Emily Hamstra

Employment Experience

Technical Support Analyst, ProQuest, May 2017-present

I am a member of the Ebook Technical Support team, assisting librarians and library users who have “how-to” questions about ProQuest’s Ebook Central platform. I work with the engineering team to resolve bugs and make improvements to Ebook Central. I write clear and concise user-facing help documentation.

Intermittent Librarian, Seattle Public Library, September 2016-May 2017

As an on-call substitute, I worked at public service desks in Seattle Public Library’s 27 locations. I provided reference, service referral, readers’ advisory, tech help, and circulation services to a diverse community. I remained flexible while adapting to new environments, teams, and schedules.

Kinesiology Librarian, University of Michigan Library, January 2013-January 2016

Learning Librarian, University of Michigan Library, July 2009-January 2016

I supported the university community in research and learning how to use the library. I taught 50-60 library instruction sessions per year. I provided research guidance in-person, by email, and by chat (IM). I maintained the Shapiro Undergraduate Library website. I selected and weeded materials for the Shapiro Undergraduate Library in a variety of subjects. I managed the Browsing Collection, the library’s leisure reading collection. I used this collection to experiment with different models of collecting, including purchasing materials from a local independent bookseller.

I provided in-depth research assistance to library patrons researching sports, nutrition, and health and wellness. I collected books and journals, print and electronic, for the interdisciplinary research needs of faculty and students in the School of Kinesiology. I taught workshops on advanced research in the health sciences and social sciences, in-person and online.

Public Services Associate, University of Michigan Library, August 2007-June 2009

I provided reference services in-person and over chat (IM). As needed, I led instruction sessions for undergraduate students. I facilitated the presentation at New Student Orientation, reaching nearly 3,000 students in 50 sessions over the summer of 2008. In the summer of 2008, I participated in a major weeding project at the Undergraduate Library, weeding the British and American Literature sections of the library.

Archives Assistant, Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, MI, February-July 2007

During this internship I processed materials and wrote finding aids for collections related to the history of Grand Rapids. I curated a collection of materials from local neighborhood associations.

Publications & Presentations

Reviewer, Library Journal, 2011-present.

Reading List Council. “Cool summer reads: hit the beach with these genre fiction favorites.” Library Journal 141.9 (2016): 72.

Oehril, Jo Angela and Emily Hamstra. (2015). “Authority is contextual: scholarly/ non-scholarly.” In Patricia Bravender, Hazel McClure, and Gayle Schaub (Eds.), Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts: Lesson Plans for Librarians. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Freeland, Marija, Lydia Howes, Emily Hamstra, and Sarah Bahnmaier. "Citation analysis to assist selection in kinesiology." Serials Librarian 16.3 (2014): 307-341. [draft available]

Hamstra, Emily and Megan Hartline. "The quietest book group." Fizzle/Ignite Session, Michigan Library Association Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, Oct 17, 2014.

Hamstra, Emily and Megan Hartline. "Using leisure reading collections to inspire upcoming librarians." Poster Session, Michigan Library Association Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, Oct 15, 2014.

Reading List Council. "The Reading List, 2014." Reference and User Services Quarterly 53.4 (2014): 362-4.

Reading List Council. "Hot reads in the good old summertime: dive into these 20 genre fiction pleasures." Library Journal 138.10 (2013): 101.

Barlow, Amy, Heather Love Beverly, Carrie Dunham-LaGree, Sarah Elichko, and Emily Hamstra. "Chasing reference: librarians and collaborative blogging." Reference and User Services Quarterly 52.4 (2013): 283-6.

Barlow, Amy, Heather Beverly, Carrie Dunham-LaGree, Sarah Elichko, and Emily Hamstra. "Chasing reference, a blog for RUSA." Emerging Leaders Poster Session, American Library Association Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, June 22, 2012.

Downing, Karen, Gabriel Duque, and Emily Hamstra. "Teaching the whole student: collaborations with campus learning communities." Poster presented at the Association of College and Research Libraries Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 1, 2011.

Hamstra, Emily Anne."Capturing your community: partnering with local booksellers for collection development and events." Paper presented at the Association of College and Research Libraries Conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2011.

Hamstra, Emily. (2007).“A Pool for the people: building Richmond Park Pool and bath house.” Grand Rapids History.

Awards & Honors

Peer Reviewed Instruction Materials Online (PRIMO) Site of the Month, April 2015.

American Library Association, Emerging Leader, Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), 2012.

Education

Master of Science in Information, Library and Information Services, Community Informatics, University of Michigan, School of Information, Ann Arbor, 2009.

Bachelor of Arts, English, History, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007.