2024 Library Conference Presenters, Panelists, and Moderators
Speaker and moderator list
Lajmar Anderson
Reference Librarian
Sinclair Community College
Lajmar Anderson is a reference and instruction librarian at Sinclair Community College. In this role he serves as the liaison librarian for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences division, the on-location librarian for Sinclair’s African American Male Initiative program, and as co-chair for the campus Sexuality and Gender Equity Committee.
Lorien Anderson
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Columbus State Community College
Lorien Anderson is a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Columbus State Community College, specializing in information literacy instruction. They hold an MA in English from Ohio University and an MLIS from Kent State University.
Ana Borges
Referral Specialist
Columbus State Community College
Ana Borges is a Reference Specialist at Columbus State Community College library, she is having her first experience working along with librarians and instructors. She has a degree in Language and Literature from University of Vale do Taquari in Brazil and is currently studying Fashion and Retail at the Ohio State University. As an employee and a previous student, she understands how important it is to tell the students about the resources available at the library!
John J. Burke
Library Director & Principal Librarian
Miami University Regionals
John J. Burke holds the rank of Principal Librarian and is the Director of the Gardner-Harvey Library on the Middletown regional campus of Miami University. John is the author of the Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion (ALA, 2019) and Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). His scholarship centers on makerspaces, LMS embedded librarianship, and technology for library staff. He holds an M.A. in instructional design and technology from Miami University, an M.S. in library science from the University of Tennessee, and a B.A. in history from Michigan State University.
Emilie Cornelius
Instruction Librarian
Central Ohio Technical College
Emilie Cornelius is an instruction librarian serving students on both sides of the house for Central Ohio Technical College and The Ohio State University Regional Newark Campus. She is an early career librarian, helping students through program and research guides, as well as classroom instruction. She holds a M.S. in Library Science & Archival Studies as well as a B.A.S. in Learning Technologies & Digital Content from The University of North Texas. In addition, Emilie recently obtained a Teaching Information Literacy endorsement through The Ohio State University Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. Her personal and professional goal is to teach others how to manage and preserve authentic and trustworthy information in hopes of diffusing misinformation and keeping the truth available to all.
Alyssa Darden-Muñoz
Director of Learning Commons
Franklin University
Alyssa Darden-Muñoz joined Franklin University as a librarian in 2013, and became the Library Director in 2015. When the academic support, testing, and library teams merged in 2016, Darden-Muñoz became the Director of Learning Commons. She leads the fulfillment of the Learning Commons’ strategic plan with vision, supportive relationships with faculty and staff, and commitment to serving students with the resources and support to help them succeed. Darden-Muñoz holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from Kent State University and a BA in English and TESOL from Wright State University.
Myra Justus
Circulation Coordinator, Johnnie Mae Berry Library
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Sherlann Lewandowski
Library Periodicals Specialist
Columbus State Community College
Sherlann Lewandowski has worked at Columbus State Community College for seven years as a library specialist. She started in Periodicals and currently is in Acquisitions and Metadata Services. She has a BFA in Illustration from Columbus College of Art & Design. She finds that making social media content is a creative and enjoyable way to connect with students and coworkers!
Jessie Long
Outreach & Instruction Librarian
Miami University Regionals
Jessie Long is the Outreach and Instruction Librarian on the Middletown campus of Miami University Regionals. She currently holds the rank of Principal Librarian and has received an MLIS from Kent State University and a BA in anthropology from the University of New Mexico. Her scholarship focus has included online learning courses and tools, gamification and game-based learning, fake news and bias, and makerspaces, which she has presented on at various state, regional, and international conferences. In addition to her presentation work, she has also authored and co-authored two book chapters that deal with gamification of the research process and interactive library orientations, respectively. In 2020 she co-edited the book Makerspaces for Adults: Best practices and great projects (Rowman & Littlefield).
Kate McDowell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Library and Information Science
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Kate McDowell focuses on storytelling as information research, social justice storytelling, and how the history of library storytelling can enhance contemporary data storytelling. Her writing appears in Library Quarterly, College and Research Libraries, and JASIST, where her article Storytelling wisdom: Story, information, and DIKW theorizes storytelling as a fundamental information form. She leads the nationally-funded Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy. McDowell is an associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA), where her storytelling teaching was internationally celebrated with the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award in 2022.
Amanda McLellan, Ed.D.
Director, Thomas Library
Wittenberg University
Dr. Amanda Hartman McLellan is the Director of Thomas Library at Wittenberg University. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University, an MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BA from DePauw University. She also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences. Her research interests include library technology, usability and user experience, and library leadership.
Mira Scarnecchia
Open Educational Resources Librarian
Columbus State Community College
Mira Scarnecchia is the Open Educational Resources Librarian at Columbus State Community College. She is an early career librarian and completed her MILS at Kent State University in 2022. She is passionate about ensuring students are aware of all that the academic library has to offer them and has enjoyed working on innovative strategies to connect students with the academic library’s staff and resources!
Hannah White
OER and Curriculum Support Librarian
National University
