Fall 2019 Fine Arts Library Team

At a visit to OK-ACRL in the winter of 2016, Courtney Oliphant, Jennifer Moser and I attended a presentation by Whitney Vitale, Chuck Austin, and Shannon Garde on their training practices for student employees. In it, they revealed that OSU Libraries’ student employees were paid well above the minimum wage. Their presentation inspired us to create an ad-hoc committee to compare the pay for student employees between OU Libraries and other universities. We surveyed the compensation for circulation student employees (a common and stable position across institutions) across Big 12 Universities and local colleges, as well as common student positions throughout OU.
In doing so, we found that OU Libraries paid student employees at a lower rate than at peer universities, and more in line with local community colleges. As a result, OU Libraries increased student worker pay from $7.25/hr to $7.75/hr at the first tier, and from $8.00 to $8.50 for student supervisors. In March of 2017, the team received the OU Libraries Extra Mile Award.

In the summer of 2017, I collaborated with the library’s makerspace The Edge to create a dozen 3D printed models of campus sculptures, including The Sower, The Pastoral Dreamer and MV-HA-YV (One Who Teaches). Our primary method was photogrammetry, in which high-resolution photos of all angles of the statues were converted into 3D models using 3D reconstruction software (two primary brands being Agisoft Photoscan and Autodesk Remake) and printed at the Edge and the iHub. For several more difficult models, we used a structure scanner, which uses a laser system to create a 3D model in real time. These models are currently on display at the Fine Arts Library, and we plan on creating another dozen this summer (likely utilizing drones for pictures of taller statues). Ultimately, we plan on creating a publically accessible online list of sculptures on campus, complete with 3d renderings.

In the summer of 2019, OU Libraries formed a task force to develop goals and objectives for a library-wide EDI Plan. The same semester, I enrolled in Diversity Fundamentals in LIS, which informed the committee’s conversations on concepts and goals, especially on the definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion. The task force later formed and DEI Committee, where Courtney Oliphant and I worked to audit library signage for accessibility (although this plan was tabled due to the Covid-19 pandemic).