CAPAL’s monthly member profiles are back in time for the fall semester! This month’s member profile is of Emily Carlisle-Johnston, Research and Scholarly Communications Librarian at Western University-London, Ontario.
What do you like to do in your free time?
My partner and I just moved to a new apartment, so lately a lot of my free time is spent trying to make the place feel homey! I spend more time than I’d like to admit browsing furniture stores, home decor stores, and Facebook Marketplace trying to score deals. It’s fun, though!
What would you be if you weren’t a librarian?
I’ve always wanted to be a yoga instructor or pilates instructor! I like to think that one day I’ll just go for it and teach a class or two a week in addition to being a librarian.
What were you doing before you started your current work position?
I started my current role in December 2020. Before that I was a Program Lead at eCampusOntario – a not-for-profit organization that supports technology-enabled learning for Ontario’s publicly funded colleges, universities, and Indigenous institutes. My work focused on supporting educational technology and Open Education programs, and even though it wasn’t a librarian position, it prepared me well for a lot of the work that I do now.
What are you most excited to be working on right now?
I don’t know that I can reveal the exact project just yet, but over the next year, I’m going to be able to provide more support for Open Education projects on my campus. I’m looking forward to working with Open Education champions, spreading the word about Open Education, and increasing OER adoption at Western.
What made you decide to join CAPAL?
As an MLIS student, I knew I wanted to work in academic libraries, so joining our local student chapter just made sense. I jumped right in and haven’t looked back!