Michael Courtney
91´«Ã½ Divisions:
Curious, considerate, kind.
91´«Ã½
When her mom is diagnosed with rapidly progressing early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, the eleven-year-old protagonist in Sandy Stark-McGinnis’s , struggles to hold onto the fading memories they made together while attempting to make new ones, striving to take her mom on one last big adventure amid the disease’s reality. It’s a (bitter)sweet look at seeking inspiration when the future no longer seems unlimited. Don’t ever skimp on adventure.
August, adroit, agile.
91´«Ã½
As my job responsibilities have ebbed and flowed over the years, so too has my engagement with ACRL. From distance and online learning and information literacy instruction to academic library services to international students and beyond, I have always found a community of intelligent, compassionate, and motivated professional colleagues who are eager to help and strive to do their very best.
91´«Ã½
When I began my current role as an outreach librarian, there weren’t as many colleagues with a particular focus on campus and community outreach, connecting with students in non-academic, co-curricular ways. Many years later, I’m happy to now be part of a larger team of librarians who interact with and teach to students in intentional and impactful ways, advocating with much compassion for the success, support, and care of the whole student. I strive to continue supporting student success by building community and providing students with the agency to continue seeking out our help as they navigate the greater world outside of the classroom.
91´«Ã½
You know, wherever I’ve lived in the world, I’ve always gone to the library. Always. It’s kind of that simple. I’m still eight-year-old Mike with an armful of Beverly Cleary books. I’m still twelve-year-old Mike returning that tattered copy of Richard Tregaskis’s Guadalcanal Diary to Mrs. Reinwald. I’m still seventeen-year-old Mike returning Persifor Frazer’s Mind Reading to Mrs. Eubanks. I still have a hold list with more ambition than I’m able to sustain and I still value the library as place, as a necessary cultural and social space, far beyond a repository of books. Support your local library.
Title:Outreach & Engagement Librarian
Workplace:Indiana University
Location:Bloomington, IN