Category Archives: Appointment

Staff Appointments, Awards, Presentations and Publications

Libraries’ staff regularly excel beyond their day-to-tay accomplishments, and are recognized as high-level experts in their fields through awards, grants, appointments to professional organizations, and publications of professional import. Here we recognize a sample of recent achievements.


This year, two University of Texas Libraries librarians received Texas Digital Library (TDL) awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to digital libraries. Digital Scholarship LibrarianAllyssa Guzman received the Individual Impact Award for her work on the Diversity Resident Program and Scholars Lab. And Head of Scholarly Communications Colleen Lyon received the TDL Service Award for work contributed to the TDL consortium.

Adrian Johnson, head of user services at the Benson Latin American Collection, has been working closely with a local non-profit Cine las Americas since 2015, and serves on the organization’s Advisory Board.

Metadata Analyst Devon Murphy was awarded the DLF Cross Pollinator Award to attend ASIS&T (Association for Information Science and Technology) in London, UK this year, where they presented on the “Metadata Best Practices for Trans and Gender Diverse Resources,” on which she is a co-editor/author. Murphy also has an article in “Ethics of Linked Data,” a collection brings together contributions that explore ethics in linked data initiatives. They have been invited to be a metadata instructor for the Summer Educational Institute, a project between ARLIS/NA (Art Libraries Society of North America) and VRA (Visual Resources Association).

Head of Information Literacy Services Elise Nacca, contributed to “Transforming the Authority of the Archive: Undergraduate Pedagogy and Critical Digital Archives,” an open access publication edited by Andi Gustavson and Charlotte Nunes, set for release this month.

Alice Batt (University Writing Center) and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning ServicesMichele Ostrow contributed a chapter to the publication “THE TALES WE TELL: Applying Peripheral Vision to Build a Successful Learning Commons Partnership.” Writing Centers and Learning Commons: Staying Centered While Sharing Common Ground, edited by STEVEN J. CORBETT et al., University Press of Colorado, 2023, pp. 145–60. JSTORhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.399537.16. Accessed 14 June 2023.

Michele Ostrow continued service in positions on multiple Association of College & Research Libraries’ groups: Publications Editor, the ACRL Instruction Section (July 2022-2024); Member of the ACRL Instruction Section Communications Committee (July 2022-2024); and Member of the ACRL University Libraries Section Nominating Committee (June 2022-July 2023).

Mary Rader, Head of the Fine Arts, Humanities and Global Studies Engagement Team co-organized the fall 2022 SAI seminar series, “Hidden South Asian Archives” which included 6 external speakers and highlighted the Sajjad Zaheer Digital Archive. She also received the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award for 2023-2025, and was awarded a 2023 President’s Outstanding Staff Award

This July, Performing Arts Librarian Molly Roy was the featured presenter at EFF-Austin’s monthly meet-up and speaker series. In this public talk, entitled “A Moving Seen: Explorations in Surveillance Art,” Roy shared some of her research into how dance and choreography might help us understand contemporary surveillance culture. Several members of the UT community were in attendance, including faculty, staff, graduate students, and alumni. EFF-Austin is an independent nonprofit civil liberties organization concerned with emerging frontiers where technology meets society.

Jennifer Isasi to Join LLILAS Benson as CLIR Fellow for Data Curation

LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections is pleased to announce that Jennifer Isasi, PhD, will join the staff as CLIR Fellow for Data Curation in Latin American and Latina/o Studies. Isasi will work with Digital Scholarship Coordinator Albert A. Palacios to contribute to “collections as data” efforts, educational resources, and digital scholarship initiatives at LLILAS Benson. She will hold her position from July 29 through June 2020.

In her role as CLIR fellow, Isasi will have the opportunity to alter the way in which students, researchers, and affiliated communities access and engage with the digitized historical record.

According to CLIR (the Council on Library and Information Resources) the CLIR postdoctoral position “offers recent PhD graduates the chance to develop research tools, resources, and services while exploring new career opportunities. . . . Fellows work on projects that forge and strengthen connections among library collections, educational technologies, and current research.”

Jennifer Isasi
Jennifer Isasi

In addition to her work with Palacios, Isasi will work closely with the current CLIR fellow Hannah Alpert-Abrams as well as University of Texas Libraries academic engagement staff and LLILAS affiliated faculty to develop curated data sets, curricula, and workshops centered on digital assets and tools, and open-access resources that support scholarly and public engagement with digital materials.

Isasi will also work closely with the post-custodial archival team and partners in the United States and Latin America to inform the development of forthcoming digital collections and facilitate their use in digital research and pedagogy. As such, she will have the opportunity to alter the way in which students, researchers, and affiliated communities access and engage with the digitized historical record.

Jennifer Isasi holds a PhD in Hispanic Studies with a specialization in Digital Humanities from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her dissertation, “Data Mining Possibilities for the Analysis of the Literary Character in the Spanish Novel: The Case of Galdós and the ‘Episodios nacionales’” (written in Spanish) establishes a computational reading methodology to extract, analyze, and visualize literary character-systems or social networks, noting how they reflect novel genres and degrees of historicity that replicate close readings of the novels. Currently, she is a lecturer of Spanish at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she teaches Spanish, Commercial Spanish, and Foundations of Literacy.

Dr. Lorraine Haricombe Arrives as New Vice Provost

lorraine j. haricombe, Vice Provost and Director, University of Texas Libraries.
lorraine j. haricombe, Vice Provost and Director, University of Texas Libraries.

Born and raised in South Africa, Dr. Lorraine Haricombe joins the University of Texas Libraries as Vice Provost and Director from the Kansas University Libraries, where she served as Dean since 2006.

She previously held administrative positions in the libraries at Northern Illinois University and Peninsula Technikon in the Republic of South Africa, and holds doctoral and master’s degrees in library and information science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She also earned a teacher certification from the University of South Africa, an honors graduate degree in library and information science from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and a bachelor’s degree in library and information science, psychology and sociology from the University of the Western Cape.

Haricombe holds memberships in the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Library Administration and Management Association and the Association of American University Women. She is on the editorial board of Communicate, Journal of LIS (Nigeria), the editorial board of the Beta Phi Mu Monograph Series, the Service Quality Academy (LibQual+) selection committee and the 2006-07 ALA conference planning committee.

Highlights and Achievements

  • Daughter of a librarian.
  • Earned a master’s and a doctorate in Library and Information Science in only six years (1986-92).
  • As a single parent, successfully reared two accomplished daughters in the USA (Heidi who is a surgeon, and Gretchen, a teacher).
  • Inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame, University of Kansas, April 2012.
  • Association of Research Libraries, Leadership Career Development Program; mentoring junior librarians from underrepresented populations, 2007-present.
  • Provost’s designate for implementing the Open Access policy at KU, 2010-present. KU was the first public university in the USA where faculty adopted an institutional policy on open access.
  • Member, Executive Management Team, Research Libraries Consortium, South Africa 2011-2012.
  • President, Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), 2011. GWLA is a consortium of more than 30 large academic and research libraries west of the Mississippi who share resources and expertise to facilitate meaningful collaboration in the western USA. KU is a founding member.
  • Inaugural member, Global Council, Online Computer Library Center, 2009-2011. OCLC connects people to knowledge through library cooperation among 72,000 libraries in 170 countries.
  • Member, Advisory Board, 2009-2012, and Chair, Steering Committee for the Scholarly Publications and Academic Resources Council, 2013-2015, Scholarly Publication and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). SPARC is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication.

Quagliana Takes On Discovery and Access

Alisha Quagliana
Alisha Quagliana

Alisha Quagliana is the Discovery and Access Coordinator.  In this position she oversees and administers the access of electronic resources for the University of Texas Libraries, and provides leadership, day-to-day management, and strategic planning for management and discovery of all electronic resources at the University of Texas Libraries.

In Alisha’s previous positions with the University of Texas Libraries, she managed the access of electronic resources through the implementation and development of data management tools.  She also developed and maintained the metadata registry.

Alisha received her Master of Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Montana.

Alisha Quagliana can be reached at a.quagliana@austin.utexas.edu,(512) 495-4660, PCL 2.312.

Quigley Heads Acquisition Services

The University of Texas Libraries announces Brian Quigley as Head Librarian, Acquisition Services, Collections and Technical Services.

Brian Quigley
Brian Quigley

The Libraries acquire materials in dozens of formats from across the globe in support of the research and teaching missions of the university. Acquisitions Services is charged with coordinating all activities related to the ordering and receipt of materials for library collections regardless of format and for providing financial reporting on those services. Using a variety of approval and selection plans, firm orders from subject bibliographers, and input from constituents across campus, the department manages the ingestion of new resources into the collection. As the department’s Head Librarian, Brian Quigley coordinates the unit’s activities with other library departments and with external content providers, publishers, and vendors.

Brian has a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies and an MLIS, both earned from the University of Texas at Austin. He brings 30 years of experience to his new position from the University of Texas’ Tarlton Law Library, where he was at various times the Acquisitions/Serials Librarian, Director for Bibliographic Services, Head of Systems and Technology, and Associate Director for Administration and Collection Services.

Reach Brian at: bquigley@austin.utexas.edu, (512) 495-4149, PCL 2.306.

Cofield Becomes Charter Metadata Coordinator

Melanie Cofield
Melanie Cofield

The University of Texas Libraries are pleased to announce the appointment of Melanie Cofield to the position of Metadata Coordinator.

As Metadata Coordinator, Melanie provides innovative leadership in planning, implementing, and assessing metadata practices for the University of Texas Libraries’ digital collections and services.  Proactively engaging with staff from various units within UT Libraries and also with faculty, staff, and students across campus, Melanie identifies metadata needs, prospective projects, and training opportunities.  She represents the UT Libraries’ Cataloging and Metadata Services department to the campus and wider metadata community, and facilitates policy development in support of digital curation and interoperability efforts.

Prior to joining UT Libraries, Melanie was the Digital Resources Librarian at the Tarlton Law Library, UT School of Law. She received her Master of Information Studies with a specialization in digital curation from the UT School of Information, and her academic library experience spans nearly two decades working in various roles including collection management, patron services, instructional and emerging technologies, digital asset management, and digital preservation. Melanie recently joined our staff on September 22, 2014.

Contact Melanie at: m.cofield@austin.utexas.edu, (512) 495-4355, PCL 2.330.