Student Employee of the Week

A tie this week has designated both Baldemar Menchaca and Catherine Aquila as Student Employees of the Week. Catherine works in Circulation and Baldemar works in Circulation and Cataloging. Student Employees of the Week are voted upon by all student workers. Congratulations Catherine and Baldemar.

Circulation Supervisor Natalie Aquila

The newest member of the Doherty Library staff is Circulation Supervisor, Natalie Aquila. Natalie moved to Houston two years ago after graduating from the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. St. Francis is also a small, liberal arts school with a tight knit community, very much like UST, so Natalie naturally feels at home here. She’s the second child among eleven children in a very close family. Natalie moved here after graduation partly because her family had moved her six months earlier. (It didn’t hurt that Houston’s job market was much stronger than Fort Wayne’s.) Natalie spends as much of her time as she can with my family because, she says, “we have absurd amounts of fun together.” Two of her siblings attend UST and work in the library. Two younger sisters also spend much of their time at Doherty as well.

Cooking is a huge part of Natalie’s Italian-American heritage. She likes to cook and bake in her spare time — everything from apple pie to pasta fagioli. The whole family likes to cook. They’re all in the kitchen during family gatherings (often on major Feast Days), and since there’s music playing – they dance!
Some of Natalie’s many other interests include: walking, creative writing, jump roping, playing kickball, and spending time with friends. And, as might be expected for a library worker, Natalie says, “I love reading!” She studied literature and mathematics in college and especially enjoys 18th and 19th century British literature. Her favorite book as a child was The Witch of Blackbird Pond. As a young adult she read Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset and ever since it has been her favorite book. Natalie is currently reading Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer (just for fun!).

Natalie’s been in Houston for two years now but still finds herself exploring the area. Her favorite place so far is Hermann Park, and all year long she looks forward to the Shakespeare Festival at Miller Outdoor Theater. In the future Natalie hopes to continue her education in nursing or speech pathology. Maybe she will be the first graduate of our new nursing program.

Student Employee of the Week

The Doherty Student Employee of the Week is Elisa Marie Ramirez. Elisa works in Circulation and Interlibrary Loan. Congratulations, Elisa!

Loan Nguyen joins Doherty staff; Receives grant to help establish Vietnamese library in Houston

Loan Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, joined the Doherty Library staff in November 2008 as a Periodicals/Reference Librarian in which she is responsible for managing the periodical collection in paper, electronic and microform formats. Loan also provides reference services and library instructional to faculty, staffs and students at UST. Loan loves to volunteer her services to maximize her God-given abilities. Ever since she decided to become a librarian, she has always dreamed of creating a Vietnamese Library in the United States, which would promote the heritage and culture of Vietnam. Her dream came true when she was asked by the Vietnamese Civic Center Board members to start up a Vietnamese library in their newly developed facility at 11360 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, Texas 77072. In March 2009, Loan was awarded a grant from the National Library of Medicine to purchase computers for the recently opened Vietnamese library.

Loan said she feels so at home at Doherty library. Her passions are volunteering her services and meeting people. Please do not hesitate to say “Hi” or ask question to Loan whenever you see her at the reference’s desk.

Goodbye, Lisa!

It is with tears and sadness that Doherty library announces the departure of Lisa McNamara, Reference and Instruction Librarian. Her last day is Wednesday, September 10. Lisa arrived the exact same day in 2001 as Rachel Matre who departed earlier this summer. We will miss greatly Lisa’s hard work and bubbling enthusiasm. Lisa could talk anyone into coming to use the library. She has been our most zealous advocate and marketer with her cheery conversation, her chatty personality and her eagerness to help. We wish her the very best in all her future endeavours.

New Doherty Faculty and Staff

Doherty Library welcomes our two newest members to the staff – David Noe, Technical Services Librarian and Ron Drees, Archivist.

David hails originally from Huntsville (that’s Alabama, not Texas) so he has a proper Southern attitude toward iced tea although his views on barbecue are a little suspect (he prefers pork to beef). David is in the process of switching his loyalties from Alabama football to Fighting Celts volleyball, soccer and basketball. David also enjoys photography. David received his undergraduate degree in American Studies from University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and his MLS from the same university. He has most recently worked for Sirsi-Dynix, which is the company that provides our library catalog system. As Technical Services Librarian, David is not only in charge of the catalog, he’s also in charge of all databases and off-campus access to them. So don’t hesitate to contact him at noed@stthom.edu or 713-525-2183 if you’re having technical problems. He’s happy to help!

Ron Drees comes to us from the Houston Public Library where he got to work as an archivist in the beautiful Julia Ideson building next to the Central Branch downtown. He received a MLA with an emphasis in history from UST. Then he moved from reading history to preserving it and earned his MSIS from the University of Texas with an emphasis in archival enterprises. Ron originally comes from Ohio where he got an MBA from Kent State. He received his undergraduate degree at Case Western Reserve University in an area originally settled by Revolutionary War veterans given land in the (then) wild west as their only form of pay for military service – that’s the kind of thing historians know off the top of their heads. Ron is the only working member of his household for he lives with his wife Lin and his sheltie Sarah – both retired. Lin does volunteer work at a Houston hospital, and Sarah keeps busy guarding the house and yard. When he’s not working, Ron enjoys reading history. Ron welcomes anyone with needs for information on the history of UST to contact Archives at 713-525-3895 or archives@stthom.edu

You can also meet David and Ron at the Reference Desk. They both enjoy working directly with students and faculty as well as in their respective specialties.

Mary

Goodbye Rachel

Everyone at Doherty Library wishes to extend our congratulations to Rachel Matre on the occasion of her marriage. Unfortunately, Rachel has decided to move to Alabama to be with her husband, and so leaves a hole in our staff and, more importantly, our hearts. Rachel has been reference librarian at UST for just over seven years and reference coordinator for four. We will miss her enthusiasm, her passion for research and her dogged determination to find the answer to any question. We also wish her the best as she begins this new phase in her life. (Oh, and Happy Birthday too, Rachel!)

Mary

Melissa Torres

Farewell Melissa

It is with mixed feelings of excitement, gratitude, and a little bit of sadness that we announce Melissa Torres’s exit from Doherty library on February 15, 2008. Excitement because she has accepted the Metadata Librarian position at Rice University, a job in which we know she will thrive professionally. Gratitude because we are thankful for the excellent work she has done in Cataloging and Automation here at Doherty. Sadness because we will miss her kind, lively and upbeat presence in our daily work environment. We wish you the best Melissa!

Rachel

Library Welcomes New Circulation Services Coordinator

Dale Stewart

We are happy to announce that Dale Stewart has joined the Doherty Library as the evening Circulation Services Coordinator. His primary responsibilities will involve supervision and management of the circulation department during evenings and nights, Monday-Friday. Dale’s previous library experience includes three years working in the preservation department of the Harvard Law Library. Dale is a graduate of the University of Texas Studio Arts program and he works on a variety of art projects in his studio at the Commerce Street Artist’s Warehouse. Please join us in welcoming Dale to UST!

Rachel

Catholic Fiction Blog

Doherty Librarian Dr. Mary Kelleher Moderates Catholic Fiction Blog

Looking for some new leisure reading? Or an online meeting place to discuss old favorites? Check out the Catholic Fiction Blog. On the site, Mary makes suggestions to anyone looking for something good to read. “Because little is written about “Catholic fiction” in other venues, I have chosen this as my theme.” Read the blog to see how she defines “Catholic fiction.” Anyone is welcome to comment on the page and make recommendations of their own favorites.

Mary

Best Wishes Dacia

Dacia Clay

September 6^th marked Circulation Supervisor Dacia Clay’s last day at Doherty library.  Besides her good work and dedication to the library, we’ll miss her personal exuberance and fine sense of humor.  Dacia is leaving not to change careers but in fact to dedicate herself more fully to the library profession. This semester she begins her graduate study at the University of North Texas’s School of Library and Information Sciences.  And she’ll begin working part-time at the Houston Public Library as she tackles her graduate coursework.  Dacia said she’s really looking forward to exploring something new and being a student again.  However, while she’s anticipating new challenges and learning experiences, she says she’s really going to miss Doherty.  “I love this community. From the library staff, to the student workers, to the frequent patrons and the people in other departments that I’ve worked with closely, the people at UST are great. I feel so at home here. It is truly hard to leave a place so warm and friendly and familiar as this.” She promises to come back and visit… at the very least to work on her library homework!

Rachel