Becky Morin
- Head Librarian
- Academy Library
My primary research areas have a focus on digital libraries and other digitization projects. In particular, I'm interested in how people approach, access, and use information, and how to maintain or create community bonds without a "brick and mortar" library. Most of my time is devoted to these projects:
Connecting Content: A Collaboration to Link Field Notes to Specimens and Published Literature (Principle Investigator)
Biodiversity Heritage Library (Steering Committe, Institutional Council, Staff Group, Collections Committee)
Please click through to learn more about these initiatives, and feel free to contact me for more information.
Rebecca A. Morin
Head Librarian
California Academy of Sciences
(415) 379-5495
rmorin@calacademy.org
EDUCATION
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Master of Library and Information Studies, May 2007
Master of Archival Studies, May 2007
Edythe Webster Scholarship in Library and Information Studies, September 2005
Archives Association of British Columbia Mary Ann Pylypchuk Memorial Prize, May 2007
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with honors in Music, May 1999
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco, CA
Head Librarian, April 2012 – Present
User Services Librarian, October 2007 – April 2012
Manage Academy Library and Archives
- Primary reference contact for Research Division of 100+ scholars, curators, collections staff, and students, as well as docents, exhibit designers, graduate students, and other researchers.
- Manage library systems, interlibrary loan, technical services, and acquisitions.
- Lead collection development, including contract negotiation.
- Supervise staff of seven.
- Research, write, and administer grants for the Library and Archives.
- Curate Rare Book Collections.
Administer Library budgets and funding
- Manage staff, operating, and restricted budgets.
- Collaborate with Development to secure additional funding.
- Manage endowed funds.
- Research, write, and administer government and foundation grants.
Lead education and outreach activities
- Deliver quarterly lectures on Academy history to new employees.
- Create and deliver instructional sessions on research and library use.
- Provide hands-on, small group library and reference instruction to students and researchers as needed.
- Recruit, supervise, and instruct volunteers and MLIS interns.
Represent the Library inside and outside the Academy
- Representative on museum-wide committees dedicated to various issues, including: Collections Conservation, Pest Control, and Research Web Design.
- Member of Curators' Forum and Research Department Heads committees.
- Staff Member of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- Member of Biodiversity Heritage Library Steering Committee and Collections Committee.
University of British Columbia Library
Science and Engineering Division
Vancouver, BC
Graduate Academic Assistant, September 2005 – May 2007
Reference
- Assisted patrons with reference questions in person, via telephone and over email.
- Located monographs and serials located throughout the UBC Library system and in remote storage using Voyager.
- Served as sole reference contact on Saturdays, serving the Science and Engineering and Fine Arts divisions, September 2006-December 2006.
Teaching
- Taught workshops on the use of library resources such as RefWorks.
- Contributed to creation and maintenance of online library reference tools.
SKILLS
Information Retrieval and Library Functions
- Expert user of databases including: Zoological Record, Web of Science, OCLC FirstSearch, PubMed, BIOSIS Previews/Biological Abstracts, Compendex, and Google Scholar.
- Skilled in the use of Integrated Library Systems including Ex Libris ALEPH, Voyager, and Innovative Interfaces.
- Familiar with OCLC Resource Sharing and ILL clients including ILLiad and CLIO.
- Familiar with Open Access resources.
- Experienced in original and complex copy cataloging.
Computer Skills
- Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
- Microsoft Office Suite and open source alternatives (Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice).
- ILS administration and use of VI editor as well as GUI and command line clients in a Unix environment.
- Web design and maintenance using a Drupal CMS, WYSIWYG editors, and in hand-coding HTML.
Language Skills
- Reading, writing, and speaking knowledge of German (intermediate).
- Reading knowledge of French (novice).
SERVICE & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Steering Committee, Biodiversity Heritage Library, 2012 – Present.
Cyamus Regional Representative, International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers, 2012 – Present.
Communications Committee, Life and Literature Conference, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Chicago, IL. November 14-15, 2011.
Local Organizing Committee, Sustainable Museums – Sustaining Collections, Joint Meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections and the Natural Science Collections Alliance, San Francisco, CA. May 23-28, 2011.
Chair, Historic Adhesives Subcommittee, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, 2011 – Present.
Winner (as co-author), De Gruyter Saur/IFLA Research Paper Award 2011.
Recipient of Biodiversity Heritage Library scanning grant, January 2011.
Principal Investigator, "Connecting Content: A Collaboration to Link Field Notes to Specimens and Published Literature." IMLS National Leadership Grant, awarded October 2010.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Building Collections: Acquiring Materials and Working with the Antiquarian Book Trade. RBMS workshop, February 10, 2011, Berkeley, CA.
ALEPH Certification 115 Systems Librarian Training. June 8-9, 2010, San Francisco, CA.
Beyond the Show and Tell: Teaching Strategies for Special Collections Professionals. Workshop held at the 50th Annual RBMS Preconference, Charlottesville, VA, June 17, 2009.
Marketing as if Your Library Depended on It. Northern California & Nevada Medical Library Group workshop, San Francisco, CA, June 14, 2008.
Publications and Presentations
"Tapping Into Collective Intelligence: Making a Big Project Work in a Small Institution." Natural HIstory Museum of Losa Angeles County Research & Collections Research Seminar Series, March 21, 2013.
“Digital Opportunities: Strategies & Challenges.” Speaker at the Library Directors Digital Strategy Summit, Monterey, CA, October 22, 2012.
“Academy Image Resources from the Library & Archives: Who What When Where Why How.” Instructional session on image resources and intellectual property, San Francisco, CA, August 17, 2012.
Costantino, Grace, Bianca Crowley, Rebecca Morin, and Erin Thomas. 2011. Heeding the Call: User Feedback Management and the Digital Library. Microform & Digitization Review 40(4): 129-175. DOI:10.1515/mdr.2011.019.
"Yelling Across the Divide: New Contexts for Using Library, Archival, and Museum Collections." Panel at Museum Computer Network 2011, Atlanta, GA, November 19, 2011.
“'It is something wonderful'- The Biodiversity Heritage Library: A Science Library for Global Learning." Presentation at WebWise 2011, Baltimore, MD, March 10, 2011. http://slidesha.re/bhlwebwise2011; http://bit.ly/tappingintoscience.
"Books, Bytes, Biodiversity: Using the Biodiversity Heritage Library in Your Research." Presentation to Research staff of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, March 7, 2011. http://slidesha.re/bitsbytesbiodiv; http://www.youtube.com/user/SmithsonianLibraries #p/u/3/QgWq9erNL_s.
"The Inside Track: Getting the Most out of BHL in Your Library." Presentation to Library staff of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, March 7, 2011. http://slidesha.re/bhlinsidetrack; http://www.youtube.com/user/SmithsonianLibraries #p/u/6/VWYOdfH1LLk.
"The Biodiversity Heritage Library: 30 Million Pages of Taxonomic Literature and You." Paper read at the SPNHC and CBA-ABC Joint Conference, Ottawa, ON, June 4, 2010. http://slidesha.re/SPNHC.
"Teaching the Biodiversity Heritage Library." Presentation to Research staff of the California Academy of Sciences, May 7, 2010. http://slidesha.re/teachingbhl.