Reference Department Faculty
Resources and Services in the Reference Department
Why do people come to the Reference Department?
1. To have their questions answered. Whether their question is "Can you help me find a scholarly article for my research paper?" or just "Where is the restroom?", the bulk of what we do in Reference is to satisfy people's information needs.
2. To use our reference books. We have a large collection of highly specialized reference books which explain the main concepts, arguments, and major scholars in any given field/subject.
3. To use our computers. We have 4 desktop computers in the reference area, 2 of which require no log-in and so can be used by town patrons. Town patrons are people who are not affiliated with the college (meaning they do not attend school here or work here). The other 2 terminals require that the user have Berea credentials (which are the same as those used to access 'my.berea.edu' or 'Moodle').
About the Reference Librarians
The 3 Main Reference Librarians
1. Amanda Peach is the Labor Supervisor for the Reference area. She is also responsible for maintaining the library website, LibGuides, and LibAnswers.
The most common reasons you might uniquely need to contact Amanda (or refer a patron to her):
- you or a patron reports problems with, or has suggestions for, the Library website/Libguides
- a patron wants to work at the Reference Desk
2. Ed Poston is in charge of weeding the general collection, ordering books for the Reference collection, and approving the bibliographies of independent majors.
The most common reasons you might uniquely need to contact Ed (or refer a patron to him):
- a student who is an Independent Major needs a Librarian signature on their Independent Major Proposal; Ed is the only one authorized to sign off on those
- for assistance with Religion questions, especially those referring to Christianity. Ed is an ordained Methodist minister and knows the most about Religion of all the Reference Librarians
3. Angel Rivera is in charge of the Library Instruction Program, which means he is in charge of coordinating, designing, promoting, and assessing Library instructions sessions, predominately through the general studies program. Remember when your GSTR 110 and 210 sections came to the library? He's in charge of that! He's also in charge of outreach/social media for the library.
The most common reasons you might uniquely need to contact Angel (or refer a patron to him):
- someone wants to put up a display in the library (whether that is an individual or an organization); Angel coordinates all displays, so they should speak to him
- someone speaks Spanish only and needs help being translated; Angel speaks and reads Spanish fluently
- a professor wants to schedule a class visit to the library
