Curriculum Vitae

Education

2006   M.S. in Library Science, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
2003   B.A. in English, Magna Cum Laude, Rice University, Houston,TX

Professional Experience

Reference & Instruction Librarian
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Library, St. Mary’s City, MD
July 2011 – Present

Primary responsibilities include serving as the library liaison to the Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science departments, as well as the Museum Studies, Neuroscience, and African and African Diaspora Studies cross-disciplinary programs; teaching course-related library research sessions; collaborating with faculty to develop and maintain the library’s print and electronic collections; providing reference and research assistance to students and faculty.

Circulation and Reference Assistant (part-time)
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Library, St. Mary’s City, MD
September 2009 – May 2011

Primary responsibilities included assisting library patrons with circulation needs such as item check-out and returns and computer and printer troubleshooting; responding to reference and research assistance inquiries; serving as the primary library staff member during weekend evening hours and supervising students during this time; and working on other projects as needed, including updating the St. Mary’s College Library’s Digital Archives’ user interface.

Psychology and Social Work Librarian
University of Houston M.D. Anderson Library, Houston, TX
February 2007 – July 2009

Primary responsibilities included serving as the library liaison to the Dept. of Psychology, Graduate College of Social Work and Women’s Studies Program; teaching course-related library research sessions and workshops; developing print and electronic collections in psychology, social work and women’s studies; creating online research resources for students and faculty; and providing reference services to students, faculty and staff in-person and online. Specific accomplishments included:

• Co-created the Mobile Technologies Project Group to trial library services on the iPod Touch and increase librarians’ familiarity with mobile technologies.
• Co-founded the UH Libraries Marketing Committee to promote librarians and library services throughout the University of Houston community. Sample activities included: Increasing participation in faculty, staff and student orientation; hosting a finals week study break for UH students; developing a UH staff raffle to increase the use of library resources.
• Developed The Librarian is In, a satellite reference service at the Graduate College of Social Work computer lab.
• Created online subject guides for psychology, social work, and women’s studies and course-specific research guides. Embedded these resources into WebCT/Blackboard courses.
• Created instructional videos for library resources using Camtasia & Jing.
• Conducted online chat reference for UH students using Meebo.
• Maintained a social work blog using WordPress.
• Developed an information literacy curriculum for the Psychology and Social Work Research Methods courses.
• Coordinated the UH Libraries Open Workshop program, including developing workshop content, recruiting instructors and scheduling all workshops.

Welcome Center Coordinator
Office of University Relations, Rice University, Houston, TX
2003-2007

Primary responsibilities included managing the daily operations of the Rice University Welcome Center; providing visitors and callers with information on university history, academic offerings, campus resources, special events, and directions; organizing campus tours and visits for school groups, community organizations, and scholars from the Institute of International Education (IIE); and assisting in the planning and implementation of university events. Specific accomplishments:

• Advised 2 student organizations: the Rice Student Ambassadors and Rice Vote Coalition.
• Hired and managed 3 student assistants and 60 student ambassador tour guides.
• Created and maintained websites, databases, spreadsheets, and annual reports for the 
Office of University Relations.
• Coordinated voter registration efforts and an election station on campus.

Publications

Social Sciences Book Reviewer for Library Journal since July 2008.
Last published review in July 2011 issue for Haiti: After the Earthquake
by Paul Farmer.

Coombs, K., Arellano, V., Bennett, M., Dasler, R. & Vacek, R. (2010). Piloting mobile services at University of Houston Libraries. In M. Ally & G. Needham (Eds.), M-Libraries 2: A virtual library in everyone’s pocket (pp. 51-58). London, England: Facet Publishing.

Arellano, V. (2010). A case for Zotero. Public Services Quarterly, 6(4) 364-366.

Arellano, V. (2009). The sous chef takes center stage: Using experienced students to teach their classmates. In D. Cook & R. Sittler (Eds.), Library instruction cookbook. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Arellano, V. (2009). Picking the right search ingredients: Brainstorming and evaluating keywords in an upper-level psychology course. In D. Cook & R. Sittler (Eds.), Library instruction cookbook. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Arellano, V. (June 2009). Pushing the edge: Explore, engage, extend: The 14th national conference wrap up [Review of Keynote Speaker Ira Glass]. College & Research Libraries News, 70(6), 332-333.

Arellano, V. (May 2009). Ask forgiveness later: One new librarian’s guide to trying new things. Info Career Trends,10(3).

Arellano, V. (March 2009). No One Taught Me How to Teach, or What I wished I’d learned in library school. Info Career Trends, 10(2).

Arellano, V. (2008). Internet resources column [Review of the social networking website Eventful]. Public Services Quarterly, 4(3) 233-246.

Arellano, V. (2008). Internet resources column [Review of the web-based software Basecamp]. Public Services Quarterly, 4(2), 138-140.

Arellano, V. & Raymundo, M. (2007). Revision of Psyc 2301: Introduction to research methods in psychology lab manual. University of Houston, Department of Psychology.

 

Presentations

Building a Community of Emerging Leaders. Poster Session with Maria Accardi, Rebecca Metzger, and Sydney Thompson, ALA Annual Conference, Emerging Leaders Poster Session, July 2009.

The Library Makes its Small Screen Debut: Using the iPod Touch to Trial Library Services on Mobile Devices. Poster Session with Miranda Bennett and Robin Howard, ACRL National Conference, March 2009.

Adopt a Librarian: Improving Undergraduate Instruction through Faculty-Librarian Collaboration. Panel presentation with Robin Dasler, Nancy Linden, Rosalind Alexander, and Christina Gola, University of Houston System Conference on Student Success, March 2009.

Research Where You Learn: Incorporating Research and Information Literacy Modules into WebCT. Presentation with Robin Dasler and Rachel Vacek, University of Houston System Conference on Student Success, March 2009.

Creating Online Tutorials Using Camtasia. Association of Architecture School Librarians Annual Conference, March 2008.

Integrating Information Literacy into English 1304.  Mini-Conference on Teaching English Composition at the University of Houston, December 2007.

Awards & Honors

2009
American Library Association Emerging Leader
ACRL National Conference Scholarship Recipient
University of Houston (UH) Libraries Dean’s Standard Bearer Award for External Service

2008
ACRL Immersion Teacher Track Program Scholarship Recipient and Attendee
UH Libraries McGovern Rookie of the Year Award
UH Libraries $2000 Microgrant Recipient

2007
ACRL Dr. E.J. Josey Spectrum Scholar Mentor Committee ALA Travel Grant

2005
American Library Association Spectrum Scholar
Texas Library Association Spectrum Scholar

Professional Service

ACRL  Instruction Section Discussion Group Steering Committee

• Member, July 2011-Present

American Library Association, Membership Committee Intern, 2010-2011

American Library Association, Spectrum Scholars Interest Group

• Chair, 2009-2010
• Secretary, 2007-2009
• Organized the 2008 Spectrum Scholars ALA Annual Conference Program, 
Leaders Wanted: Is an LIS PhD Right for You?

Library Leadership & Management Association Mentoring Program Committee Member, 2009-2010

ACRL  Instruction Section Mentoring Program Committee

• Member, 2009-2010
• Intern, 2008-2009

ACRL Education and Behavioral Sciences Section Social Work / Social Welfare Committee Member, 2007-2009

University Service

University of Houston Libraries

2008-2009
Strategic Directions Implementation Committee, Chair (member, 2007-2008)
Committee on Committees and Elections, Chair (member, 2007-2008)
Marketing Committee, Co-founding member
Website Redesign Information Architecture Working Group, Member
Sociology & Communication Librarian Search Committee, Member

2007
Evening and Weekend Reference Librarian Search Committee
Web Services Coordinator Search Committee

University of Houston

2008-2009
Bookstore Advisory Committee

Memberships

2009-Present    Library Leadership & Management Association
2006-Present    Association of College and Research Libraries
2006-Present    American Library Association
2006-2008        Texas Library Association