Scholarly Outreach Librarian Darren G. Poley is one of a number of librarians interviewed for Working in the Virtual Stacks: The New Library and Information Science, edited by Laura Townsend Kane. Working in the Virtual Stacks, published by ALA Editions and available in print and as an e-book, examines various aspects of modern librarianship and its relationship with technology.

Poley, the coordinator for Falvey Memorial Library’s event programming and outreach since 2005, appears in the chapter entitled “Librarians as Teachers and Community Liaisons.” Kane, after learning of Falvey’s outreach activities under Poley’s leadership, “thought [his] role [is] unique and interesting” and asked to interview him as one of two outreach librarians. Others featured in this chapter are a graduate library school professor, a school library media specialist, an associate dean of libraries and library school professor, and a user experience librarian.

Kane wrote the earlier book Straight from the Stacks: A Firsthand Guide to Careers in Library and Information Science (ALA Editions, 2003). Poley noted that “Working the Virtual Stacks … is meant to give a new look at the subject with a digital technology bent.”

Poley, with an undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College, a master’s degree in religion from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and a master’s degree in library and information science from Drexel University, started full-time at Falvey as a reference librarian and cataloger in 1999. He became an adjunct faculty member of Villanova University’s theology and religious studies department in fall 2000 and still teaches there. He also continues as the leader of the team for scholarly outreach and community development at Falvey. The outreach team is responsible for collaborative projects, such as the Villanova University Community Bibliography and open access e-journal publishing for the University, as well as for handling events and displays for the Library.

Contributed by Alice Bampton and Gerald Dierkes