How are you a member of the UNCG LIS family?

I am a second semester graduate student in the MLIS program.

Tell us about the accomplishments you are most proud of in terms of your academic, professional accomplishments, etc. (brag points for us to use in other words)

I developed the Baker-Barber Collection digitization project for Henderson County Public Library and have been featured in Mountain Traditions Magazine concerning my work with the collection. The collection ranges from 1884-1980s and contains in my best conservative estimate over half a million pieces of individual negatives and prints. The negative collection contains an assortment of glass-plates in all sizes, cellulose and polyester negatives including some nitrate film, and several 35mm images.

I am currently writing the manual which will include a section on collection development, procedures for digitizing the collection, and the basic framework to help any institution with their digitization project. The collection’s digitized images have appeared in on stage productions I helped develop with Blue Ridge Community College and playwright Tom Orr. I am also helping both the History Center and Historic Courthouse Corporation in Henderson County develop digital media productions to be used in their spaces.

In addition to my Baker-Barber Collection responsibilities, I help Ms. Tina Stepp, MLIS the Young Adult Librarian at HCPL develop youth and young adult programming. Together we have increased YA circulation and offer a very successful Open-Mic night program.

I also teach in the English Department at Western Carolina University and currently am working with the Office of the Chief Information Officer with architecture and copy for the Department of Art and Design’s web site.

Give us a brief bio of yourself including your educational and professional background.

I was born in Adana, Turkey. My parents immigrated to Asheville, NC in the summer of 1971. In the early 80s we moved from Asheville to Fairview, NC where I attended Fairview Elementary and later A.C. Reynolds High School. In the fall of 1984, I moved out of the house and relocated to Adana, Turkey to attend the prestigious Adana Anadolu Lisesi. All course work in this school was taught either in Turkish, English, and German.

After graduation I worked for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as a full time stockman and sales clerk. During this time I attended UNC-Asheville where I earned a B.A. in Literature. I was immediately promoted to Assistant Manager with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and left the company in 2000 to attend Western Carolina University. I graduated with a Masters in English and have taught there as well as online and continuing education classes at local community colleges.

Do you have a favorite saying or motto you live by? If not, please give us a concise one or two sentence blurb.

Make it happen.

What role does your education and/or professional position play in applying library and information studies for the benefit of others and society in general?

I am a firm believer that given the resources and opportunities people in general want to improve their lives and the lives of their family. I think life is a lot like working on a car. Once you know which tools you need, how to use the tools, and where to find the tools rebuilding an alternator or changing the oil is a piece of cake. That’s where libraries come in. They provide people with the tools, the knowledge to use the tools, and open doors to new beginnings. As a librarian I know I can’t force some one to paint a Monet, but I am confident I can help someone try if they choose to do so.

Favorite food and drink:

Hershey Bar and Cheerwine.

Favorite song or musical group:

Just about anything by The Cure.

Favorite movie or television show:

Lost boys.

One person you would choose to be marooned on a desert island with....

Benjamin Franklin, if there’s a way off the island, he would figure it out.

Anything else you would like to say to the rest of the UNCG LIS community on our Web site?