Fly by the library this month and check out our display of aviation books. We won’t tell you to buzz off! We’ve got over 300 books on all aspects of flight technology, and children’s books too. Books are just the tip of our resources, which include access to 100 journals presenting and analyzing the latest in motor and aircraft designs, fluid dynamics, atmospheric experiments, and so forth. Search in our databases using the subject phrase “Aerospace sciences” or key words Astronautics or Aircraft.

November is National Aviation History Month, designated to celebrate the many accomplishments of our nation in these fields. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s online exhibits are a rich resource. Currently posted are stunning photographs of the moon, along with collections highlighting how aeronautics changed our lives – and our minds.

If you search the library’s Indiana Memory database using the key word aviation, you will find that many pioneering aviators and aviation technologies were born in Indiana. Our Aviation Technology and Aviation Maintenance Technology programs will no doubt be hatching more!

Speaking of high-flyers, this month’s staff profile is our full-time Librarian Liz Metz.

What do you do at the Library?
I have been the Full-time Librarian for almost a year now. My main goal as Librarian is to make the Library accessible to students, faculty, and staff. I do this by helping people who visit the Library, creating guides for Library resources, and teaching classes about how to use the Library. I am responsible for collection and resource development for the School of Information Technology and the School of Arts, Sciences, and Education. I am also the cataloger here at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast, which means I get all of the new books in the computer so that they can be searched for and checked out.

How did you gain your expertise?
I completed my BS at Purdue University, focusing on Elementary Education. When I graduated in 2009, I ended up working two part-time positions in the same elementary school – one in the Library, and one as a Title I instructor. At the end of the school year, the funding for the Title I program was cut, and I was on the search for a new job – which is how I got my start here at Ivy Tech! I started as a circulation aide and between the two positions, I realized I really enjoyed working in a library, and I started working on my MLS online through IUPUI. Luck was with me, because shortly after I completed my MLS, the part-time librarian positon opened up. That position eventually turned into the full-time position I’m in now!

What is unique about you that could be of service to the Ivy Tech community?
My Elementary Education background has been beneficial when students come looking for children’s books – I can almost always find one that works. I’m also fascinated by tech and computers, and while I’m not an expert, I can usually figure out solutions to the problems students bring in.

What is your favorite thing to do outside the Library?
My husband and I are both gamers, and we really enjoy playing together. Right now I’m working my way through a re-play of the Kingdom Hearts games in anticipation of the tentative 2018 release date of a new game! I also have a bit of a zoo at home, and love snuggling with my four cats and 6-month-old German Shepherd, who I hope to train as a therapy dog.

What is a favorite book you would recommend?
When I’m looking for something fun to read, one author I always enjoy is Neil Gaiman. I love how he usually mixes in a little mythology to his writing, and presents a mixture of fantasy and suspense. I got to meet him a few years ago when he was on his signing tour for The Ocean at the End of the Lane and was extremely excited to have him sign my copy of Sandman Volume I.

What is a favorite website you would recommend?
I love puzzles and brain teasers, so I spend a lot of time on Conceptis Puzzles (http://www.conceptispuzzles.com/). Many of the puzzles need to be purchased, but they publish a new free puzzle in each category every Friday, and some of the categories are available as apps with even more free puzzles.

Don’t forget to check out our list of new releases – they are all fiction this month.