A new face has joined the front desk at the Lakeland College library. Teresa Grimm, who earned a degree as a senior library technician, has been hired to fill the brand new position of distance education librarian.
The position, which will require Grimm to work with Kellett and non-traditional students, was first proposed to the dean last spring by Ann Penke, director of library services.
Following the acceptance by the dean, a four-person committee (including Penke) was assembled to find the man or woman who would fill the newly designated position. Their first task was to place an advertisement to attract all interested parties. After the applications started coming in, the committee conducted phone interviews and eventually invited their final four candidates to the campus for an interview. The end result of the process: an exuberant Grimm starting her first semester as a member the Lakeland College staff.
“I’m very excited [to be here],” Grimm said. “The position is a great opportunity to meet students and faculty and enhance their learning.”
“She’s been very eager to get out and meet the students and faculty in the Kellett school,” added Penke.
Grimm, who earned her bachelor’s degree at Whitewater, and her master’s degree at UW-Milwaukee, is considered to be very capable by her new colleagues. Penke emphasized Grimm’s capability, “Her technical background she already had working with non-traditional students and technology,” she said.
Grimm is joining the Lakeland staff after a tenure at Waukesha County Technical College. She said she chose to apply at Lakeland because she enjoys working with students as well as working in an academic library atmosphere.
The distance education librarian is a new position to Lakeland College, and though similar positions may exist on other campuses, not all of them have a staff member hired to do what Grimm will do.
According to Penke, the job is still evolving, its main purpose is to provide library services to the Kellett school.
“The job is a blend of promoting library services and providing online instruction on using library resources – two things I’m experienced with and enjoy doing,” Grimm said. “I’m interested in [finding] ways to promote strong research skills in students.”
An example of what the job entails can be seen at the end of the month when Grimm will go to an off-campus location to give an open training session on online research to anyone who wants to attend. The training session will include subjects such as how to use databases for online research.
Grimm will be working with the Kellett and Blend-Ed programs that Lakeland College offers both from the on-campus location as well as from the seven different off-campus locations. In the first two weeks of the semester, Grimm has already visited four of them (Green Bay, Milwaukee, Fox Cities, and Sheboygan) leaving only three locations (Madison, Chippewa Falls, and Wisconsin Rapids) remaining. Another major aspect of her role is making sure the non-traditional and online students know what resources are available.
“Having a person and a name that is dedicated to providing this service [is important] in trying to develop a relationship with the people in these centers so they feel comfortable asking for assistance,” Grimm said.
Though she currently commutes from her home in Menomonee Falls, Grimm hopes she will be moving to the area very soon. In the meantime, she is just trying to get used to her new job and surroundings. When asked what she was doing to try and achieve these goals Grimm answered (amongst other things), “I’m reading the Mirror. I love the paper.”