About LOUIS

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

I work on behalf of the member libraries to ensure that the resources and services provided through membership in LOUIS serve the needs of members and are consistent with the LOUIS mission and goals. I work directly with the Deans and Directors and the LOUIS Executive Board to ensure that the LOUIS consortium flourishes in the future as it continues to meet member needs and is prepared for the opportunities and challenges of the future.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

In 2022 we formed the Strategic Planning Working Group to develop the direction and goals for LOUIS for the next three years. The strategic planning process came at a time when we were still emerging from the pandemic and gave us an opportunity to reconnect in-person. Because the engagement sessions happened in small group settings, we were able to get to know a little bit about each other and the work we do every day. It's also allowed me to visit many libraries that I haven't seen in person before. It's obvious how much effort and care have gone into these spaces, and that brings home just how important each person and each space is in supporting and enriching the students and researchers in Louisiana. Once this work is completed, we have a guiding document to set our direction through 2026.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

The genesis of LOUIS was in collaboration and I believe that start provided a foundation for the support and active participation the consortium still sees today. LOUIS is as strong, efficient, and effective as it is because the member libraries actively support and recognize the value of the consortium and the LOUIS staff believe in the mission of the consortium.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

The LOUIS team is made of up lovely humans who are kind, funny, and excited by their work. I enjoy interacting with them every day.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I love to take long walks with my dog while listening to audiobooks. Unfortunately my dog doesn't like long walks unless the weather is ideal. She is perfect in every other way though, so I'll keep her.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

As OER Project Coordinator, I provide essential support for planning, implementing, and assessing the three-year federally funded grant, Building a Competitive Workforce: Career and Technical Education OER with Embedded Digital Skills.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

What a challenging question! I am really proud of the podcast episode we created through the eLearning Innovation Taskforce Grant. It is called “Learn with podcasts: World Civilization 1” and was created to Enhance Dual Enrollment Students’ Engagement with History as supplemental material for the World Civilization 1 course that we (Ryan Pierce, Chresancio Jackson, Lise’ Namikas, and Christopher Gilson) created for the DOE Dual Enrollment grant. I think the best part of this project was collaboration, creativity, and continuing to work with the faculty who were a part of the original grant. In fact, the cohort and content creation phase of the DOE grant was ending, and we had made such strong professional friendships that we couldn’t imagine not working together. When this opportunity to apply for the eLearning Taskforce grant came open, we were so excited to keep the group work going in this different but impactful way.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

LOUIS staff want to be your “bookends”, to support you and your library. Call, email, or carrier pigeon your needs to us. We really do want to help. We also want to hear your ideas and spotlight the work you are doing in your libraries. Take advantage of opportunities to share your experiences and expertise!

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

How genuinely helpful everyone is – no question or concern is too big or small.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I enjoy scuba diving, riding horses, traveling, visiting Presidential Libraries, and spending time with my family and dogs.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

I coordinate Affordable Learning Louisiana. In this initiative, LOUIS partners with our member libraries to save students money on education by reducing the costs of instructional materials through the use of Affordable Education Resources (AERs), Open Educational Resources (OERs), and other open access materials. These resources provide students with equitable access to course materials on the first day of class. In other words, I get to collaborate with librarians and teaching faculty to undertake projects that impact student success!

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

I've been a part of the two federal grants LOUIS has received for OER. Through these grants, cohorts of academic librarians and teaching faculty from around the state have collaborated to create OER materials for dual enrollment courses. These materials have the potential to positively impact student success and reduce costs. I am proud of how this work makes higher education more equitable, inclusive, and reflective of Louisiana students, and grateful so many from around the state have contributed to make this possible.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

The work and successes of Affordable Learning Louisiana are possible thanks to our members. If you want to learn more about supporting the adoption of open and affordable course content or be involved, get in touch!

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

My favorite part is getting to collaborate with colleagues on projects that positively impact higher education.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I enjoy traveling, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

Web support (LOUIS websites and member library web integration) and data (collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and sharing) for LOUIS-related products and services

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

The LOUIS IPEDS Collection Statistics Toolkit. Several members have expressed how much time this is saving them when it comes time to submit the IPEDS survey every year.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

We have such an amazing and appreciative team here at LOUIS, and getting to work with so many amazing and appreciative people around the state has been very rewarding.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I'm an active composer of instrumental, vocal, and electronic music, solo and with my husband David Rodriguez as Orca, Attack!. We are also active list makers; we maintain comprehensive rankings of our favorite (and least favorite) king cakes, movies, TV shows, and more.

What else would you like people to know about you?

I have two pet aquatic turtles; I got the first one in 2003 and the second one in 2011.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

I provide membership support for all LOUIS electronic resource subscriptions, which includes solving technical issues, helping maintain awareness of products provided by LOUIS, disseminating information about new products and electronic resource programs, and working with the rest of the LOUIS team on any other electronic resource-related issues or projects.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

I'm most proud of my work supporting our EBA programs. They have provided our membership with many valuable electronic resources at no cost to our sites, and we have been able to acquire some resources from these programs for perpetuity.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

I wish more LOUIS members understood that we are always available for support and that reaching out to us for help is never an inconvenience for us.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

I really value the camaraderie that we have on the LOUIS Team.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

Music, cycling, tennis, travel, dog-ownership, and food.

What else would you like people to know about you?

I am an only child of Colombian immigrants and a life-long resident of Baton Rouge.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

As Member Services Manager I work to provide outreach, programming, communications, and support for all LOUIS Libraries members. What this means practically is that I host and organize professional development sessions, look for ways to encourage collaboration between libraries, and facilitate participation from our members in consortial activities. I also create and edit many of the communications coming from LOUIS.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

I'm very proud of Listen with LOUIS, the LOUIS community podcast. I believe this growing podcast is a great way for the LOUIS membership to learn from and about the projects and accomplishments of their peers, and to discover new ideas for their own libraries.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

The opportunities available to them to network and practice professional scholarship and collaboration. We provide Learning with LOUIS webinars, the LOUIS Podcast, LOUIS Lagniappe, the LOUIS Lately, and the LOUIS Users Conference all as places where we want you to present and participate! And while I know many take advantage of these opportunities, I want all our members to know and participate in these opportunities (as they are able).

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

There is an amazing positive energy on the LOUIS Team, and also a great sense of humor among the team. The positivity fills me with determination to do my best work for the membership.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I have a wonderful family -- my wife and I have four kids. I also make music, write and publish poetry, and have a deep love of gaming -- I once competed at the Pokemon Trading Card Game World Championships. I would love to talk to you about any of these endeavors.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

I am the Library Services Platform manager. My primary job function is supporting the infrastructure, architecture, and security of the library services platform, which includes implementing, customizing, and managing the full suite of the SirsiDynix Symphony ILS. I write and maintain custom scripts using SirsiDynix API's, PERL, and UNIX utilities to provide the sites with useful information for statitical purposes. I also work directly with SirsiDynix SaaS team to coordinate the upgrades for Symphony and Enterprise. Within Enterprise, I create widgets that can obtain and display data, that is not capable in the delivered system. I also monitor maintenance reports, Nagios system alerts, and harvests for BLUEcloud Analytics, BLUEcloud Central and Enterprise for all sites and resolve issues as needed.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

When the consortium first became a customer of SirsiDynix, our director at the time decided that each site's online catalog would be implemented out of the box with no customizations while the members at the libraries learned the new software. After several months, I researched how to customize each site so their school branding and colors would set them apart. Prior to SirsDynix, the online catalog was not robust. With SirsIDynix, we were able to make each online catalog unique to each institution. Customizing Enterprise positively affected LOUIS member instituitons because is it allowed the sites to showcase their holdings, services, and made external resources more accessible than ever before in a graphical user interface.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

I want LOUIS Member to know that the LOUIS Team is always here to help. We don't want our sites to hesitate to ask us for help. No question to too small or too big for the LOUIS Team to solve. We never want one of our members to shy away from approaching us or opening a TASK ticket.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

My favorite part of working on the LOUIS Team is the family feeling and friendships I have with each person on the team. The LOUIS Team has always been a smaller staff of individuals. We all work very well together and compliment each other.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

Now that my children are adults, I feel like my husband and I are finally getting our time together. We enjoy dining out, visiting local establishments listening to local bands, and traveling. Our retirement plans involve and RV and the open road!

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

I an the liaison between the library resource vendors and the institution.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

There have been many projects over the years but compiling the yearly core resource statistics is a yearly project/task that is appreciated by our members. They do not have to spend the time to extract the data and instead can use what we provide.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

That the LOUIS team can help them understand concepts and to find answers to any questions they may have.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

The comradery we have shared for 30 years.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

Oversee all LOUIS Business Affairs

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

I'm most proud of the strengthening relationship that LOUIS has with other departments in the agency. It's essential that we keep our LOUIS files organized and ready for legislative audit. Finance and procurement are two key departments that assists LOUIS in all of our business functions, so keeping them happy is key.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

Members have a direct impact on the success of LOUIS as a consortium. Their membership fees allow them services provided through LOUIS that can elevate their library. We are here to serve the needs of the libraries so we can all make an impact on student success and keeping talent here in our state.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

The LOUIS Staff

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I love spending time making memories with my family. I love anything and everything Halloween. I enjoy trying different restaurants, reading, and a good charcuterie board.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

Mike provides support and training for the LOUIS Library Services Platform (LSP), primarily the SirsiDynix Symphony Integrated Library System and its LOUIS-provided integrations and customizations. He also manages the LSP team.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

The System Administrator Administrator certification courses. They allow self-paced training for new and experienced system administrators. Primarily it makes better informed system administrators and the training can work on their schedule. It makes things easier for the LOUIS staff, because they can provide more targeted training in response to the certification results, but it also gives system administrators professional development opportunities that can be worked into annual assessment cycles.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

LOUIS is not only comprised of the central staff, but it is also its institutions and people. We can work together to achieve common goals.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

Everyone on the team is brilliant, knowledgeable and extremely supportive.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

I have a farm and pick-your-own orchard in Prairieville, with blueberries and blackberries. I have a big garden and dairy goats, chickens and bees. I like making things from scratch, from cheese to pickles, jams, hot sauce, and wine.

What else would you like people to know about you?

I'm a member of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. I grew up on the reservation in Charenton, Louisiana in St. Mary Parish.

What is your primary job function on the LOUIS Team?

For Resource Sharing I provide support, training, coordinate upgrades and enhancements of the ILLiad system. I troubleshoot and edit patron request forms, as well as implement new sites as they join ILLiad. For the Library Services Platform I provide support and training for SirsiDynix Symphony configuration, cataloging, circulation, acquisition, authorities, reports, administration, and government documents. I provide maintenance and support for electronic resources records in the catalog which entails loading marc records from vendors, deleting them when subscriptions end, or troubleshooting and reloading when needed. As part of the LSP Team I monitor BLUEcloud Analytics, BLUEcloud Central and the maintenance reports that LOUIS runs in the system for each institution.

What is the project you've done for LOUIS that you are most proud of? How did that project positively affect the LOUIS Membership?

As one of the first people hired at LOUIS in Jan 1993, the project I am most proud of was the one assigned in my first week on the job, to “bring libraries online”. As the libraries joined LOUIS, I converted their card catalogs to the NOTIS online library system. This entailed understanding the NOTIS system; visiting each library to understand the varying practices for cataloging, serials, authorities; ensuring that this information was converted correctly. Separate conversions were done for libraries participating in GPO the government documents program. Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette was then on the DOBIS system that required an entirely different conversion. This is how LOUIS (Louisiana Online University Integrated System) began for the membership.

What is one thing you wish more LOUIS Members knew or understood about LOUIS?

That we are there to help each and every member of the LOUIS libraries. That we have their back always and support them no matter how big or small their problems or issues. That together we make a team that makes the LOUIS consortium great.

What is your favorite part of working for the LOUIS Team?

The camaraderie, the laughter, the willingness to drop everything and help each other.

What hobbies or interests would you like to share that are outside of LOUIS?

Gardening! Gardening! Gardening! .... and reading whenever possible.

What else would you like people to know about you?

Thoroughly enjoy travelling; lived in and loved different countries and their cultures; simply adore my niece and nephews.