Get to Know the Library Staff! Elizabeth Leonard

Elizabeth Leonard is the Assistant Dean of Information Technologies and Collection Services. Her fantastic team runs “the back of the house,” managing the online library and ensuring that electronic and digital materials are findable and accessible. 

1. How long have you been working at the library?
I’ve been working at Seton Hall since 2013.

2. What is a book that everyone should read?
Any book that brings them enjoyment. I have no patience with the idea that folks need to read something because everyone else is, or because someone said it is a “must read.” Reading should be a pleasure, like the smell of spring flowers or a hug from a friend.

3. What music are you listening to these days?
Not music—I’ve been listening to podcasts, mostly. Hidden Brain (Science/psychology), Amended (stories of women who fought racism, classism, and xenophobia), OnBeing (conversations about spirituality, science, social healing, and the arts).

4. Last music concert you attended?
Facebook live streamed concert of the Indigo Girls.

5. What is your favorite spot on campus? 
Currently, I love to walk past the peony plants on the path leading to the entrance of the Dining Hall. Those are my favorite flowers.

6. Do you have a good take-out or delivery spot you’d recommend? 
A colleague and I love to go to Jackie and Son. They have great, fresh food!

7. What is your favorite app? 
Probably the New York Times Crossword app. I do the crossword everyday.

8. What is a skill you are working on mastering? 
Not interrupting. I’ve been working on it my whole life (unsuccessfully). My brain generally moves at warp speed and my mouth forgets that it isn’t supposed to join in!

9. What is something most people don’t know about you? 
I spent three years living in Germany, working for the Department of Defense. (Please don’t ask me to speak German anymore; I’ve forgotten most of it!)

10. What person living or dead would you like to have dinner with?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Eleanor Roosevelt.

Celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month

Happy Caribbean American Heritage Month! Chelsea Barrett, Business Librarian / Africana Studies Liaison, in partnership with Sarah Ponichtera, Assistant Dean for Special Collections & the Gallery, have compiled a list of information on Caribbean American culture, life, and history.

Resources
A Proclamation on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2021
President Joseph Biden’s statement on Caribbean Heritage Month where he speaks on the importance of Caribbean Americans, including Vice President Kamala Harris and honoring others that have contributed to the nation’s progression.

Caribbean American Heritage Month: Caribbean History and Culture
The U.S. Department of the Interior highlighted information on Caribbean History and Culture from a governmental perspective. See information on Caribbean-related legislation, Caribbean demographics, music, food and much more!

Archives and Special Collections
The SHU Archives and Special Collections would like to highlight MSS 36, The Cause of Pierre Toussaint.  This collection documents the activism of two individuals who sought to have Pierre Toussaint, the 18th century Haitian American former slave turned New York philanthropist buried at St. Patrick’s, canonized as a saint.  The collection includes letters of these individuals to figures in the Catholic Church, including Archbishops and the Pope advocating for this cause, photographs of his former burial place and re-burial at St. Patrick’s, and poems written in support of the cause. The materials are mainly from the 1990s.

Interested in this collection? Visit our finding aid for more information.

If you are interested in viewing the original materials, feel free to make an appointment with the SHU Archives and Special Collections.

Read
Interested in some Caribbean Reads? View our book display here and feel free to send recommendations!! Caribbean American Heritage Month Virtual Display

Watch
PBS – Caribbean American Heritage Month

Research Help & Resources
Africana Studies Librarians-send an email or schedule a chat!
Africana Studies GuideCaribbean Page

Social Media
Follow the SHU West Indian Student Organization on Instagram for amazing Caribbean content! @shu_wiso

Follow Seton Hall University Libraries on social media for Caribbean American posts, updates and much more! Instagram · Twitter · Facebook

Blog post by Chelsea Barrett, Business Librarian / Africana Studies Liaison.

New Enhancements in PolicyMap

See what’s new in PolicyMap, a GIS mapping tool, which is used at SHU in many programs such as Public Health, Political Science and Education for student assignments and useful data for grant applications.  There are fantastic new enhancements to make PolicyMap even more essential in your classroom and for your research including simplified data labels, histograms for ranges, an amazing number of boundaries and custom regions you can create, data benchmarks for context and the ability to add local data to PolicyMap that is important for your research. On  June 1,  the Libraries held a webinar that looked at new data including predominant race, mortgage denials/redlining, Social Vulnerability Index (CDC), andjh Medically Underserved Areas.  The recording of the June 1 webinar is located here.  Additional sessions will be scheduled over the summer.  Stay tuned to SHU Libraries social media.

Information about new features is listed below:

There are additional resources available with sample assignments about using PolicyMap in the classroom here:  https://policymap.helpdocs.io/academic-resources.

Please contact your liaison librarian for more information about PolicyMap.