Interim Director of Learning Initiatives University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Feb. 2023–Present
Manage, lead, and develop a team of professional staff librarians (7-8 FTE) including hiring and onboarding 2 new staff members with 2 additional hires expected in summer 2024
Lead and streamline data collection efforts and workflows for teaching and research support across all liaison librarians as part of the library's professional reporting requirements (e.g., ARL) and to inform workload distribution and staffing needs; Manage 1 student employee in efforts to clean and update data for future projects
Collaborate with internal library staff and external campus partners (e.g., Teaching Center; Learning Center; Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program; Office of Minority Student) to meet faculty, student, and researcher needs throughout the learning-to-research cycle
Coordinate shared liaison librarian activities including WRTG 105 instructor assignments and on-call reference scheduling; Collaborate with Director of Research Initiatives to plan and facilitate monthly meetings with all liaison librarians and frequent collaborators (e.g., Rare Books and Special Collections, Discovery Services, and Scholarly Communications)
Promote high-impact learning by creating opportunities for library staff to maintain and expand their teaching and learning practices such as proposing and designing a summer "learning quest" on AI in libraries (summer 2023) and collaborating on a series of pedagogy onboarding modules on topics such as active learning and inclusive practices
Contribute to Portfolio Managers and Leadership Team meetings, communicate key information back to the department, and advocate for department needs to senior leadership
Oversee all River Campus Libraries' Springshare subscriptions (LibAnswers, LibCal, LibGuides, and LibWizard) including planning and coordinating employee onboarding and offboarding, troubleshooting technical issues in coordination with campus partners (University IT), and managing system requirements to meet librarian and end-user needs; Coordinate LibAnswers implementation and development across all UR Libraries (i.e., River Campus Libraries, Sibley Music Library and UR Medical Center Libraries)
Maintain and develop my own knowledge of innovative and inclusive pedagogical practices, emerging digital and learning technologies (e.g., GenAI), and effective qualitative and quantitative assessment strategies
Create an inclusive and welcoming work environment for the Learning Initiatives team by supporting professional interests, encouraging team collaboration, creating opportunities for team building (e.g., optional lunch share-outs), and considering team feedback and suggestions
Humanities Librarian University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Oct. 2019–Present
Provide specialized research expertise to faculty, staff, and students in the departments of History and Religion and Classics through one-on-one consultations, library class sessions, online research guides, and video tutorials
Plan, lead, and assess library and information literacy class sessions tailored to individual class needs
Evaluate, select, and continually assess print-based and electronic materials in support of programs and projects for all assigned disciplines including books, journals, and database subscriptions
Offer specialized workshops to undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty on a variety of topics including humanities publishing, digital assignment design, and scholarly research practices
Collaborated with the Director of Learning Initiatives and Director of Performance & User Engagement to develop a system for collecting, managing, and sharing annual statistics from liaison librarians for ARL, ACRL, and IPEDS
Proposed and led a project to collect and analyze humanities faculty publishing data; Managed a PhD student intern as part of a university program to provide PhD students with academic-adjacent experiences
Routinely monitor reference chat, participate in library events, and serve on organizational committees and teams
College of Liberal Arts
Librarian/Liaison Rochester Institute of
Technology, Rochester, NY
Jun. 2011–Oct. 2019
Provided research and class support to faculty, staff, and students in the College of Liberal Arts (531 undergraduate students, 73 graduate students, and 161 full-time faculty across 14 departments)
Planned, developed, and led instruction sessions tailored to individual class needs (approx. 75 classes per year)
Evaluated, selected, and assessed print-based and electronic materials in support of programs and projects for all humanities and social science disciplines including books, journals, and database subscriptions
Developed and led academic integrity initiatives and supporting materials including a robust website, online citation guides, podcast episodes, pop-up tables, and related events; served as administrator for RIT's Turnitin subscription
Created and implemented customized templates and stylesheets for LibGuides using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP
Hired, trained, and managed Peer Instructor student employees to support departmental instruction activities; developed job description, projects, and all corresponding training materials for position
Routinely staff the reference desk, participate in library
events, and serve on organizational committees and working
groups
Pursued special projects in support of information literacy, library services, and related activities such as the development of an online social reading initiative for faculty
Reference and Instruction Librarian
(Part-time) Medaille College, Rochester,
NY
Aug. 2009–Aug. 2011
Oversaw all library activities at the Rochester campus including reference, instruction, and collection development
Planned, developed, and led instruction sessions as part of the college's curriculum; created online research guides and video tutorials to assist students with various parts of the research process
Presented to faculty during scheduled faculty meetings and organized initiatives to promote library services
Collaborated with co-worker to develop skills-based sessions to meet student needs such as an interactive APA citation workshop and a Technology Workshop Series focused on tools students could use in their academic, professional, and personal pursuits
Responsible for the development and management of the campus's writing center and tutoring activities including scheduling 4 part-time writing consultants and matching students with tutors for a variety of subjects including economics, statistics, and accounting; created MS Access database to manage tutor-student assignments
Project Archivist Rochester Institute of
Technology, Rochester, NY
Oct. 2010–Jun. 2011
Created EAD-based finding aids for approximately 250 collections using professional standards (i.e. DACS); process included assessing and arranging collection materials, researching and writing biographical and historical notes for each collection, and assigning metadata using LCSH and AAT in collaboration with the Manager of Digital Initiatives and Metadata Services
Created an XSL-based stylesheet to convert XML finding aids to HTML format for public consumption
Documented processes through a detailed manual to help transition the project to the next Project Archivist
Education
Master of Science in Library &
Information Science Certificate of Advanced Study in
Digital Libraries (Aug. 2009) Syracuse University,
Syracuse, NY
May 2008
Master of Arts in Museum
Studies Syracuse University,
Syracuse, NY
May 2008
Bachelor of Arts, Economics and
History (Cum Laude) The College of William &
Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Languages: American Sign Language (intermediate); German (basic)
Library Systems: Alma/Alma Analytics, Citation Managers, LibAnswers/LibCal/LibGuides/LibWizard, Sierra ILS
Web Development: Bootstrap, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Markdown, WikiMarkup, XML, XSL
Other: MS Access, advanced MS Excel (including Power Query), WordPress
Working knowledge of Adobe Design Suite, Open Refine, PHP, Python, Tableau TEI
Publications
Tamar Carroll and Lara Nicosia, "Why
Wikipedia Often Overlooks Stories of Women in History,"
The Conversation, Mar. 16, 2018
Lauren Chyle et al., "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: How
Passion, Relationships, and Expectations Affect Director
Tenure," Lara Chmela (Contributor),
GuideStar, Mar. 2008
Interviews
Kari Horowicz and Lara Nicosia, interview by Diana Louise Carter, [Gender bias on Wikipedia], Rochester Business Journal podcast, Mar. 28, 2019
Kari Horowicz and Lara Nicosia, [Women on Wikipedia event promotion], interview by Beth Adams, WXXI Public Radio (Rochester, NY), Mar. 28, 2018
Lara Nicosia, [Gender bias on Wikipedia], KCBS Radio (San Francisco, CA), Mar. 17, 2019
Presentations (Selected)
Lightning Talks
"So Many Books, So Little Time: Using LibraryThing to Efficiently Assess Large-Scale Donations," Co-Presenter, RIT & UR Library Staff Conference (Rochester, NY), Jun. 17, 2024
"Learning from Shopping: Adapting Retail Models for
Library Needs," Co-Presenter, RIT-RCL Staff Conference
(Rochester, NY), Jun. 12, 2017
Panel Discussions
"Navigating the Onboarding Process: Best Practices for Welcoming Library Employees," Panelist, RIT & UR Library Staff Conference (Rochester, NY), Jun. 17, 2024
Diversity Initiatives in our Libraries, Panelist, Art Libraries
Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) Upstate New York Chapter
Meeting (Corning, NY), Apr. 13, 2018
College Librarians Panel Discussion, Panelist, Strengthening
the Foundation: Preparing Students for College-Level Research
(Rochester, NY), Feb. 26, 2015
"Plagiarism Policing or Pedagogy: Teaching Research-based
Writing in the Age of Copy and Paste," Panelist, Faculty Institute
on Teaching and Learning (Rochester, NY), May 30, 2012
Posters
"Teaching Users to Engage with News," Co-Author, New York Library Association Section of School Librarians 2019 Conference (Syracuse, NY), May 30, 2019 (invited)
"Beyond Information: Literacy about People and
Space," Co-Author, High School & College Librarians:
Collaborating for Student Success (Rochester, NY), May 24,
2017
"Social Reading on an iPad: A Faculty eBook
Initiative," Author, RRLC Silo Busting Bonanza (Rochester,
NY), Mar. 19, 2015
Presentations
Presentation on AI Tools and Use Cases (title forthcoming), Co-Presenter, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Library Staff Retreat (Online), scheduled for Sep. 12, 2024 (invited)
"Learning about AI: Level Up Your Skills Without Overwhelming Your Mind," Co-Presenter, Online Learning with RUSA (American Library Association) (Online), scheduled for Aug. 7, 2024 (invited)
"Honing Information Literacy Skills with Gen AI: Building a Modular Lesson," Co-Presenter, 2024 Generative AI in Libraries (GAIL) Virtual Conference (Online), Jun. 12, 2024
"Choose Your AI Adventure: Tools and Strategies for Success," Co-Presenter, 2024 Generative AI in Libraries (GAIL) Virtual Conference (Online), Jun. 12, 2024
"Learning About AI: Level Up Your Skills Without Overwhelming Your Mind," Co-Presenter, RUSA Virtual Forum - Reference Revolution: AI + More (Online), Mar. 7, 2024
"The Future Meets the Past: AI and History Librarianship," Contributor, RUSA Virtual Forum - Reference Revolution: AI + More (Online), Mar. 7, 2024
"Publish Don't Perish: Traversing the Publishing Landscape," Co-Presenter, Rochester Year One (Rochester, NY), Apr. 9, 2021 and Jan. 19, 2022
"Wikipedia as a Prime Open Educational Resource (OER)", Co-Presenter, Open Pedagogy Approaches: Faculty, Library, and Student Collaborations Author Series (Online), Nov. 23, 2020
"Starting Conversations and Building Resources: Libraries as Partners in Promoting Academic Integrity," Presenter, International Center for Academic Integrity Annual Conference (New Orleans, LA), Mar. 10, 2019
"My Untold Story: Building Understanding through Conversation," Co-Presenter, Rochester Regional Library Council (Rochester, NY), Oct. 23, 2018
"Teaching Users to Engage with News," Co-Presenter,
New York Libraries Association (Rochester, NY), Nov. 9, 2018
(accepted)
"Redesigning LibGuides: Design, Content, and
Sustainability," Co-Presenter, SUNY Librarians Association
Annual Conference (Canandaigua, NY), Jun. 15, 2018
"Community Empowerment Through Wikipedia,"
Co-Presenter, Rochester Regional Library Council (Rochester, NY),
Mar. 16, 2018
"Librarians, Learning, and Collaborations in the Digital
Humanities," Co-Presenter, Western New York Library Resources
Council (Buffalo, NY), Jan. 11, 2017
"Re-Imagining LibGuides at RIT," Co-Presenter,
SpringyCamp (Online), Nov. 18, 2015
Workshops
"Informed Leadership: Thinking Critically About News"
(Full-day), Co-Presenter, Emerging Professionals Institute
(Rochester, NY), Mar. 3, 2018
"Teaching with Turnitin," (1 hour) Co-Presenter,
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY), Mar. 2016-Dec.
2016 (multiple sessions)
"Artstor: More than Just Art!" (1.5 hours),
Presenter, Destination Intersession (RIT), Jan. 8, 2015
Encoded Archival Description(Full-day workshop), Presenter, Multiple Locations: Society of Georgia Archivists (Nov. 2, 2011), METRO New York Library Council (Dec. 9, 2011), Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (Mar. 5, 2012)