To the campus community,
I am delighted to announce that Jeannie Bail will be our new University Librarian, effective August 12th.
Jeannie holds a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science from the Pratt Institute and a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School. Jeannie brings to Mount Saint Vincent University nearly 25 years of experience in academic and special library settings. She is currently the Liaison to the Faculty of Management and Renaissance College (Leadership Studies) at the University of New Brunswick Libraries, and was previously its Director of Learning & Research Services (2016-2021). Prior to joining UNB, Jeannie held several positions at Memorial University's QEII Library (2009-2016), including Information Services Librarian and Business Liaison Librarian. Before joining the academic library community, she was a corporate librarian in NYC for almost a decade.
Her record of scholarship includes numerous peer-reviewed articles and presentations, book chapters, and an Open Educational Resource, on topics such as copyright in Canada, library services for international students, libraries as cultural centres and libraries as allies to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She has served on a number of university committees at UNB and MUN, including the Fredericton campus Accessibility Committee and the Senate Student Services Committee in her current role. While at MUN, she served as Chair of the Senate Copyright Committee (2014-2016).
Jeannie aims to incorporate equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility principles into all aspects of library operations and planning. She is committed to moving forward the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee through meaningful library engagement and collaboration with Treaty partners. While at MUN, she was part of First Year Success, a program designed to support new university students who arrived at the university with lower than average high school GPAs. There she also conceived and was a founding member of Check It Out!, a group that produced an award-winning public event series that used the library space in innovative ways, e.g. to host opera, dance and music performances.
Jeannie believes in teaching library users not only how to find information, but also why it's important to think critically about all content they encounter, an increasingly-important skill in the age of AI and mis/disinformation. She strives to address barriers to library access and describes her practice as "deeply influenced by the principles of universal design: ensuring that library spaces, services and resources are accessible, usable and inclusive to the fullest extent possible." Jeannie is an advocate for open scholarship and sees the library as a key partner in all stages of the research lifecycle.
She is currently a member of the International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST), the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and serves as an appointed member and Officer (Secretary) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Standing Committee on Management and Marketing.
Sincere thanks to the members of the Search Committee for their work in this search. Much thanks as well to Denyse Rodrigues for her leadership while serving as Interim University Librarian over the past year, and to current Interim University Librarian Alina Ruiz.
Please join me in welcoming Jeannie to MSVU.
