Curriculum vitae | Ron Gilmour

Experience

Web Services Librarian, Ithaca College, February 2012 – present

Core Duties:

Program, design, and maintain the library website.
Administer the library’s suite of Springshare products (LibGuides, LibAnswers, and LibCal) and provide technical support for other librarians using those products.
Implement customizations for Springshare products to align them with the look and feel of the library website.
Implement customizations for the library’s Ex Libris PrimoVE discovery layer. These have included context-sensitive forms, links to floor maps, and SMS capabilities.
Develop scripting solutions to enhance connectivity between library systems.

Special Projects:

Research 101, a suite of LibGuides and interactive, React-based tutorials on information literacy concepts.
Catalog mapping project that allows users to click on a link in a catalog record to see a floor map with the location of the item highlighted. Initially developed for Ex Libris WebVoyáge, the system has since been ported to Primo and then to PrimoVE.
Redesign of the website using responsive design techniques, making it more accessible to users on mobile devices.

Natural Sciences Librarian, Ithaca College, July 2007 – January 2012

Core Duties:

Served patrons at the research help desk.
Provided in-depth, consultative research services to IC faculty and students.
Served as the library’s liaison to the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Environmental Studies.
Created and maintained online subject guides for my areas of responsibility.
Provided instruction in use of the library’s resources to classes in the departments to which I serve as liaison.
Managed collections in the subject areas for which I am responsible, including books, periodicals, and electronic resources.
Supported and encouraged the use of Zotero and other reference management tools through classroom instruction and the creation of web guides and screencasts.

Special Projects:

Created self-updating, subject-specific lists of new library materials.
Contributed code to SubjectsPlus, the library’s open source content management system for subject guides. Contributed to internationalization of the software, which has facilitated its adoption by several libraries worldwide.
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).

Instructor, School of Library and Information Science, San José State University, Fall 2008 – Spring 2012.

Taught 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.

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 (including jQuery, AngularJS, and React)
Understanding of MVC and similar software design patterns.
Programming with PHP and Perl, both for the web and for data manipulation and interaction with external APIs
Understanding of MySQL and the LAMP web server environment
XML and XSLT, both of which I have taught at the graduate level

Publications

Articles Published in Refereed Journals

Laura Kuo, Ron Gilmour, and Paul Dickson. “Bringing in the Experts: Library Research Guide Usability Testing in a Computer Science Class.” Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 8(4): 43-59. 2013.
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

First Look at Primo’s New User Interface, LibUX, February 2017.
“Responsive Web Design at Ithaca College Library.” Responsive Design Weekly 62, June 2013.
“Old Wine in New Skins: Thoughts on Academic Library Web Guides.” College & Research Libraries 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

Library Maps for the Catalog, Website, and Stacks – presented with Dan Taylor at the ExLibris Users of North America (ELUNA) meeting; May, 2013; Athens, Georgia.
Transitioning to a Responsive Web Site – presented at Amigos online conference “HTML5/CSS3: Ready for Prime Time?”, February, 2013.
Library Maps for the Catalog, Website, and Stacks – presented with Dan Taylor at the ExLibris Northeastern Users Group meeting, October, 2012.
It’s All About the User: Enhancing Discovery with Open Source Software – webinar with Lis Chabot for Libraries Thriving, August, 2012.
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 and Libraries – Regional Institute for the Library & Information Technology Association, presented at eleven US locations from 2002-2005.