Dana Mastroianni, Library Manager and Head of Public Services
The library is delighted and proud to see our long-time colleague Dana Mastroianni promoted to the position of Library Manager & Head of Public Services. Dana has done a wonderful job guiding the library through massive changes over the past few months.
Dana joined the JKM Library team in 2003, back when the library was managed by Library Systems & Services (LSSI). Her first position at Chatham was Reference Librarian, which later became Reference & Electronic Resources Librarian. In ’22 she was promoted to Head of Public Services.
With the elimination of the Library Director position in August, a new position was create to fill the leadership gap in the library. In August of ’23 Dana was promoted to Library Manager & Head of Public Services.
Dana received her undergraduate degree in English from West Virginia Wesleyan College and her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining the JKM Library she worked as the Social Work Librarian at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library. Prior to that, Dana worked as a student worker in Wesleyan’s library during her entire undergraduate career.
At Chatham, she has led the way on such initiatives as electronic resources, instruction, and Open Educational Resources (OERs).
“Advancing and advocating for OERs for student affordability is something I’m proud of,” Dana commented. “While the workshops Becky Borello and I have done over the past three years have been received well by faculty, working towards a wider institutional effort and acknowledgement of course text affordability for students would be useful.”
Dana has also long served on UPC and was an adjunct instructor for IND175 Introduction to Library Resources for the nursing program for several years.
Navigating the library through tumultuous times is nothing new for Dana. When she joined the JKM Library, Chatham was in a restructuring process that meant huge shifts for the library. Part of that was the immense task of rebuilding the library’s reputation among the greater campus as a place that could serve faculty and student’s information needs again. This demanded a huge amount of outreach and communication with faculty and other departments across the university.
“From that work and those discussions, I was able to understand what faculty and students needed, was able to advocate for resources that met those needs, and also develop and refine library services that best leverage librarians’ skills while serving the Chatham community,” Dana commented. “I’m very proud of being a part of that rebuilding process and having a role in what the JKM [Library] is today.”
Dana has been a constant source of thoughtful and pragmatic support for the library and the Chatham community at large. We are delighted to see her lead our team into this new phase.
“Looking ahead, I believe there are other collaborative opportunities across campus where the librarians can bring value and insight. Becoming more intentional about those opportunities (which is already in progress) is important. Promoting an understanding of the library as a multifaceted space, the building, our collections, and our services is more important than ever as Chatham looks to move forward with furthering academic excellence and student success.”
Please join us in congratulating Dana in her new leadership role here at Chatham!