Library Faculty/Staff profile for mreichel

Education

Master of Science in Library and Information Science (2014) from The Catholic University of America

• Member of the CUA Council for Teacher Education: Executive Committee (2011, 2012).

Bachelor of Arts in Drama, Minor in English (Magna Cum Laude) (2006) from The Catholic University of America

• Member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma Honors Societies.
• Received the CUAdrama Artistic Achievement Award (2006).

Biography

I am a librarian and theater artist in the DC/MD/VA area. This began in my undergraduate education at the Catholic University Drama Department where I performed and worked as a theater artist. In my position as a student worker for the business office in the department, I transformed the neglected Luce Library and Archives into a user-centric resources for students and faculty, which sparked my love for Performing Arts Librarianship. 

When I graduated, I was given the opportunity to work in the Group Sales and Audience Development Department at Arena Stage, learning about marketing, ticketing, and engagement. Soon, the opportunity arose for me to return to CUAdrama, this time as the Administrative Assistant. I continued my work in the library, as well as supported the faculty, staff, and students, planned events, ran the social media, and coordinated the communication and organization of the community. Some of my proudest achievements include creating an exhibit from the archives for the 75^th Anniversary called The "Show-Biz Priest": The Legend and Legacy of Father Hartke which was featured in the Mullen Library for the semester, guiding Mary Jo San Pietro in her use of the departmental archives for her research on her book, Father Hartke: His Life and Legacy to American Theater, and researching, organizing, and labeling the contents of an archival donation to the university consisting of the papers and photographs of the film director Robert Moore as requested by the Provost. I received the Keystone Award for most influential faculty or staff member in 2014.

In the six years I was there, I received my Master's Degree in Library and Information Science. When I graduated, I got a job as the librarian of Cardozo Education Campus, a middle and high school for DC Public Schools. There, I collaborated with faculty and community partners to teach library research instruction to a diverse population, including English Language Learners and Special Education students, for 400 to 500 classes a year. I provided reference and research services to 150 faculty and staff and over 800 students through individual research consultations. I developed a diverse, relevant, and up-do-date collection of 13,944 titles in all formats, lead programming and outreach for the library, maintained the library website for the library catalog, databases, online research guides, and social media, conducted in-house training and workshops, as well as district-level training on library resources, technology, and educational theory and pedagogy, and supervised the Teen Advisory Board, 

In my spare time, I volunteered for various library institutions, such as the Smithsonian Natural History Library, the Jung Society of Greater Washington Library, Montgomery County Public Library, the Maret School Library and Watkins Elementary Library.

I decided to return to Higher Education in 2018, when I joined the Teaching & Learning Team for GMU Libraries as a Library Specialist III. I taught information literacy instruction to undergraduates, provided reference through in-person and virtual student research consultations; designed and taught library workshops, developed and coordinated events and programs, created online tutorials, coordinated library instruction for GMU’s summer Early Identification Program and worked with the Instruction Librarian on a variety of projects and initiatives. In my spare time, I assisted Steve Gerber, the Music, Theater, and Philosophy Librarian and learned from him. 

When Steve retired, I was hired to be the Theater and Dance Librarian. I am thrilled that I can finally bring together my two lives: librarianship and the performing arts. I have been a professional Theater Artist in the DMV area since 2006, performing in and supporting plays and events in a variety of capacities from actor to stage manager to dramaturg, to board op, to front of house. I am a company member of Flying V Theater and Rorschach Theater, and served as Rorschach's Literary Manager for many years.

I look forward to supporting the Theater and Dance Departments, building relationships, finding exciting new resources, and providing user-centric services to the performing arts community.

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What I do at Mason Libraries