Hesburgh Libraries at University of Notre Dame

Congratulations to Helen Cawley, reference services coordinator, on being elected member-at-large of the Reference Services Section (RSS) of the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). In her role with RSS, Cawley will support library staff engaged in reference services by helping to create professional development opportunities, foster collaboration among peers and represent user needs. “Helen’s election to this section indicates her growing reputation and expertise in the library profession,” said Margaret Meserve, Edward H. Arnold Dean of the Hesburgh Libraries. “Reference services are a cornerstone of student and researcher success, and I know our patrons will benefit from Helen’s position with this group.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eJqFMs5N

Welcome to Victor Dada, who joined Hesburgh Libraries as a sr. systems engineer. Victor helps maintain the Library’s AWS infrastructure, as well as VMWare infrastructure, to keep our IT systems running smoothly. Before coming to Notre Dame, Victor served as a system administrator at Saint Mary’s College. He earned his bachelor’s degree in applied science at Purdue University Northwest.

Greg Bond, sports archivist and curator, Joyce Sports Research Collection, recently helped bring to life local stories of our national pastime for the documentary “South Bend: Built by Baseball,” produced by PBS station WNIT. Bond shared his knowledge and expertise in the Foundry Field Project and the project’s research about the Foundry Giants baseball team and Uncle Bill’s softball team, two local African American teams from the 1920s to 1940s. Another segment about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the South Bend Blue Sox features images from Rare Books & Special Collections. Watch Bond and explore a part of baseball history by viewing the documentary online: https://lnkd.in/evsiP-aA #BaseballHistory #BlackHistory #NegroLeagues #WomensBaseball #WPBL #AAGPBL

Congratulations to Jennifer Parker, Architecture Library, who has been promoted from the rank of associate librarian to librarian.

Congratulations to Tiffany Gillaspy, Music Library, and Daniela Rovida, cataloging and metadata services, who have been promoted from the rank of assistant librarian to associate librarian.

This year’s Library Research Award Capstone or Thesis Research award winners, Gabriela Sierocka and Kate Rafford, discovered a wealth of resources to help them rise to the top. Both said they wouldn’t have been able to complete their research projects without the expert help and extensive resources available at Hesburgh Libraries. Read about their experiences: https://lnkd.in/e3rag-mh

Congratulations to Mark Robison, department head for Academic Collections and Services, winner of the 2026 Rev. Paul J. Foik, C.S.C., Award. The annual Foik Award honors a library faculty member who has contributed significantly to the University of Notre Dame community and the library profession through personal scholarship and substantive engagement in professional associations. Robison was honored for his ongoing support of the political science faculty and students through research consultation and instruction. He was also recognized for his integral role in developing transformative open-access agreements that have helped expand the global reach of Notre Dame scholarship while reducing financial barriers for researchers. “Mark has made signal contributions to the Libraries on many fronts: as a dedicated subject librarian, a savvy collection strategist, a talented administrator and a valued colleague,” said Margaret Meserve, Edward H. Arnold Dean of the Hesburgh Libraries. “I’m delighted to see his achievements and his dedication to his colleagues recognized in this way.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAKsF8iP

Congratulations to Emerging Technologies Librarian Randal Sean Harrison, who was honored with a 2026 Best Emerging Technology Application Award from the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, for his development of Bootstrapr.io. Bootstrapr.io is a web-based tool designed to help librarians create modern, user-friendly interface elements for research guides without needing advanced coding skills.

Congratulations to David T. Gura, curator, Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts, for being selected to give one of three endowed lectures at the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 14-16 at Western Michigan University. The annual congress draws thousands of participants and attendees with more than 400 paper sessions. If you’re attending the conference, make sure to see Gura’s lecture, “Classical Poetry and Medieval Commentary: The Textual Archaeology of a Genre," on May 15. Gura will draw on innovative research methods he has developed to connect medieval manuscripts containing medieval school texts to one another, revealing relationships between production, content and users.

See how Matthew Knight, Irish studies librarian, curator, and head of Rare Books & Special Collections, and Jennifer Knight, visiting associate teaching professor in the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame, helped students in spring’s “Irish in America” class use our Irish Studies Collection to uncover history—one artifact at a time. The class examines the migration and history of Irish people and their descendants in America and incorporated the “Adopt an Artifact” research project, which allowed students to choose an item from the collection and use it for their own research. “They’re not just doing show-and-tell or a book report — this is the foundation for possible broader research or even a dissertation,” Matthew said. “It starts with an interest in one object. That interest fosters intellectual curiosity, which then turns into a passion.” Read the story: https://lnkd.in/ggM5NScF