Alexandra Howard
91´«Ã½ Divisions:
Curious, friendly, enthusiastic.
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I'm currently reading "Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires" by Shomari Wills.
Educational, motivating, collaborative.
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As a new librarian, I value the learning community offered by ACRL. I’ve attended so many different workshops and webinars and had the chance to connect with librarians from across the country. I especially value my fellow members of the ACRL Diversity Alliance Task Force who are committed to making our institutions welcoming, safe, and inclusive for librarians of color entering into diversity resident positions.
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As the Business Research & Teaching Librarian, my primary role is to serve as the liaison to the College of Business and offer research assistance and instruction to students, faculty, and staff. It is exciting to connect researchers with resources and databases that they weren’t aware of and bear witness to the discovery of information that will strengthen a paper, presentation, or business plan. I think my background working in community outreach and engagement coupled with my bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies strengthen my contributions as an academic librarian on campus. I serve on the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group for the University Libraries and was appointed by the university president to serve on our university’s Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity. I led a team in implementing a BIPOC Scholars collection () in our institutional repository to help promote diversity and inclusion in scholarly communications and created a Celebrating Black History libguide () to connect researchers with library, local, and national resources related to Black excellence. My research as a tenure-track faculty member investigates how universities can support local Black-owned businesses in their communities. I’m developing community-engaged research projects in the College of Business that will involve mutually beneficial collaboration between students and local Black business owners, and I’m holding research consultations in the library with local entrepreneurs to improve access to our university’s resources.
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I believe in the University of Louisville’s goal of being a community engaged and anti-racist institution, and I center my work as an academic librarian in those commitments. I think academic libraries are uniquely positioned to support collaboration and community building. As the liaison to the College of Business, I’m surrounded by innovation and creative problem solving, and it inspires me to bring that spirit of innovation to the work of academic libraries. I believe the research happening in our institutions has the potential to transform, uplift, and empower our local communities, and I’m committed to developing and supporting those opportunities as an academic librarian.
Credentials:MLIS
Title:Business Research & Teaching Librarian
Workplace:University of Louisville
Location:Louisville, KY