After 19 years of service, Science and Mathematics' Librarian, Mary Lou Baker Jones is retiring. She has presented posters or panels at local, state, national and international conferences and co-authored articles on teaching chemical literature and on the challenges of filling academic science librarian positions. She was instrumental in expanding the library’s involvement with the Exploring STEMM program (among her many other efforts). Over the years she has team-taught a Chemistry course and she has been consulted by faculty on lesson plans, grading rubrics, and assignments. She worked with Jeff Wehmeyer, who for many years was the life sciences librarian for biology and microbiology as well as for the Health Sciences, and Brian Olesko who is the current librarian for Psychology.
Mary Lou has contributed to many scholarly efforts, always with a smile and the right questions to guide the investigator to the precise reference material. In appreciation of her influential career we asked her to share a few thoughts about her time at Wright State. Below are her comments and comments from others whom she has worked with over the years. We extend our sincere thanks and congratulations to Mary Lou as she embarks on a new chapter in life.
In her own words
How I became a science librarian: When I applied for a librarian position at Wright State University Libraries in 1998, I was not expecting to become a science librarian. I applied for the position of humanities librarian, for which I was well-prepared because I have a MA in Religious Studies and because I taught in the Religious Studies Department at The University of Dayton for 12 years. When I got the call from Wright State's Associate University Librarian Pat Walker to offer me the job, she asked if I would take the position of science librarian instead of humanities librarian. The science position had become vacant during the Libraries’ humanities librarian search and the search committee decided to fill both positions from the one search. I like a challenge, so I said that I would take on the science librarian job. And I have really loved it! Eventually Mathematics was added to my subject areas of Chemistry, Physics and Earth & Environmental Sciences. I audited courses in the sciences to get an introduction to the vocabulary of each discipline.
Science & Math Librarian duties: My primary responsibility was to make sure that students, teachers and researchers in my subject areas had the information that they needed to succeed. Often this meant teaching students and faculty how to use the marvelous array of information resources available to us now, but it also meant looking for resources WSU Libraries does not yet have and advocating for them. Two of my favorite examples of this are making convincing arguments for the switch from print Chemical Abstracts to online SciFinder Scholar many years ago and demonstrating how necessary access to the SPIE (Society of Photo-Optic Instrumentation Engineers) Digital Library was to the work of some of our researchers.
I spent a lot of time in science classrooms – teaching students how to do research for specific assignments. I also made office calls to faculty to work one-on-one with them at their computers so that they could make the best use of databases and online journals, etc. Students made appointments to meet with me in the library when they wanted to start their research projects or when they got stuck on them. And I also responded to many research questions that came to me via email or chat.
Other Reference & Instruction Librarian responsibilities: As a Reference & Instruction Librarian I worked at our Information Desk, which means that I answered questions on everything from schizophrenia to Mozart to bullying to Shakespeare. I also provided instruction in many writing classes and offered library workshops on evaluating information sources, among other topics.
Favorite memories: I love seeing a student “get it,” whether that is figuring out the difference between a scientific research article and a blog post or being successful at finding the right search words to enter into a database or search engine.
I remember getting a needed article to one of our researchers who was on a mountain in New England and had a one-hour window of Internet availability.
I love getting a book or article request from a WSU person and being able to say, “We have that! Let me help you get it." And, I love a challenge. When people bring me a mangled citation or a dimly-remembered article title, I love the search for that item. But that’s a characteristic of librarians. We like to search; “ordinary people” like to find.
In the words of others
"You helped out immensely in my research activities over the years, tracking down obscure references, and giving me guidance on how to do this myself. When I worked on the big review article on oxygen solubilities your assistance was crucial in getting that manuscript completed. Couldn't have done it with your help." Enjoy retirement -- Rubin Battion, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Chemistry
"Thank you so much for all that you have done for our students! I really do believe that it has made a difference, and been useful for many of them, not only in our course, but in others as well. Best wishes in your retirement." -- Patrick M. Sonner, Ph.D., Instructor, NCPB
"It’s impossible to sum up in a few lines what you’ve meant to us over the years but, suffice it to say, you will be much missed. You’ve been a great friend to the Chemistry Department (and, I suspect, many other departments!) and your thoughtfulness, kindness, patience and knowledge have helped us immeasurably. I’m speaking for the collective here because I know that everyone shares my sentiments but may not get round to writing." -- Ken Turnbull, Ph.D., Professor, Chemistry
