program of classical music for the past 3+ years). 

 

I've also been active in professional organizations, especially the Connecticut Library Association, where ever since I was President 10 years ago I've co-chaired the Legislative Committee and gotten to know a lot about how state government works in CT.  Like some other NELLS participants, I'm also a proud Simmons alum (class of 1972) and have employed several excellent interns from their Mount Holyoke program in recent years.

 

I'll update my contact information from Asnuntuck to Bay Path soon.  In the meantime, I look forward to meeting and working with everyone else at NELLS next month.

 

Barbara McDade, Director

Bangor Public Library

45 Harlow St.

Bangor, ME  04401-4900

(207) 947-8336

bmcdade@bpl.lib.me.us

 

I have been the Director of the Bangor Public Library since 1991, but have been a public library director since 1975.  I've always lived near the Appalachian Trail--although I don't hike--I do like to take walks in the woods.  My fifteen minutes of fame came in the 1980's, when a homeless man sued me for asking him to leave the Library.  There's lots more to that story--eventually the court said that the library in Morristown (and me) had acted correctly.  Out of the Kreimer Case, however, came the first ruling that the use of public libraries is a right. 

 

I am also currently acting as the director of Maine InfoNet--Maine's digital library--until we can hire a permanent director.  It's been a learning experience.  Some days I think, oh, we live in interesting times--and other days I think, I'm really glad I'm living in interesting times.

 

I'm originally from western Pennsylvania and have been a director in Beaver, PA., Augusta County, Virginia and Morristown, NJ.  I'm looking forward to NELLS.

 

Krista Mcleod, Director

Nevins Memorial Library

305 Broadway

Methuen, MA 01844

(978) 686-4080 x10

kmcleod@mvlc.org

 

I am looking forward to seeing you all at NELLS in July! 

 

Yikes, how can it be that I have been a librarian for 25 years?   As Director of the Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, MA since 1992, I remember the first time I heard about this strange new invention called The World Wide Web…”Oooh, that’s pretty cool, and might come in handy once in a while!”    During my library career, I worked in academic and special libraries before finding my true calling in public library service.  As Director at the Nevins Library, I have overseen an addition/renovation that doubled the size of the building, have seen the size of the staff double, the budget quadruple, and circulation rise over 100%.  We also have a new Adult Literacy Volunteers Program with which I am very involved. 

 

I really enjoy my participation in library organizations and activities; I served on the NELA Board for several years, including a term as President in 1995-96.  I have also been President of the Massachusetts Library Association, and served as Conference Co-Chair for MLA many years ago.  This coming year I will be President of the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium.  I am most active in library legislative activities, and have served for many years on & off as the Co-Chair of the MLA Legislative Committee.  I am passionately devoted to the cause of legislative advocacy for library service in Massachusetts.

 

While it seems like it is “all libraries all the time” in my life, I do some other stuff, too!  My husband Matt McKeon is a public school teacher, and we have a frighteningly bright and sometimes sassy 10-year-old daughter, Madeleine.  We live in Methuen, so that means whenever I go to the grocery store people ask me to forgive their overdue fines or give their high school kid a job in the library.  Madeleine suffers (but not too much) from being “The Librarian’s Kid,” although I think she secretly likes it and believes that she owns the place.  I am very involved in historic preservation in our city, and I help out at our church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Methuen.  I scrapbook and quilt, but not often enough to make me truly contented.  I just finished reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss, and am very aware that my punctuation in this little biography might be very bad!  Apologies to Strunk & White and any punctuation sticklers out there!

 

Shirley Barron, Interim Director and Reference

North Essex Community college

PO Box 187

East Derry, NH  03041

shirleybarron@comcast.net

 

I grew up in the Methuen, MA/ Salem, NH area and began my library career at my high school library in Salem in 1964. While a college student at Keene State College, I also worked at my college library and then went on to the University of Oklahoma.  I earned a master's degree in library science in Dec. 1971.

 

My first professional library position was in my hometown library where I was hired in Jan. 1972 to be the Assistant Director of Kelley Library in Salem (the town’s public library). During my years there from 1972 to 1980,  I helped develop the library and was involved in the expansion project which doubled the size of the library.  From there I launched into medical libraries and developed a health sciences library for the Exeter Hospital in Exeter, NH.  I transformed an empty room into Exeter Hospital's medical library and linked it electronically to the National Library of Medicine. After Exeter Hospital I delved into developing and managing electronic libraries for Digital Equipment Corp (DEC). Between 1984 and 1991, I developed electronic libraries for Digital Equipment Corporation so its employees could access information worldwide anytime, seven days a week.   After leaving Digital, I  worked as a reference librarian at Southern NH University and Derry Public Library,  then went on to directing public libraries in Londonderry, NH and Bedford, NH.  In Londonderry I was involved with the expansion of a small 5,000 sq foot building into a 20,000 sq foot state-of-the-art library facility.  In Dec. 2005 I retired from the Bedford (NH) Public Library. I wanted to retire and move to Cape Cod, which I did … temporarily.

  

After having spent 33 years working professionally in NH’s libraries, I thought that retiring to the Cape was a good idea. I put my NH house on the market (without anticipating the impending housing slump) and moved into our summer house in Dennis Port on Cape Cod in January 2006 where I planned to enjoy  retirement . Shortly thereafter I discovered that the Town of Dennis was looking for a Library Director and applied for the job – and soon became “unretired”.  I spent approximately one year as Library Director in Dennis but had to return to NH as my house never sold.  Upon my return to NH,  I marketed myself as an “Interim Library Director” and have spent the past year  as an Interim Library Director at the Hollis Social Library in Hollis, NH and then at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton, NH.  Now I’m semi-retired and work just part-time as a Reference  Librarian at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA.

  

So, in a nutshell, I have 36 years of  professional library experience in public, medical, corporate and academic libraries – and have loved every minute!

  

I live in a beautiful old restored 1700’s farm house in East Derry, NH and split my time between that place, our house in Dennis Port and a summer camp on Great East Lake in East Wakefield, NH.  I’m enjoying my semi-retirement – working less gives me the opportunity to do more of the things I enjoy such as reading (of course),  walking, hiking, boating and kayaking.  I look forward to sharing my varied work experiences with the NELLS participants.  Am honored that I was selected to be a mentor – and am so very pleased to be able to give back to my profession. I look forward to meeting everyone in July …

  

Best regards,

Shirley

 

Melody Allen

Children's Services/Field Services

Office of Library and  Information Sciences

1 Capitol Hill 2nd floor

Providence, RI 02908-5803

401-574-9306

Amy Howlett

Vermont Department of Libraries

1 Hospital Court

Bellows Falls, VT  05101

(802) 463-0142

amy.howlett@mail.dol.state.vt.us

    I've been with the Department of Libraries forever-- but it seems like my job is always new. Like the stereotypical librarian, reading is a favorite activity, with promoting books a close second (especially booktalking).

 

Home is scenic Grafton, population 623, living next to a covered bridge. Unreal, huh? My family includes a librarian husband, a son who plays Quidditch, and a daughter who plays softball. We almost never read the same things unless there's a new J.K.Rowling to fight over. (Will those days come again?)

 

Still no cellphone, but I'm almost all the way through Vermont's 23 Things and getting better at blogs, Facebook, and collaborating online. Can't wait for NELLS!

 

 Mentor Guidelines:

During the introductory session on Monday afternoon our facilitator, Maureen Sullivan will expain your role at NELLS to you and answer any questions you may have.Mentors act as full participants during the formal sessions, and act as a resource person for the participants outside the sessions. There will be plenty of time for you to engage in conversation with the participants during the free time around the sessions.

 

You need no formal preparation to serve as a mentor-just bring your experience and your willingness to listen and share your knowledge with others. The following guidelines might be helpful:

 

Responsibilities:

• Relax and be yourself in our interactions with others.
• In the formal sessions see yourself as a participant, not as an expert resource for the others.  Engage in activities and discussions to learn and to continue your own development.
• Be available to participants. Approach them during breaks and other informal times.
• The mentor role has several functions: coach, sounding board, counselor and political advisor. Remember the importance of active listening in your conversations with participants. Offer encouragement, suggestions, and new perspectives.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Try to offer options, alternative approaches.
• Throughout the program feel free to bring any concerns or issues to Maureen - from a participant or your own experience.