By Rachel Hulshult

September 9, 2014

The library staff went through big changes this summer, with three key staff members leaving for various reasons.  Library Technician June Leonard retired after over thirty years of service.  Information Resources Librarian and College Archivist Meredith Sommers moved to another state with her husband and new child.

 

User Services Librarian Jeff Harbin accepted a new position at Southern New Hampshire University, leaving after the first week of the semester. Though Anne Osborne didn’t officially begin working until after he left, Harbin was able to work with her over the summer and saw that she brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the job.

“She’s a great fit for our context,” he said.

 

Osborne came to Milligan from ETSU, where she was the INtopFORM librarian over the Quality Enhancement Plan.  Before that, she was the assistant library director for distance learning at Tusculum College in Greeneville. As a graduate of a small liberal arts college in the Midwest, she's happy to be back in a similar setting that allows for more interaction and connections with students.

 

She says she can't wait to help individual students, as well as help the library “strive to offer the best service possible.” 

 

She would also love to get involved in more activities on campus and learn about the many traditions of Milligan College.  She found out about one earlier this week when she was sitting at her desk late one night and heard yelling and car horns.

 

“I was about to call 911,” she said.  “I didn’t know what was going on,”

And thus she learned about Milligan’s tradition of throwing newly engaged students into Buffalo Creek.

 

Born and raised in Casper, Wyoming, Anne has lived in Johnson City for eight years with her husband, Ken.  They have a four-year-old son named Justin. 

 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in music, is a member of the Civic Chorale, and would love to participate musically at Milligan.  She has varied musical taste, but has a certain fondness for the rock and heavy metal of the 1980s, though lately all her son wants to listen to is the soundtrack of Despicable Me 2.

 

She has also acted in community theater productions and saw Les Miserables performed by the original cast in London.

 

Anne is eager to work closely with students and is “looking forward to a long tenure,” she said.

Two other members joined the library staff this summer.  Lindsay Kenderes is the new Information Resources Librarian and College Archivist. David Baker is the Digital Resources and Web Development Specialist. 

 

“We’re really happy for the people who left,” says Mary Jackson, the research and instruction librarian, “but are excited to have great new staff members on board as well.”  They’re still working on getting the new people and the changes in the library adjusted, but are excited to finally have all the new people in place. 

 

More information about all of the members of the library staff can be found on the library’s website at http://library.milligan.edu/faq/staff/.