Action for Libraries
Four New Employees Now on Staff at BCR
BCR has welcomed four new employees on staff over the past quarter. Michelle "Shelly" Drumm, BCR's new emergent technology trainer, joins the staff in Training & OCLC Services; David "Dave" Harty, network/systems administrator, is part of Innovations & Special Projects; Christine "Chris" Cook is Marketing & Support Associate in the department of that same name; and Melissa Howerter is taking on duties for both Executive Director Brenda Bailey-Hainer and the Human Resources & Communications as department assistant. The four are part of a staff reorganized and expanded to better serve BCR member libraries.
As BCR's technology trainer, Shelly Drumm is specializing in providing classes - both in-person and distance learning instruction - in emergent technologies and Web design. BCR members also will see her at various state library conferences and should contact her for technical assistance and support on technology-related issues, as well as providing support and taking orders for OCLC's CONTENTdm and Question- Point services. Readers also should see her name as the author of a new column on libraries and technology in the upcoming issues of Action for Libraries.
Drumm is returning to Colorado after serving as public services librarian at Houston Community College System in Texas. Prior to her service there, she provided reference service and instruction at Remington College in Denver and before that worked in reference at the University of Colorado at Boulder, in Government Publications. She has a Master of Arts in Information Resources & Library Science from the University of Arizona, Tucson, and a BA in English from Reed College, Portland, Oregon.
Dave Harty signed on at BCR in a totally new position as system/network administrator with the goal of expanding the role of ISP at BCR and our technology offerings to member libraries in the future. He already has helped install an Exchange server, putting all BCR staff on the same e-mail and calendar system. Harty's responsibilities include maintaining BCR's current technology infrastructure, recommending modifications and upgrades in the future and providing technical support for staff computers. He also will develop documentation and procedures for BCR's technical operations and develop and implement disaster and recovery policies.
Harty previously worked as a network consultant with Red Ocher Solutions, supporting the network infrastructure of a dozen businesses throughout Colorado and prior to that was system administrator for McClain Finlon Advertising. He has a MBA from Boston University and a BA in International Relations from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
As an associate in BCR's Marketing & Support division, Chris Cook will be handling all aspects of sales and services to libraries for a variety of products and services. She will be responsible for providing members' support, via both e-mail and telephone, troubleshooting product problems and guiding individuals through the ordering process. She also will develop marketing campaigns, do market research and data analysis, create and maintain BCR's online ordering forms and update product Web pages.
Cook has a MLIS from the University of Denver, a BA in English from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is working on a MBA in information systems from the University of Colorado, Denver. She has worked as a substitute at Estes Park Public Library and has served in the libraries at The Gates Corporation and The Cable Center in Denver. Cook comes to BCR from Valuation Investment Group, Inc., where she worked as an executive assistant and prior to that as office manager for a number of Colorado companies.
In her joint role at BCR Melissa Howerter is taking on many front office responsibilities, including processing contracts and maintaining contract files and providing backup to the reception desk by answering phones and handling incoming and outgoing mail when necessary. She also records and generates notes for BCR Management Team meetings, produces correspondence, price lists and forms on the computer and helps update and maintain the Training section on BCR's Web site, as well as the new Board of Trustees Web site and BCR's Intranet.
Before joining BCR, Howerter served as administrative assistant at Modular Office Renovation Experts and before that worked at the Colorado State Library and Weld County School District 6. She has taken a number of business-related courses since her graduation from Greeley West High School, Greeley, Colorado, where she participated in DECA and Developing Leaders in Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship.