In university libraries there are these shining stars that develop expertise in specific academic areas so they can help students and faculty identify, access and navigate the information resources that will help them succeed. They are called subject librarians. Subject librarians are stars because they can help take your research to the next level.
Texas State’s STEM subject librarian is not only a star, she’s a rock star! Jessica McClean not only serves as the expert for those in the engineering and physical sciences, she puts boundless energy into many other endeavors as well. Her skills and expertise earned recognition as Texas State University’s employee of the month last December.
McClean doesn’t shy away from taking on challenges and responsibilities that will benefit Texas State faculty and students. You may be familiar with projects around the library that McClean is involved in such as Maker Day and advocating and facilitating Open Educational Resources (OER).
OER is a very important movement that McClean and other library staffers want faculty to understand and utilize. OER helps reduce textbook costs for students and also employs a more modern approach to how courses are taught. McClean and a team of library staff developed an OER Community of Learning which provides training and networking opportunities for Texas State faculty to learn more about how to develop and utilize OER resources. The first class of faculty is participating in the OER Community of Learning this semester.
“We’re helping faculty learn more about how to find resources and how to incorporate them into their work at a low-to-no-cost option that is built into their courses as well,” McClean said. “I think that it’s a really exciting initiative that we’re working on that will have huge benefits for students and also for faculty. They can create these completely unique educational items that are more updated and diverse for the content they are teaching.”
In addition to McClean’s work with the OER Community of Learning, she also works hard to make sure students who are taking courses in her area of specialty are getting the help and research advice they need to succeed.
“One thing that I always try to say when I’m talking to people doing research is that it doesn’t inconvenience us to ask. We’re not bothered by people asking questions, in fact I get really excited when someone asks me a question. I love to get questions and I love to hear about what they’re working on. So, at any point during the research process if they hit any kind of problem, I would love for them to ask for help, I am happy to help with any kind of question.” McClean said.
When McClean isn’t helping students with research or working with the OER community, she loves to make crafts. McClean shares her expertise with crafting to benefit library patrons as well. She helped create events where library patrons can gather and share supplies and ideas and learn from each other or experts that are brought in to teach a variety of crafting skills.
“I am the leader of the Maker Day team. The idea of these Maker Day events is something we were working on for a really long time,” McClean said. “It is something that has grown so much in the past few years and each time we are able to make it better and more closely tied to what people are looking for. I love it when people say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know we could do this at the library, this is so fun!’”
If you are a student who needs help in areas of engineering and physical sciences, or a faculty member who would like to implement OER into your coursework or simply just want to learn how to craft at an Alkek Maker Day, Jessica McClean is the person for the job and is happy to help you out!
This article was contributed by Carin Carlin, University Libraries Social Media Student Assistant and Debbie Pitts, University Libraries Marketing and Communications Coordinator.