Barbara Lewis

As Social Sciences Librarian at the University of South Florida Tampa Library, I am the Library liaison to the Departments of Anthropology, Communication, History, Humanities & Cultural Studies, Women's & Gender Studies, and World Languages and the The Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications. In addition to providing library/information literacy instruction and consultation, I also my inform and educate students and faculty about the many digital/multimedia options available to complement, supplement, or replace analog course assignments with the goal to help students develop digital and media skills of value to future employers.

I received my B.S. in Industrial Engineering from General Motors Institute and my M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida. After working 25 years as an Industrial Engineer and Information Systems Analyst for companies such as General Motors, Corning, and Nortel Networks, I began my graduate studies in academic librarianship. A graduate assistantship at the USF Tampa Library helped me gain practical experience in my new career and I joined the USF faculty as Outreach Librarian for the Tampa Library in 2005. In 2008, I became the Digital Initiatives and Services Coordinator and was promoted to Assistant Director for Digital Learning Initiatives in 2015. Based on a desire to have more meaningful and impactful student and faculty contact, I requested a return to a liaison position in 2017.

I also have a strong commitment to service activities. To name a few, I served as the chair of the Oral History Association's Local Arrangements Committee for the 2015 conference and have served on and/or chaired several USF Libraries and USF Faculty Senate committees, councils, and workgroups. I am also a member of the Florida Digital Humanities Consortium's Executive Council.