FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary Ellen Reis Development and Outreach Coordinator St.

Johnsbury Athenaeum 1171 Main St. St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 Phone: 802-748-8291, ext. 306 Email: mreis@stjathenaeum.org Website: www.stjathenaeum.org Date: February 12, 2013 ST. JOHNSBURY ATHENAEUM ANNOUNCES LIBRIARIAN St. Johnsbury, Vermont St. Johnsbury Athenaeum Executive Director, Matthew Powers and the Board of Trustees are pleased to announce Alex Lent as full-time Librarian. Lent is currently completing his PhD in Information Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He obtained his Masters of Science degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Alex brings more than five years of library experience, training in Library and Information Science, and a passion for community libraries. He has extensive experience in reference, readers advisory, cataloging, circulation, interlibrary loan, programming, archival services, rare books, grant writing, education, and computer and technology support, says Matthew Powers, Executive Director of the Athenaeum. We are very pleased to welcome Alex to our library services team. Before beginning his library science studies, Lent spent over two years as an archival assistant in Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He organized and processed collections, wrote finding aids for researchers, catalogued books, and contributed content to one of the departments blogs. He worked reference in person, on the phone and via email, including for patrons researching local history and genealogy. While at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College, Lent selected courses specifically for a career in community libraries. In addition to core courses such as archives, rare books, library management, library instruction and technology, he supplemented his work as a library assistant at the Lilly Library in Florence, MA and as an intern at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum in Northampton, MA. He is a member of the Board of Corporators for the Petersham Memorial Library in Petersham, MA. Similar to the Athenaeum, the Petersham Memorial Library was founded in the late 19 th century and serves as its towns public library. We like to describe it as the living room of the communitya gathering place for reading, for culture, and for meeting with friends to enjoy common interests, says Lent. He appreciates the unique history of the St. Johnsbury Atheaneum and its importance to the community. 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Being on the Board of Corporators of the Petersham Memorial Library has helped me to understand the delicate balancing act of updating a historic library for success in the 21 st century while still valuing and respecting the history that makes it so special. It was a library like the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum that made me decide to become a librarian. His teaching experience includes serving as a Teaching Assistant for several courses relating to information studies, information organization, reference and instruction, media, technology and education at the School of Information Studies at McGill University. As a research assistant and principal investigator at McGill, Lent conducted thorough literature review using major academic databases, designed and implemented data gathering instruments, and analyzed databases. He has received several distinguished academic awards including the Wolfe Fellowship in Science and Technology Literacy and two Graduate Excellence Fellowships from McGill University. In addition, he has received the Jacqueline Marshall Kates Scholarship at Simmons College and William F. Field Alumni Scholarship at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His professional experience includes serving as a panel member for the Web2.U Symposium in Montreal; a member of the Zotero Working Group at the McGill University Library; and a reviewer for Codex: the Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a peer-reviewed journal examining academic libraries and librarianship. He was also co-president of the Simmons College Library Science Student Association of Western Massachusetts. Lent has been invited to present What Librarians Tweet About at the 6th Annual Web2.U Symposium in Montreal in February of 2013. He has also written several book reviews for Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 1876-1956 by Wayne Wiegand (2011. Iowa University Press) and Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books, by Leah Price (2012. Yale University). Something happens every day at the 21st century library. It keeps a finger on the pulse of its community in order to ensure that it continues to grow with its patrons and adapt to meet their needs. Above all, the 21st century library and its librarian are ready for change, and the librarian must have a vision and a plan to bring appropriate and essential change to the library. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum to diligently maintain that currency, says Lent. ###