Welcome to Elvis Bakaitis, Adjunct Reference Librarian

The Graduate Center Library is pleased to welcome Elvis Bakaitis as the new Adjunct Reference Librarian.

Elvis is a recent graduate of the Queens College MLIS program with a Certificate in Archives and Special Collections. They’ve interned at the Brooklyn College and Barnard College libraries, and are the current and inaugural Communications Fellow at Barnard College. Elvis is also a Coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives and has recently presented on the Graduate Center Library’s Graphic Activism panel, co-sponsored with CLAGS, for co-curating the Graphic Activism exhibition which is currently on display in the library display cases. You may recognize Elvis from their self-represented avatar in the 4-paneled comic strip! Also, it should not be understated that (alongside LIU’s First Year Success Librarian, Kate Angell), Elvis is the co-founder of the NYC Feminist Zinefest, which has inspired a number of feminist zinefests throughout the country, and some might argue, a zine revolution.

 

panel_1As Adjunct Reference Librarian, Elvis will transfer their skillset of detail-oriented pragmatism with creative ingenuity by supplying reference service to the growing Graduate Center community. As usual, reference service includes responding to questions in-person, via chat, and on the phone, regarding  Interlibrary Loan, CUNY-wide E-Resources, scholarly communication, dissertation deposit procedures, and other aspects of the GC Library. Elvis will spend the first couple of weeks shadowing folks at the reference desk (fair warning, library users may notice a doubling at the reference desk this December).

Additional portions of Elvis’ core duties will be to provide an assessment of the QuestionPoint software which many CUNY librarians use to offer 24/7 chat reference as part of an international consortium. With an aim to provide more effective online reference service, this project will include a qualitative and quantitative analysis of past email and chat exchanges and produce tangible recommendations for improving this core service. Elvis will also participate in the general operations of public services as projects emerge.

We are so very excited to have Elvis on board.
Please welcome them to the library and the GC community.

 

About the Author

Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is an Assistant Professor and Head of Reference at the Graduate Center Library.