Michelle Reale – författare

Most academic libraries could not operate without a host of part-time student workers. But employing students is different from filling a professional position with an experienced worker; often their library employment will be their first job experience. Since many student positions make them the public face of the library, effective mentoring of such student employees is vital. In this book Reale explores the challenges and opportunities involved in recruitment. Her guide Shows how a library job can be more than just employment, teaching students important responsibilities and life-skills Covers the entire scope of a student’s tenure at an academic library, from bringing new hires on board and training them to disciplining student employees and the unpleasant but sometimes necessary task of firing Offers mentoring advice for helping students navigate the cultural contrasts, irregular hours, and other day-to-day issues faced by young people away from home for the first time With Reale’s guidance, supervising academic librarians can effectively mentor students while maintaining an enjoyable, productive workplace that functions efficiently in support of the institution.

Embedded librarianship is “not one size fits all,” yet many books on the subject treat it in a cold, objective manner that doesn’t adequately communicate how becoming an embedded librarian actually works in the real world. Here, Reale shares her own university classroom experiences to offer a step-by-step primer for those contemplating the practice. Demystifying what can sometimes feel intimidating to academic librarians, this down to earth resourcedefines what embedded librarianship is, and isn’t; explains why being in the classroom is so important, and how it creates communities of learning; shows how to clarify the role of the librarian in a classroom by being a “facilitator of process”; offers strategies for relationship building, setting goals, and honing a teaching style; anddiscusses embedded librarianship and branding. Readers will feel confident applying the lessons learned from Reale’s first-hand account to their own experiences both in and out of the classroom.

Traditionally, academic librarians have delivered “beck and call” service to educators both in and out of the classroom. However, far from being merely auxiliary to the learning cycle, academic librarians are educators in their own right. If the primary challenge before them is to change how they’re perceived within their institutions, Reale proposes, the key lies in becoming a proactive teacher and collaborator. Offering strategies applicable to many different areas, this book shows how the academic librarian can be an educator in both structured and unstructured spaces on campuses. Blending practice-based evidence with a warm approach, Realediscusses the changing perception of academic librarians, how they are seen and how they see themselves;shows how academic librarians can and should assert their rightful place in the learning cycle;looks at how to match teaching goals with academic librarians’ mission;advocates for the indispensable roles the academic librarian should play, including co-collaborator, one-on-one research consultant, expert-at-large in non-structured spaces such as the dorm or student lounge, and embedded librarian in the classroom; offers talking points for self-advocacy, looking at the many ways academic librarians are making a difference; andexplores activities and programming for engagement and learning.This book will empower and validate academic librarians by demonstrating their indispensable roles as educators.

In our technology-saturated world, all the answers we seek are at our fingertips. Right? Though students might think so, educators know otherwise. But beyond merely helping students find answers to questions, information literacy instruction ought to ignite within students a spirit of inquiry: a discerning curiosity that will spur them to dig deeper when conducting research. Here, Reale outlines such an approach. Showing how to deprioritize tools-based research in favor of encouraging critical thinking, in this book shedemonstrates why inquiry is the first step towards deep learning, and why it should begin with asking the right questions rather than finding the right answers;presents strategies for viewing curiosity as a process;shares methods and techniques that will kindle a spirit of inquiry, from discussion questions and reflective journals to one-on-one consultations and classroom workshops;shows how I-Search assignments can offer students valuable guidance and encouragement to think; anddiscusses how collaboration and communication with faculty can help lead to information literacy instruction that focuses on the conceptual rather than tools.Filled with numerous examples of inquiry in action drawn from Reale’s own experiences, her book can be a catalyst for cultivating curiosity and enthusiasm in student researchers.

From this book, academic librarians will learn how to develop and maintain agile and lasting learning relationships amongst their colleagues, fostering professional growth and greater coordination and collaboration within their institution.How can academic librarians strengthen their practice of teaching and provide education through access to information, using intentional efforts to both learn and share in a social context? Building and fostering communities of practice (CoP) is the ideal way forward, as Reale demonstrates in her new book, which is both inspirational and practical. With her guidance, readers will:understand how coming together in pursuit of knowledge and shared goals can lead to a more fulfilling work environment and better professional outcomes;get pointers on how to begin with simple, casual collaborative efforts that won't conflict with busy schedules;learn from Reale's personal narratives of how CoP took root at her own institution, and the ways in which it continued to flourish during the lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic;receive a flexible CoP framework for implementation that can be tailored to fit their own needs and goals;see how to nurture conversation, participation, collaborative inquiry, and mindfulness, all essential ingredients of the CoP;feel comfortable using personal stories as tools for sensemaking within the CoP as well as ongoing individual learning and growth;andbe encouraged to follow through and stick with it, using the reflection questions and activities at the end of each chapter.

While the profession has generated many books on information literacy, none to date have validated exactly why it is so difficult to teach. In her new book, Reale posits that examining and reflecting on the reality of those factors is what will enable practitioners to meet the challenge of their important mandate. Using the same warm and conversational tone as in her previous works, she:uses personal anecdotes to lay out the key reasons that teaching information literacy is so challenging, from the limited amount of time given to instructors and lack of collaboration with faculty to one's own anxieties about the work;examines how these factors are related and where librarians fit in;validates readers' struggles and frustrations through an honest discussion of the emotional labor of librarianship, including "imposter syndrome," stress, and burnout;offers a variety of approaches, strategies, and topics of focus that will assist readers in their daily practice;looks at how a vibrant community of practice can foster positive change both personally and institutionally; andpresents "Points to Ponder" at the end of each chapter that encourage readers to self-reflect and then transform personal insights into action.Reale's book is a valuable springboard for reflection that will help academic librarians understand the complexity of the challenges they face and then forge a path forward.

In Volta: An Italian-American Reckoning with Race, author Michelle Reale embarks on a brave and unflinching journey to the roots of racism as she knows it. Starting with the town she was raised in, Reale examines several cultural touchstones within the Italian-American community, along with local and national flashpoints in Italian-American and African-American relations, and subjects such as Columbus Day, Frank Rizzo, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, and how Italians became ‘White’. In examining these issues, Reale challenges the reader and points them towards the lifelong process of racial reckoning.The style of reckoning here is straightforward and brutally honest, with no apologetics, making this book unique in contemporary anti-racism literature. While the author looks through the lens of her own culture, she argues for the "self-implicative" nature of reckoning – that one cannot point the finger of blame in any direction other than oneself. Her account shows how our acculturation of racism is both conscious and unconscious, and that only way to face it is head on.Along with general reader, this book will appeal to college students of all levels, anti-racism educators, Whiteness scholars, high-school students, and those interested in the intersectionality of racism and culture. "Anti-racist action begins with the self. It entails the difficult work of acknowledging the prejudices we carry and the harm we have caused. In Volta, Michelle Reale maneuvers adeptly through her own racial reckoning and Italian-American history to offer an invaluable model for the reflective praxis essential to transformative change."—Christopher Allen Varlack, Executive Director, Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action"In Volta, Michelle Reale uses autoethnographic and poetic strategies to look critically at her own upbringing and how racism extends through generations in a culture. Her vibrant narrative and poetic skills forge bonds between theory and an examined life. This unflinching inquiry provides a valuable model for anti-racist work."—Anne McCrary Sullivan, Author of Learning Calabar: Notes from a Poet’s Year in Nigeria