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Library Issues Personal

My vision for UTC

I’ve struggled with how much to discuss my new job (Reference/Instruction Librarian at UT-Chattanooga), and I think that I’ve decided to just say what I want. I never censored myself before, and I see no real reason to do so now.

That said: here’s my first impressions. I love the place, and I love the people. I’m going to really enjoy getting my fingers into the place…because honestly, they need it. Short list of things that I see myself doing:

  • Organizing and instituting a virtual reference setup
  • Set up a true information commons in the reference area
  • Creating new classes that are student-need centered rather than class-or-professor centered
  • Move the reference staff into leadership roles on campus (or at the very least into communication roles for campus)

Yeah, I’m dreaming, but I might as well dream big.

By griffey

Jason Griffey is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at NISO, where he works to identify new areas of the information ecosystem where standards expertise is useful and needed. Prior to joining NISO in 2019, Jason ran his own technology consulting company for libraries, has been both an Affiliate at metaLAB and a Fellow and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was an academic librarian in roles ranging from reference and instruction to Head of IT at the University of TN at Chattanooga.

Jason has written extensively on technology and libraries, including multiple books and a series of full-periodical issues on technology topics, most recently AI & Machine Learning in Libraries and Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design from 2018. His newest book, co-authored with Jeffery Pomerantz, will be published by MIT Press in 2024.

He has spoken internationally on topics such as artificial intelligence & machine learning, the future of technology and libraries, decentralization and the Blockchain, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property. A full list of his publications and presentations can be found on his CV.
He is one of eight winners of the Knight Foundation News Challenge for Libraries for the Measure the Future project (http://measurethefuture.net), an open hardware project designed to provide actionable use metrics for library spaces. He is also the creator and director of The LibraryBox Project (http://librarybox.us), an open source portable digital file distribution system.

Jason can be stalked obsessively online, and spends his free time with his daughter Eliza, reading, obsessing over gadgets, and preparing for the inevitable zombie uprising.

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