Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Library Tour

Join the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association for Information Science and Technology (CO-ASIS&T) and Librarian Sheila Campbell for a tour of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Sheila Campbell has been at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for nearly 20 years. The Library at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is not open to the general public, but offers a wide range of items and materials for educational purposes for visiting groups. Among the collection are animal skulls and skins, stuffed animals, and various props for zoo staff to borrow for programs. She also runs the Zoo School, a program for high school students interested in zoology, designed to help with research instruction, bibliographic citation, and provide access to the library’s resources. Sheila Campbell is the zoo’s only librarian, where she connects zookeepers, administrators, researchers, students, volunteers, and the public to information about wildlife and the natural world.

Please wear comfortable shoes and weather appropriate clothing, as we will be walking outside between library locations.

WHEN: Saturday May 7, 10am

WHERE: Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
4850 Powell Road
Powell, OH 43065
columbuszoo.org

COST: Admission is free, parking is $10 a car. If you are interested in carpooling you can avoid the $10 parking fee. CO-ASIS&T will be meeting at 9:30am in the Kroger parking lot near the corner of Powell Road and Sawmill Parkway. You must indicate you wish to carpool in your registration so we will be sure to have enough cars.

REGISTRATION: Email pwillke@kent.edu by May 4, 2016 to confirm your spot. Registration is free, but mandatory. There are a limited number of tickets available. Please also indicate if you wish to carpool.

We had a great time at the zoo on May 7! Our library group had so many excellent questions about the job of a zoo librarian. Sheila is one of only a few zoo librarians in the country and has been in her position since it was created. She showed us all of the educational materials she maintains, everything from animal skulls and puppets, to children’s books and professional journals. She works closely with the high school students that attend Zoo School and provides valuable resources for zoo keepers. We even got to watch Nora (the baby polar bear) try to catch fish for a while. Sheila runs the show all by herself, but hopes to someday have an archivist to focus on preserving the zoo’s history, and is eager for practicum students who need a project (contact information below)!

Thank you Sheila! We had a great time! Interested in a practicum at the Columbus Zoo library? Email Sheila Campbell for more information!

Some of the items owned by the library: