PaLAunchPod PaLAunchPod

This month PaLAunchpod talks with Marilyn Holt, Library Services Manager of the Pennsylvania Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and president of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society about the variety of experiences that happen in her department every day including classes on DNA genealogy, fulfilling requests to browse the 50000+ negatives in the Pittsburgh Photographic Library collections, facilitating and interpreting research results for genealogists and much more.

Founded to prepare students in the Pennsylvania capitol area for STEM careers, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology has seen rapid growth since its 2005 opening. Join PaLAunchpod host Heidi Abbey Moyer as she talks with University librarian David Runyon about some of the challenges he faces serving 5000 students with only three library staff (himself included)! You’ll also hear about the library’s innovative board game collection which was established by Runyon to support the Interactive Media program at the University, as well as the partnership with the local U. S. Army War College. Listen as David describes the “Simulating Global Crisis” class which is based on a role-playing game framework, and the board game analysis course he developed and teaches. Finally, David gives advice on how and why to start a library board game collection. His first tip: Do your homework!

This month, PaLAunchpodTalks with Penny Talbert, Executive Director of the Ephrata Public Library whose role as the Guerrilla Librarian has her roaring, rather than whispering, as she forges connections with her community, engages advocates and spreads the great news about Pennsylvania libraries - occasionally in colorful wigs and/or costumes.

In this edition of PaLAunchpod, Tom Berman interviews Iren L. Snavely, Rare Books Librarian at the State Library of Pennsylvania. Iren is a graduate of Geneva College and received his Master of Library Science degree from Drexel University. He also holds an M.A. in European History from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Early Modern European History from the University of Chicago. Dr. Snavely is a previous editor of the Journal of Religious & Theological Information, and author of numerous articles and book reviews on the Sixteenth-Century Reformation and early modern Europe. More recently, he has written articles on religion, science, and historiography in Pennsylvania.

Heidi Abbey Moyer speaks with Bernadette Lear and Eric Novotny, the creators and editors of the new, academic journal, Libraries: Culture, History, and Society (LCHS), published by the Pennsylvania State University Press. The journal, LCHS, if the official peer-reviewed journal of the Library History Roundtable of the American Library Association. Bernadette is an academic librarian at Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA, and the library faculty liaison to two academic schools, Behavioral Sciences and Education as well as (on an interim basis) Science, Engineering, and Technology. Eric is also an academic librarian and liaison to History, History and Philosophy of Science, and Middle East Studies at the Penn State University Libraries in University Park, PA.

Samantha Hull is the Electives Supervisor and Ephrata High School Librarian & Media Coordinator for the Ephrata School District in Lancaster County, PA. Sam was chosen as a 2017 American Library Association Emerging Leader. Listen to her talk about the program and how it has helped her career. She also tells us the wonderful things that are happening in the Ephrata School Dictrict.

Learn more about the ALA Emerging Leader program here: http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/leadership/emergingleaders