Library Updates & News

It's the last day of National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18) and we hope that you have enjoyed getting to know our student workers! Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student worker, Julie! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Location:  CIA Library

Policy decisions being made Columbus affect our everyday lives as well as life at CIA. Consider the impact of Ohio’s “Bathroom Bill” or the perpetually doomed “Ohio Fairness Act.”

These matters are important, but how do you know whether you're receiving accurate, trustworthy information about your elected officials’ actions?

Learn more by attending Media Literacy is So Gay!, an IDEA Council TRI Conversation led by Ken Schneck, editor of Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom The Buckeye Flame. Media Literacy is So Gay! will take place from 11am to noon Thursday, April 17 in the Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library. Light snacks will be provided.

Schneck will discuss media literacy and legislative impacts through the lens of the LGBTQ community’s past, present and future in Ohio. Through learning about LGBTQ community’s experiences, attendees will gain a better understanding of consuming news, identifying reliable sources and distinguishing between different types of media.

Following Schneck’s presentation, there will be time for questions and conversations. In addition, attendees can learn what news-related tools and resources are available at the Gund Library.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Ken Schneck is editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom. For this work, he was honored as the national LGBTQ+ journalist of the year. He is the author of Seriously, What Am I Doing Here? The Adventures of a Wondering and Wandering Gay Jew and several LGBTQ+ Ohio history books. In his spare time, he is a tenured professor of education at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio.

National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18) continues! Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student workers, Taylor and Benjamin. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

We're halfway through National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18)! ❤️ Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student worker, Syd. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

It's National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18)! 🎉 Today, we are excited to spotlight our amazing student workers, Eli and Nya. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication in the library! 

It's National Student Employee Appreciation Week (April 14-18)! 🎉 Join us in celebrating our amazing work-study students at the CIA library. First up: our senior, Kayla! Although we'll miss you, we're excited for your future! 

In honor of National Library Week 2025, we are getting to know the library staff. Last up is Laura! Laura is the library director. Her office is 100C in the library.  Laura has been working at the CIA library in a variety of roles since August 1998.

Laura started at CIA as the Slide and Reference Librarian in 1998. Eventually slides became digital images and she moved from reference to serving as the coordinator of the library's instruction program, so her title shifted to Instruction and Image Librarian. In August of 2016, she became the Library Director. She has a BA in English and Art History from James Madison University and an MA in history & art history from Cleveland State. She earned her MLS from Kent State.  

She lives with her family in Olmsted Falls. She loves listening to music loudly, reading, knitting, and playing golf very (very!) poorly.  

What’s your favorite thing about working at the CIA Library? 
I really love the people at CIA and love helping them with their research. A lot of people don't understand the breadth and depth of research and inquiry conducted by artists and designers. It's always something new and surprising!

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?  
I’m learning to play golf, so if the weather is nice I would choose that. Otherwise, I’ll be reading, knitting, playing games, and listening to music. If it’s summer, I enjoy going to the pool for a long swim.  

What three fictional characters do you identify with most?  
Henry, the penguin from Oswald, is the only one that comes to mind, but it’s really the best answer.

What’s your favorite book/movie genre or your all-time favorite title?  
The Beartown trilogy by Fredrik Backman is currently my favorite.  I read a lot and I read almost every genre. Right now, I’m reading a lot of women’s fiction (which is a terrible term).

What’s your favorite board or video game and why? 
I’ve been playing Animal Crossing games for years because they are very relaxing to me and I like to have the ability to make the world around me exactly as I’d like it to be.  

What is the last song you sang along to?  
Out of Time (Bea Miller & Zedd)

Where have you lived and what brought you to your current city? 
I grew up in a small town in southern New Jersey, went to college in Virginia, and then came to Cleveland for what I promised everyone would be only two years. I have been here for way longer than two years.  

What is your favorite hobby, activity, or creative outlet? 
Knitting, reading, listening to music, playing on my phone, learning to play golf, and spending time with my family.  

What’s your favorite line from a movie?   
"They bump you, and when you stop, they mutilate you and take your car." That whole movie is so funny and weird. 

If you were to write a self-help book, what would the topic be? 
Tips and tricks to help you remember where you left your phone, keys, and cup of coffee.  
 

In honor of National Library Week 2025, we are getting to know the library staff. Next up is Jackie L.! Jackie L. is the library's Access & Circulation Coordinator. Her office in the library is in Student Success + Access Services (100A). Jackie joined the library staff in September 2016.

I’ve worked at CIA’s Gund Library since 2016. Before working at CIA, I worked as a Branch Services Clerk at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library and before that, as a cake decorator at Giant Eagle. I graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a Bachelor’s of Arts in English with a Creative Writing concentration and a minor in Studio Arts. 

What’s your favorite thing about working at the CIA library? 
I love helping people, working with students, learning about new methods and technologies for sharing information with others, and helping support a community space for all types of people and interactions.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? 
My favorite day would be if I could cram all of the following into one day which is very difficult so I guess these are variations of my "favorite day off": staying in to take care of my house or do nothing/read/watch something on the couch with my dog, going out and spending time with my family and friends, taking a day trip somewhere, or just spending time outside.

What’s your favorite book/movie genre or your all-time favorite title? 
I don’t know if I have a favorite genre. I like so many. I enjoy comedy, horror, and more serious content. Something that makes me laugh and/or something that makes me question my existence.

What’s your favorite board or video game and why? 
I don’t play many video games, but when I can, I enjoy playing multiplayer games with other people. My boyfriend and I have clocked many hours on Terraria, but I also like playing Mario Kart with my siblings. Growing up, I really liked playing the Game of Life board game my grandparents had from the 1960s.

What TV show are you absolutely obsessed with right now? 
I don’t know if this counts, but I’m trying to finish a YouTube series from 2017 called “Petscop” so I can watch all the 3-hour-long videos dissecting the series.

Where have you lived and what brought you to your current city? 
I’ve lived in and around Cleveland my entire life.

What is your favorite hobby, activity, or creative outlet? 
I like to journal and get ideas out of my head, mostly so I don’t forget things. But then I often forget to journal, and it’s a terrible thing. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, either watching movies, having a meal, or just sitting around talking. I’m also getting more into tending to my house, cleaning and organizing and making it a comfortable space. Trying to recreate the “Grandma’s house” experience in my home. 

National Poem in Your Pocket Day is Thursday, April 10th. Stop by the CIA Library on April 10th to grab a poem or two that speaks to you. Enjoy your poem and then share it with others!

In honor of National Library Week 2025, we are getting to know the library staff. Next up is Jackie M.! Jackie M. is the library's Student Success Librarian. Her office in the library is in Student Success + Access Services (100A). Jackie joined the library staff in August 2022.

Jackie has worked in libraries since 2012. At CIA, you're most likely to see her during a class visit or running a fun program in the library!  Before CIA she worked as a Technology Instruction Librarian at the Cleveland Heights – University Heights Public Library.  She earned her MLIS from Kent State University and her BA in Psychology and Sociology from Case Western Reserve University. When she is not at work she enjoys traveling, exploring Cleveland and the Metroparks, cooking, and has recently been figuring out sourdough bread baking.

What’s your favorite thing about working at the CIA Library? 
I really like working with students in different capacities. Whether it's during my class visits, in the library, I enjoy working with students to help them succeed.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? 
I most enjoy a day off that is very chill and relaxed. I like to grab brunch out, take a walk or just hang out at home.  

What’s your favorite book/movie genre or your all-time favorite title?  
The genre I read the most are mysteries though I have been trying to branch out more.  Recently, I read the book God of the Woods and really enjoyed it!

What’s your favorite board or video game and why? 
I like a variety of board games, but what I've really gotten into recently are puzzles! I find working on a puzzle to be relaxing and a nice way to spend time with family.  

Where have you lived and what brought you to your current city? 
Growing up, I lived in many different places because my family moved often for my Mom's job. I grew up visiting family in NE Ohio every summer of my childhood, but I moved here in 2003 when I started college. I went to college here and never left. Cleveland has been a great city to me and it's now home (honestly, NE Ohio always has been).

What is your favorite hobby, activity, or creative outlet? 
I listen to audiobooks and podcasts during my commute, and I love how those formats allow me time for reading! A recent new hobby of mine is figuring out sourdough bread. So far it has been fun, and I've made some good things. 
 

What’s your favorite line from a movie? 
Outside of work, I often quote silly quotes from Mel Brooks movies or The Princess Bride. "Inconceivable!"