PDF Experience
Web Services Librarian, Ithaca College, February 2012-present
- Design, programming, and maintainance for the Library website.
- Develop scripting solutions to enhance connectivity between library systems (e.g., automatically porting data from the Voyager ILS to the web server as RSS feeds).
- Implement customizations to the Library’s Voyager online catalog using XSLT.
- Provide technical assistance to other librarians with regard to the website and, especially, SubjectsPlus.
Natural Sciences Librarian, Ithaca College, July 2007-January 2012
Core Duties:
- Serve patrons at the Research Help Desk.
- Provide in-depth, consultative research services to IC faculty and students.
- Serve as the Library’s liaison to the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Environmental Studies.
- Create and maintain online subject guides for my areas of responsibility.
- Support and encourage the use of Zotero and other reference management tools through classroom instruction and the creation of web guides and screencasts.
- Implement customizations to the Library’s Voyager online catalog using XSLT. These have included context-sensitive links to forms, links from catalog holdings to the appropriate floor map, and SMS capabilities. The call number mapping feature has proved popular with patrons, as it makes it easy for them to locate materials in the Library building.
- Develop scripting solutions to enhance connectivity between library systems (e.g., automatically porting data from the Voyager ILS to the web server as RSS feeds).
- Development and manage collections in the subject areas for which I am responsible. These collections include books, periodicals, and electronic resources.
- Provide instruction in use of the Library’s resources to classes in the departments to which I serve as liaison.
Special Projects:
- Created self-updating, subject-specific lists of new library materials, available both as HTML and RSS. Patrons can subscribe to receive notice of new materials in their subject areas of interest.
- Developed interactive, online modules for library instruction. Instructors can easily embed these modules in their course pages to assess student knowledge of topics such as finding scholarly articles, plagiarism, and citation.
- Contributed code to SubjectsPlus, the Library’s open source content management system for subject guides. Collaborated with the primary developer of SubjectsPlus to make the product’s code more customizable and object oriented. Contributed to internationalization of the software, which has facilitated its adoption by several Canadian libraries.
- Managed the Library’s migration to Pinboard as an alternative bookmarking system to Delicious. Wrote scripts to enable the use of Pinboard data on the Library web site. This technique is used by librarians to easily create specialized lists of materials for particular classes or projects (e.g., this list created for an ornithology class).
- Since the departure of the Web Services Librarian in June 2011, I have been responsible for maintaining the Library’s web site.
Campus Service:
- Advisor to the Ithaca College Buddhist Community.
- Library representative to Faculty Council for the 2008/2009 academic year.
Instructor, School of Library and Information Science, San José State University, Fall 2008-present. Teach online course in XML.
Science & Technology Coordinator, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, September 2002-2007
- Managed $2.9 million acquisition budget for science and technology materials as well as various endowment funds.
- Provided leadership to the Science & Technology Subject Group, including supervision of four full-time librarians.
- Collection development for botany, ecology & evolutionary biology, and mathematics.
- Served patrons at the reference desk.
Instructor, University at Albany School of Information Science and Policy, 2000-2002. Taught introductory course on Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Science Reference Librarian Assistant Librarian, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1999-2002
- Served patrons at the Science Library reference desk.
- Managed collection budgets for geology and chemistry.
- Served as primary contact and technical support for SciFinder Scholar.
Education
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Information and Library Science, MLS, May 1999.
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MS in biology, 1996.
- Florida State University, BS in biology, 1993.
Skills
- Web authoring with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Programming with PHP and Perl, both for the Web and for data manipulation and interaction with external APIs
- Knowledge of object-oriented programming practices
- XML and XSLT, both of which I teach in a graduate level course
- Knowledge of the Linux operating system and shell scripting
- Understanding of MySQL and the LAMP web server environment
Publications
Articles Published in Refereed Journals
- Ron Gilmour and Laura Kuo. “Reference Management Software: A Comparative Analysis of Four Products.” Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Summer 2011.
- Andrew Darby and Ron Gilmour. “Adding Delicious Data to Your Library Website.” Information Technology & Libraries 28(2), June 2009: 100-103.
- Jennifer Beals and Ron Gilmour. “Assessing Collections Using Brief Test and WorldCat Collection Analysis.” Collection Building 26(4), 2007: 104-107. This paper was selected as a "Highly Commended Paper" by the editors of Collection Building.
- Travis Dolence and Ron Gilmour. “Libraries, Information, and Amateur Scientists.” Technical Services Quarterly 23(3), 2006: 1-18.
- Gregg Sapp and Ron Gilmour. “A Brief History of the Future of Libraries: Predictions and Speculations from the Literature of the Profession, 1975 to 2000 (Part 2, 1990-2000).” Portal 3(1), 2003: 13-34.
- Gregg Sapp and Ron Gilmour. “A Brief History of the Future of Libraries: Predictions and Speculations from the Literature of the Profession, 1975 to 2000 (Part 1, 1975 to 1989).” Portal 2(4), 2002: 553-576.
- “Serving XML: Practical Techniques for the Dissemination of Structured Electronic Information.” Library Hi Tech 19(4), 2001: 408-414.
- “XML Applications in the Sciences.” Science & Technology Libraries 19(2), 2001: 75-89.
- “Taxonomic Markup Language: Applying XML to Systematic Data.” Bioinformatics 16(4), 2000: 406-407.
Articles Published in Non-refereed Journals
- “Old Wine in New Skins: Thoughts on Academic Library Web Guides.” College & Research Library News 71(7), 2010.
- Ron Gilmour and Jennifer Strickland. “Social Bookmarking for Library Services.” College & Research Libraries News 70(4), 2009.
Books
- XML: A Guide for Librarians. LITA Guide #11. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003.
- Foundations of Southeastern Botany: An Annotated Bibliography of Southeastern American Botanical Explorers Prior to 1824. Castanea Occasional Papers in Eastern Botany Number 1, December 2002.
Contributions to Edited Volumes
- “Paleontology” in Linda Ackerson (ed.), Literature Search Strategies for Interdisciplinary Research: a Sourcebook for Scientists and Engineers. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
- “Supplementary Bibliography” in Deleuze, J.P.F. Memoirs of the Life and Botanical Travels of André Michaux, edited with an introduction, notes and supplementary study materials by Charlie Williams. Charlotte, NC: Fourbears Press for the André Michaux International Symposium, 2002.
Reviews
I have published a number of book reviews in Choice, E-streams, and other library publications.
Selected Professional Presentations
- Using Delicious for Library Services – presented at the meeting of the Upstate New York Science Librarians in October, 2008.
- Libraries, Information, and the Amateur Scientist – poster presented with Travis Dolence at the American Library Association Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, 26 June, 2004.
- XML – presented at Ohio State University as part of their “Technology for the Rest of Us” series of lectures in May of 2004.
- XML and Libraries – Regional Institute for the Library & Information Technology Association, presented at eleven US locations from 2002-2005.