Elizabeth Call
elizabeth.call2010@gmail.com

 

Education

Master of Arts, Public History & Archives, concentration in Public History
New York University, New York, NY, 2010
Louis and George Demakis Fellow, 2010

Master of Library & Information Science, concentration in Rare Books & Special Collections
Long Island University, C.W. Post, Palmer School of Library & Information Science, New York, NY, 2005

Bachelor of Arts, History
State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY, 2000
Member of Phi Alpha Theta (History Honors Society)

 

Professional Experience

Public Services Librarian                                                                              
Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Columbia University Libraries
June 2014 – Present                                                     Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY

Member of library staff providing leadership and administration for access, instructional, and research support services:

  • Manage and coordinate access services of library, including implementing access policies, oversight of circulation, course reserves, interlibrary loan, and document delivery services.
  • Manage one full time employee and supervise fourteen graduate assistants.
  • Development and management of instructional and other education programming, such as orientations, workshops, course-related instruction, and online guides, across all collections.
  • Collaborate with Library Director in planning and implementing goals, priorities, policies and workflows for library.
  • Promote the discovery and use of the library and special collections by diverse user populations through the use of traditional and digital tools.
  • Lead outreach activities, including events, exhibitions, website and social media presence across all collections.
  • Collaborate with colleagues across Columbia University Libraries system to plan and improve upon public services.

Head of Reference & User Services                                 Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY
September 2013 – May 2014

Member of senior library staff providing leadership and administration for research and reference services, instructional programs, and reading room management:

  • Manage public services of library and archives, including creating and implementing reading room policies, managing all undergraduate/graduate level instruction, collecting library and archives usage statistics, managing remote inquiries database, training all professional and support staff on reference and managing reference interns.
  • Manage one professional reference librarian.
  • Creation and leadership of year-long apprenticeship program in public services (three library students selected annually to participate in an in-depth internship that provides hands-on experience with every aspect of public services in a special collections setting) .
  • Collaborate with Director of Library & Archives and Head of Collections Management in planning and implementing goals, priorities, policies and workflows for library and archives.
  • Promote the discovery and use of the library and archival collections by diverse user populations through the use of traditional and digital tools.
  • Plan and write grants for library initiatives.
  • Provide research assistance and reader services for patrons and BHS staff; answer reference requests onsite and remotely. ­
  • Create and lead subject-specific workshops, classes and presentations to diverse audiences.

Special Collections Librarian                                            Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY
June 2008 – August 2013

Member of senior library staff with oversight of special collections, including library, map and rare book collections, and responsibility for the reference functions across all collections. Duties in public services and instruction, collections management, and project planning and management:

  • Manage public services of library and archives, including creating and implementing reading room policies, managing all undergraduate/graduate level instruction, collecting library and archives usage statistics, managing remote inquiries database, training all professional and support staff on reference and managing reference interns.
  • Provide research assistance and reader services for patrons and BHS staff; answer reference requests onsite and remotely.
  • Lead subject-specific workshops, classes and presentations to diverse audiences.
  • Create policies and procedures for collections management, including collection development policies and exhibit and loan procedures and forms.
  • Supervise cataloging of books and maps; recruit and hire cataloging staff; liaison with NYU technical services on all matters concerning our library’s book, periodical and map catalog.
  • Plan and write grants for library initiatives such as comprehensive map cataloging project, major conservation assessment, and conservation of manuscript maps.
  • Represent the library within the larger institution through involvement in strategic planning processes; programming and exhibits committee; collections committee and ongoing collaboration with exhibits, education, and development departments.
  • Served as co-interim director of Library & Archives from June 2011 to February 2012, which included oversight of all Library & Archives functions; managing overall budget; and managing and reporting on several grant funded projects.

Reference Librarian                                                           Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY
November 2006 – June 2008

Created BHS reference program, which included creating and implementing reading room policies and procedures and training library professional and support staff. Provided research assistance and reader services for staff of society and library users. Answered reference requests in connection with the library’s printed, archival, and image collection, including both onsite and remote inquires.

Reference Librarian                                                         Queens Public Library, Middle Village, NY
2005 – November 2006

Provided reference and information services to adults and young adults utilizing both traditional print and online resources. Performed outreach to local middle schools and high schools to educate young adults about the library’s resources.

Assistant Researcher                                                         Young & Rubicam Brands, New York, NY
2004 – 2005

Conducted research and analyses upon request from all lines of the advertising agency’s business.

 

Skills

Solid grounding in archival and library practice, knowledge of MARC, RDA, EAD, Dublin Core content structures; DACS and AACR2 content standards; standardized vocabularies including LCSH, LCNA, LCTGM and Getty AAT; experience with OCLC and OPACs; knowledge of Dewey and Library of Congress classification systems.

 

Professional Memberships
American Library Association, 2004-present

Association of Research Libraries, Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, 2008-present

Archivists Roundtable of Metropolitan New York, 2011-present

Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC), 2012-present

 

Professional Service

Collective Wisdom: Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LAM) Conference Exchange, Coalition to Advance Learning in Archives, Libraries, and Museums, IMLS, advisory team member, 2016-present

Executive Committee, Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, secretary, 2015-present

Committee on Archives, Libraries and Museums (CALM), Combined committee of the American Library Association/Society of American Archivists/American Association of Museums, co-chair, 2014-Present

Membership & Professional Development Committee, Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2015-present

Seminars Committee, Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2015-present

2017 Conference Planning Committee, Rare Books & Manuscript Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2015-present

Core Competencies in Special Collections Librarianship Task Force, Rare Books & Manuscript Section of the Association of the Research and College Libraries, member, 2014-Present

Publications Committee, Rare Books & Manuscript Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2010 – 2015

Exhibition Awards Committee, Rare Books & Manuscript Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2011 – 2015

Metrics and Assessment Task Force, Rare Books & Manuscript Section of the Association of Research and College Libraries, member, 2012 – 2013.

Columbia University Libraries Committees:

Committee of Columbia Library & Information Professionals, 2016-present
Reserves Committee, 2014-present
Access Services Coordinating Committee, 2014-present
Divisional Metadata Contact, 2014-present
Usability Testing Group, 2014-present
Ask-a-Librarian Working Group, 2014-2016
Humanities Research Services Librarian Search Committee, 2014
Head of Delivery Services Librarian Search Committee, 2014

Brooklyn Historical Society Committees:

Collections Committee, 2006-2014
Public Programming Committee, 2009-2014
Exhibition Planning Committee, 2011-2013
Search Committee for Director of Library & Archives, 2012
Public History Committee, 2013-2014
Outreach & Audience Development Committee, 150th Planning Committee, 2013-2014
Publications

Call, E. and Baker, M. “Philanthropy, Faith, and Influence: Documenting Protestant Missionary Activism during the Armenian Genocide.” The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections. Vol. 1, Issue 1: 7-18. September 2015.
Call, E. “#LoveInAction: Raising Awareness Through the Use of Archives Outside of the Classroom.” Metropolitan Archivist. Vol. 21, No. 2: 18-19. Summer 2015.
Presentations & Teaching
Presentations, tours, orientations, information instruction sessions and classes to groups from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, 2014-present

“Researching Your Old Home,” one-day intensive workshop given throughout the year in which participants gain hands-on experience conducting research in BHS’ library & archives, 2009-present

Moderator, “Serving up the Subversive,” 2016 Annual ALA Conference, Orlando, FL, June 25, 2016 (upcoming)

Moderator, “Double Dutch: Explorations in hybrid primary source instruction,” 2015 Annual ALA Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 27, 2015

Panelist, “To Every Book Its Reader: A User-Driven Manifesto,” 56th Annual RBMS Conference, Oakland, CA, June 25, 2015

Poster presenter, “Wayfinding Our Way through Burke,” 2015 CUL/IS Biannual Summer Assessment Forum, June 18, 2015

Moderator, Northeast Regional Discussion Group, 55th Annual RBMS Preconference, Las Vegas, NV, June 25, 2014

Presentations, information instructional sessions and classes to groups, from undergraduates to senior citizens, on BHS’ library & archives, 2006-2014

Panelist, “Demystifying Landmarks,” Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY, April 29, 2014

“If These Walls Could Talk: Unearthing a Brooklyn building’s story using primary sources,” New York Archives Week, Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, October 9, 2013

“If These Walls Could Talk: Teaching archival research through house histories,” Education  and Training Session, “Cultural Heritage Archives: Networks, Innovation & Collaboration,” symposium at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, September 26-27, 2013

Co-discussant, “The Art of Reference,” O Rare! Performance in Special Collections, 54th Annual RBMS Preconference, Minneapolis, MN, June 25, 2013

Moderator, Mid-Atlantic Institutions, RBMS Unconference, 54th Annual RBMS Preconference, Minneapolis, MN, June 24, 2013

“If These Walls Could Talk: Teaching archival research through house histories,” Teaching with Archives ACRL/NY and Polytechnic Institute of New York University, New York City College of Technology (CUNY), Brooklyn, NY, April 30, 2013

“From Earplugs to Warships: Exploring the History of Business in Brooklyn,” Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library, Brooklyn, NY, December 1, 2012

Invited panelist, “Roundtable on Brooklyn & Development,” Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, October 13, 2011

“Irish Migrations:  Bedford-Stuyvesant,” The 31st Conference on New York State History, New York State Historical Association, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, June 4, 2010

“Branding Brooklyn:  The Sanitary Fair of 1864 and the Birth of Brooklyn Identity,” The Dreamland Pavilion Conference:  Brooklyn and Development Conference, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, October 3, 2009

“Documenting Modern Coney Island,” Annual Conference for Popular Culture Association/American Culture Associations, San Francisco, CA, March 22, 2008

Grants

2013, Conservation and Cataloging of 19th Century Bergen Family manuscript maps and digitization of 19th Century newspaper, Long Island Star, Gerry Charitable Trust, $50,000 (contributed to)

2013, “City, Borough, Neighborhood, Home: Mapping Brooklyn’s Twentieth-Century Urban Identity,” Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives, Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), $170,400 (contributed to)

2012, Cataloging of 19th Century Bergen Family manuscript maps, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, $13,000

2012, Conservation of 19th Century Bergen Family manuscript maps, The New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials, $24,980

2012, Conservation of 19th Century Bergen Family manuscript maps, Gerry Charitable Trust, $15,000

2010, “Uncovering the Secrets of Brooklyn’s 19th Century Past: Creation to Consolidation,” Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives, Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), $440,491 (contributed to)

2009, Conservation Survey, The New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials, $5,000

2009, Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Continuing Education

ARL Liaison Librarian Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, June 10-12, 2015

Content as UX Workshop series, Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY, August 2014

Constructive Conflict Resolution in the Work Place, Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY, July 1, 2014

RDA Training, New York University, New York, NY, September-October 2012

Second Annual K-12 Archives Education Initiative, Archivists Roundtable of Metropolitan New York (ART), New York, NY, October 15, 2011

Publishers’ Bookbindings, 1830-1910, Rare Book School, Charlottesville, VA, June 6-10, 2011
Support for attendance via Rare Book School Scholarship, 2009

“Introduction to Omeka,” THATCamp Jersey Shore, The Humanities and Technology Camp, Atlantic City, NJ, April 4-5, 2011

“Not Just History Anymore: Using Special Collections and Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking,” ACRL 2011 Preconference, Philadelphia, PA, March 30, 2011

“An Introduction to EAC-CPF: Archival Authority Control,” Archivists Roundtable of Metropolitan New York, New York, NY, March 7, 2011