About Andrea Mercado
I came to library science because I’m an information junky, and I needed a way to constantly feed my fix and get paid at the same time. The hope is to use my technology skills and knowledge and apply them to my first love, information and research, in any *useful* way humanly possible. I’m a networker, so I’d love to meet with other colleagues and discuss any information or advice they have to offer (which is why I love conferences so much).I currently hold two professional part-time positions:
- Reference & Techie Librarian (really and truly my official title), Reading Public Library (MA): answerer of reference questions, teacher of computer classes, tech trainer of staff, planner and implementer of technology solutions, entertainer of coworkers.
- Manager, PLA Blog: The official blog of the Public Library Association: writer of content, wrangler of conference bloggers, prodder of techie bits.
Both jobs make me extremely happy, and allow me to apply my trade creatively and with reckless abandon. While I am open to the prospect of visiting libraries for training, sharing, and speaking events, I am no longer seeking further employment.
My most recent extra credit professional adventure includes a trip to China as part of a People to People International delegation of librarians.
Almost in spite of my English undergraduate degree, I have also worked in:
- web development
- quality assurance
- technical writing
- project management
- process refinement, and
- technical support
for 6 years before returning to school to work on a MSLIS. Many of the sites I worked on as a web developer are listed in my (not yet formatted for consistency with the rest of site) tech portfolio.
I’ve also spent time interning for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City researching exhibit items, and working on library technology projects for the Harvard College Library E-Reserves Program and the Simmons GSLIS Library.
My article, “Public Library Research Link Collections”, was recently published in the November/December 2003 issue of Public Libraries magazine, and I hope to write more. If you’d like me to write something, please email me.
While in the Simmons GSLIS program, I served as the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA) president from May 2003 - May 2004, and has was awarded the Kenneth R. Shaffer Award for student leadership upon graduation. Needless to say, school kept me pretty busy.
My LIS interests include:
- General reference
- Research
- Project coordination/collaboration
- Technology integration
- Building cool applications for information environments
And my academic qualifications include:
- BA in English - Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT (1996)
- MSLIS - Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science (2004)
LibraryTechtonics.info, my very first professional blog, initially launched in June of 2004. Now that I’ve finally moved over from Movable Type to WordPress (September 2007), I can proceed with the long-term content plans for this site, including a resume, portfolio, and hopefully all kinds of other fun. More on that later, so keep coming back.
Questions? Comments? Send me email.
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