Vice Chair/Chair Elect
Gary Marks, Jr.
Current Position: Gary Marks, Jr. is the Reference & Outreach Librarian for the David & Lorraine Cheng Library at William Paterson University of NJ.
Position Statement: ACRL Chapters Council provides an ideal venue for academic librarians to share experiences and best practices in bolstering our profession within our respective states or regions. As President of the ACRL-NJ Chapter we’ve engaged in several initiatives with our school librarian colleagues which has opened our eyes to understanding the “Big” picture of librarianship in NJ and how librarians play crucial roles in student growth. I feel that the ACRL Chapters Council could serve as a melting pot of ideas where our individual efforts as state or regional chapters can foster new opportunities for us all. I would be honored to serve as Vice Chair/Chair Elect of ACRL Chapters Council.
Bio: Gary has been the Reference & Outreach Librarian at William Paterson University since 2017. Prior to this position, Gary held various titles in the David Lorraine Cheng Library including, Technical Library Assistant for Interlibrary Loan, and Principal Library Assistant in Lending Services. Gary has worked in an academic library since 1997, when he served as a library work-study student. In his current position, Gary coordinates the Cheng Library’s Liaison Program, social media team, and marketing & outreach efforts. He also developed and coordinates the Cheng Library’s Civic Literacy Initiative, a program which integrates the Library into the University’s Civic Engagement Mission and the Library’s LEARN Badge, a student digital badge micro-credential. Gary serves as Chair of William Paterson’s Faculty Senate Governance Council, where he leads the review and analysis of university governance documents and Senate Bylaw & Constitutional amendments. Gary has previously served as the Faculty Senate Parliamentarian and developed the virtual meeting procedures and protocols during the Senate’s transition to virtual meetings at the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Gary teaches information literacy classes and often teaches courses in the department of Political Science & Legal Studies as an Adjunct Professor.
Gary serves as the President of the ACRL-NJ Chapter & the NJ Library Association College & University Section. Gary has previously served as Vice-President, Legislative Representative, and Chair of the Marketing & Outreach Committee for ACRL-NJ/NJLA-CUS. Nationally, Gary has previously served as the Social Media Coordinator on the ACRL Politics, Policy, & International Relations Section Executive Board. Gary has published and presented at local and regional conferences on topics including library liaison programs, marketing and outreach, school library partnerships, information literacy, DEI & academic libraries, and designing Library Escape Rooms. As Chair of the Marketing & Outreach Committee Gary developed and currently manages the Social Media Directory of Academic Libraries (SMDAL), an international directory of hundreds of academic library social media accounts, which includes resources for marketing & outreach librarians around the world. For NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ Gary has also developed and hosted multiple statewide workshops on Civic Engagement in Academic Libraries. As President of ACRL-NJ Gary Co-Chaired the 2024 NJ Academic Libraries Conference and has led several collaborative initiatives with the NJ Association of School Librarians including the most recent “Teaching Thursdays” program which provides monthly teaching circles for academic and K-12 librarians to share instructional tools & strategies, resources, and shared experiences as NJ looks to build a continuum of information literacy skill development from kindergarten through higher education.
Secretary
Sarah McHone-Chase
Sarah McHone-Chase is the Director of University Library at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois. She is the 2023-2024 President of IACRL. Sarah has served on many ALA committees, including the Committee on Legislation and RUSA STARS, which she chaired in 2021-2022), and she served in an ex-officio role on Freedom to Read. She has served on the IACRL Conference and Continuing Education Committee and the IACRL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and has served on the committees of other state-level organizations, including the CARLI Resource-Sharing Committee, which she chaired for several years.