Jessica Lewis Marshall

2024 Associates Program

Transforming Libraries: New Roles & Impact

Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.—Sidney Sheldon

I am currently the Deputy Librarian – Public Service, Outreach and Special Projects at The University of the West Indies, Mona Library. Over the last 20 years, I have worked in different capacities in libraries across the Caribbean. I served as the Co-ordinator for Research and Information at the National Library of Jamaica, Deputy Director – Branch Libraries of the public library system in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Liaison Librarian for the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, UWI, Cave Hill Main Library, Barbados. Relationship building, collaboration, improving the user and staff experience, creating access for heritage collections and Information Literacy, IL instruction have been fundamental to my practice of librarianship. 

My learning goals during the program are:

1. To learn how to design and/or develop user centered services including how to set up effective and impactful Media, Information, Digital, AI and Data Literacy instruction sessions and/or programs.

2. To learn how to evaluate library resources and services and assess the impact of their library services/programs in the community or institutions they serve.

3. To learn about emerging trends and technologies in libraries and employ foresight thinking techniques to engage in strategic planning that includes change management.

4. To learn about critical issues in digital and print collections and repositories, including about developing, managing and preserving sustainable collections.