Curriculum Vitae
Personal informationReferences are available upon request Current positionAssociate in African Area Studies, Anthropology Selector |
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Duties
Responsibilities include selection of library materials for anthropology and for West Africa, collection management and evaluation in these areas, liaison with the Anthropology Department and the Center for African Studies, advanced reference and specialized instruction to students and faculty. I work with anthropology and Africana materials in all disciplinary areas, supporting students and about 100 faculty members throughout the university whose research involves either anthropology or African-related issues. I supervise the work of one graduate assistant, along with a second part-time graduate student in the summer if departmental funds are available. My duties also include the creation and maintenance of the relevant Smathers Libraries' web pages.
I have been primarily responsible for a number of special projects related to the Africana Collection, including the compilation of a bibliography, Africa-Related Dissertation and Theses at the University of Florida, 1956-2002 (maintained in an MS-Access database). This and a number of other projects can be found on the Africana Collection web pages.
During Mr. Malanchuk's sabbatical leave (Sept. 1996-April 1997) I was interim Africana selector. Since then, I have been able to concentrate more on developing the Africana Collection web pages. In December 1997, I was invited to a workshop on digital library resources at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Cultures. In summer 1998 I interviewed at Indiana University (Bloomington) for the position of African Studies Librarian. I received a productivity award from UF in April 1999.
Work history
- July 2006-present: Assigned to collection management responsibilities in support of anthropology research and teaching program.
- July 2004: Promoted to rank of Associate in Libraries.
- October 2000: Promoted from civil service to faculty position, Assistant in Libraries.
- 1999- present: Selector for library materials related to West Africa.
- 1996-1997: Interim Africana Selector, Department of Collection Management, UF George A. Smathers Libraries.
- 1992-1999: Senior Statistician, Africana Unit, Department of Collection Management, UF George A. Smathers Libraries.
- 1992: Computer consultant, Department of Anthropology, UF.
- 1990-1991: Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, UF.
- 1989-1990: Fieldwork in Senegal, West Africa supported by Fulbright Student Researcher award.
- 1989: Senior Clerk, Central Employment Office, UF Division of Human Resources.
- 1986-1989: Graduate Research Assistant in African Studies, working for the Africana Unit, Department of Collection Management, UF George A. Smathers Libraries.
- 1984-1986: Graduate Research Assistant, Farming Systems Support Project, International Programs, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, UF. Included a short residence at the Institut Senegalais de Recherches Agricole (ISRA) documents library in Dakar.
Education
- 1995. Ph.D. in anthropology. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL.
- 1986. M.A. in anthropology. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL.
Awarded minor in farming systems research/extension; awarded Certificate in African Studies. - 1983. B.A. in anthropology. Grinnell College. Grinnell, IA.
Languages
- French: Fluent reading and conversational ability. Certified equivalent to 4 on FSI scale.
- Wolof: Trained in intensive summer program as a FLAS (Foreign Language Area Studies) fellow, fair speaking ability with practical experience for nine months in the field.
- Diola: Some minimal formal study, basic speaking ability, and limited practical experience during field research in Senegal.
- Arabic: Trained for two semesters as a FLAS fellow.
- Spanish: Good comprehension of text, with fair conversational understanding.
Skills
Effectiveness and independence in accomplishing work goals
While my degree speaks for itself in terms of my disciplinary expertise, area studies knowledge and research skills, my work experience demonstrates that I can independently put these to practical use. I am organized enough to manage a complex work-flow and spend a $100,000 budget on time, within the constraints set by the state government. I have also successfully convinced several grant agencies of the worthiness of my projects, and have successfully carried out the terms of these grant awards to their satisfaction. I regularly interact with members of many different library departments to support regular activities and to accomplish the goals of special projects.
Proficiency with the use of many computer systems.
I have been an extensive user of computers for twenty years. While not a programmer by any means, I've written simple BASIC, originated simple JCL code for the university's IBM mainframe and once did a some troubleshooting in a FORTRAN program. I've worked extensively in HTML to create documents for the web. None of this is complex programming, but I'm willing to roll up my sleeves to work with any kind of software if I have to. I bought my first personal computer in 1987 and supported the anthropology department's student lab as a consultant in 1992. There, I supported users of both VAX and IBM mainframes--more often than not in how to use their e-mail--as well as hardware and software support for both Macs and IBM-compatible machines in the lab and for all departmental users. I've worked with IBM and DEC (VAX) mainframes for a variety of Internet applications, with several varieties of MacIntosh microcomputers over the years, as well as with an equally diverse set of IBM-compatibles. I currently use a Windows XP based machine at work and at home (I manage a small home network that combines wireless and wired Ethernet for access to the web and other Internet applications). I am a long-time user of many varieties of word-processors, databases, statistics packages and spreadsheets, along with a number of other kinds of software applications. I've worked with a few graphics packages, scanners and optical character recognition (OCR) programs. In short, I'm willing to learn anything necessary to get the job done, and I enjoy a certain amount of tinkering for the sake of "tweaking" increased performance from the machines I use.
Facility with public and technical modes of the online public access catalog (OPAC)
In addition to formulating, using, and teaching complex search strategies as a part of my normal work and advanced reference duties, I input electronic orders and maintain watch over our unit's current orders and yearly expenditures. I also regularly use the Library Catalog to link to other online services available through the Internet, such as other research libraries' OPACs and the Center for Research Libraries' Eureka (see list of available electronic index services), the cooperative database of the Research Libraries Information Network.
Research interests
Cultural anthropology. Economic development in West Africa. Political aspects of development; migration and gender issues. MA paper established causes of particularly high rates of young women's migration from the Lower Casamance region of Senegal. Dissertation focused on changes in voluntary civic associations and their role in the migratory labor system between Casamance and Dakar, Senegal's capital. Field research was supported by a Fulbright-IIE grant.
My experiences in the libraries and familiarity with the difficulties faced by African-based researchers have fostered an additional interest in supporting information exchanges between U.S. and African institutions. The increased diffusion of personal micro-computers, digitization technologies, and electronic network connections between African and American institutions represents a potential for unprecedented levels of resource sharing.
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