Karla Strand, DPhil, MLIS

Experience

• 

  GearTek, Inc.

  Jan 1990 - Jan 2005

  Administrative Assistant
• 

  America West Airlines

  Jan 1995 - Jan 2000

  Ramp Agent, Gate Agent, Ticket Counter Agent
• 

  Carroll University

  Jan 2003 - Sept 2013

  As the Interim Associate Director, Instructional Services, and Diversity Librarian at the CU Library, I assist in the administration of all aspects of the library, including budget management, assessment, policy creation, and in supervision of all employees. In addition, I coordinate the Collection Development program, which includes purchasing of print and electronic books, fund allocation to academic liaisons, and management of the budget. I am the Head of Reference and Instruction; in this capacity, I oversee the Reference budget, the Information Commons and Instructional Services Classroom spaces and services, and all bibliographic and curricular support provided by the Library. In addition to 8 years as a professional librarian, I have extensive leadership experience. I have studied queer, feminist, and race theory and regularly work with diverse populations, with a focus on gender, women's, and LGBTQ studies. I have initiated dynamic new programs and successfully built them from the ground-up. I have a proven record of collaborating across campus and in the community. I thrive on activity, new ideas, and hard work. I love to serve the community and I flourish as part of a team. I have served as project manager, committee member and chair. I am skilled in all aspects of staff management including hiring, training, and evaluation. I am a creative trainer and am versed in active and collaborative learning methods. I have valuable marketing, budgeting, and assessment knowledge. I also have experience in university teaching, conducting diversity training, public speaking, and in private consulting.Specialties: Information for development, information capital/poverty, feminism, women's and gender studies, reference, instruction, collection development, equitable access to information, diversity/cultural sensitivity, safe space training/ally development, LGBTQ, privilege & intergroup relations, South Africa, mentoring, qualitative research Show less • Provide focused support for the delivery of library services and materials to diverse populations across campus• Perform collection development for materials related to diversity issues • Provide research and instructional services on issues regarding diversity• Develop outreach programs for minority students and organizations• Provide regular assessments of all library functions related to diversity• Create and conduct training sessions on diversity and multiculturalism to the campus community (including Cultural Sensitivity, Safe Space, Ally Development, Hate Speech, Privilege, Feminism, Gender Spectrum, the LGBTQ Experience, etc.) • Participate in campus committees and events centered on diversity-related topics• Partner with other campus offices that have a focus on diversity and collaborate on events, speakers, and programming• Utilize LibGuides to create subject-specific resource guides of diversity-related materials• Advise Q&A (Queers & Allies, Questions & Answers) and co-advise FACE (Feminists at Carroll for Equality and Empowerment) Show less • Head of Instruction: Coordinate library’s information literacy program, including development, training, and assessment; Provide over 85 hours of bibliographic instruction and reach over 500 students through instruction each semester• Head of Reference: Manage research services, reference collection, and budget for reference materials; annually assess reference services and collection; Manage Reference budget• Coordinate library’s involvement in Carroll’s General Education Program: Curriculum development for Cultural Seminar and English 170 library sessions; Design and implement Library Orientation for all incoming freshmen; Instruction of Cultural Seminar and English 170 library sessions; Assessment and reporting of results• Manage Information Commons and Instructional Services Classroom: Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and services; responsible for technology, space, and supervision of 25 student employees • Liaison to Graduate and Undergraduate Education programs: Responsible for Curriculum Materials Collection (CMC), the collection of over 15,000 items focused on supporting Education students; Maintain consistent contact with Education faculty and students; Instruct Education students in effective utilization of information resources: Provide over 60 hours of library instruction each year• Utilize emerging technologies such as iPads, SmartBoards, web applications, and chat to provide superior reference and instructional services to patrons • Supervise Reference and Technical Services Assistant• Manage six supervisors: Hiring, training, scheduling, and budgeting(Also see Diversity Librarian description above.) I serve on the Student Conduct Committee, the General Education Committee, and participate in many search-and-screen committees. I was selected for membership in Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society. Show less As Learning Services Librarian I focus on how students learn best. I am still the Director of the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program but am the Director of the Math Center now as well. I have also taken on supervising the student employees at the desk of Carroll Library's new Information Commons. (Also see Diversity Librarian description above.) I serve on the Student Conduct Committee, the International and Multicultural Curriculum Committee (IMCC), and the Student Senate Diversity Committee. I co-advise the campus LGBTQ student organization, Q&A (Queers & Allies, Questions & Answers). Show less

  • Interim Associate Library Director

    Jul 2012 - Sept 2013

  • Diversity Librarian

    Jan 2006 - Sept 2013

  • Diversity Librarian and Instructional Services Librarian

    Dec 2010 - Jun 2012

  • Diversity Librarian and Learning Services Librarian

    May 2010 - Dec 2010

  • Diversity Librarian and Learning Commons Librarian

    Jan 2006 - Jan 2010

  • Adjunct Instructor in Education

    Jan 2009 - Dec 2009

  • Access Services Assistant and Interlibrary Loan Manager

    Jan 2003 - May 2006
• 

  People to People Ambassador Programs

  Oct 2009 - Nov 2009

  Library Science Delegate to South Africa
• 

  Carroll University

  Jan 2014 - Aug 2014

  Adjunct Instructor in General Education

  Created and taught a 2-credit Cross Cultural Experience (CCE) course about South Africa that culminated in two weeks of immersion in the country. Included valuable service learning experiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

• 

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Sept 2015 - now

  The Gender and Women's Studies Librarian (GWSL) provides bibliographic and curriculum support, inter-institutional cooperation, information sharing, and advocacy related to the field of women's, gender, and LGBTQ+ studies and to gender-focused scholarship in the traditional disciplines. From a base on the Madison campus, the GWSL and staff work collaboratively with all the UW baccalaureate universities, the freshman-sophomore colleges, and the UW Extension. In addition to UW System outreach, the GWS Librarian supervises the Office staff, manages all Office operations, including the production of publications, provides reference and instructional services, and selects for the Memorial Library collection in the areas of gender, women's studies, and LGBTQ+ studies. The Office of the UW System Gender and Women's Studies Librarian is one of the premier resources for support of gender, women's, and LGBTQ+ studies scholarship and librarianship. UW Madison has one of the largest university library systems in the United States with a collection of approximately 8.5 million volumes located in more than 30 campus libraries serving a diverse community with over 42,000 students. Show less • Supervise and coordinate the work of librarians who provide liaison services and develop collections in support of departments and programs served by Memorial Library• Ensure liaisons and selectors are meeting the needs of faculty, researchers, and students through the development of strong collections and the provision of progressive liaison services• Lead, manage, and mentor staff across areas of responsibility. Directly supervise 8 librarians. • Meet regularly with direct reports, providing regular feedback and conducting annual performance evaluations. • Collaborate with Teaching and Learning, Scholarly Communications, and other stakeholders across the General Library System and campus libraries to coordinate liaison services and ensure consistent delivery of services.• Assist with design and implementation of regular cycles of assessment, evaluation and review to sustain quality of services and programs. Show less

  • Interim Collection Development Officer

    Aug 2023 - now

  • Gender and Women's Studies Librarian

    Oct 2013 - now

  • Head of Memorial Library Collections and Liaison Services

    Sept 2015 - Jun 2017
• 

  Freelance (Self employed)

  Jan 2018 - now

  Freelance Writer

  Historically, my writing has focused on libraries, books, and book reviews. I highlight books written by women and other historically excluded individuals of the global majority. Increasingly, I am shifting my writing to use my expertise (in feminism, gender equity, anti-racism, resisting settler colonialism and capitalism, deconstructing whiteness, and the roles white settler women play in these) to center the intersections between patriarchy, white supremacy, settler colonialism, capitalism, and the climate crisis, and exploring strategies and solutions. Show less

• 

  University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries

  Jan 2019 - Jan 2021

  Interim Collection Development Officer

  As Collection Development Officer, I manage the collections budget, set and enforce policy, and advise the Associate University Librarian for Collections.

• 

  Ms. Magazine

  Jan 2019 - now

  Freelance Columnist

  I write two regular columns for Ms. Magazine: Ms. Feminist Know-It-All online and Bookmarks in the print magazine.