Marcela Isuster

Associate Librarian

Coordinator, Digital Scholarship Hub

Liaison Librarian to the School of Information Studies and the department of Hispanic Studies.

Education

• Master of Library and Information Studies, McGill University, 2012
• Bachelor of Arts, Specialization in Journalism, Concordia University, 2007

Areas of Interest

• Information literacy
• Digital humanities
• DEI

Publications

Isuster, M.Y., & Langille, D. (2023). DH Eh? A Survey of Digital Humanities Courses in Canadian LIS Education. College and Research Libraries, 84(2). https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.2.228

Rod, A. B., Isuster, M. Y., & Chandler, M. (2021). Love Data Week in the time of COVID-19: A content analysis of Love Data Week 2021 events. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102449

Isuster M.Y. (2020). From students to authors: Fostering student content creation with Scalar. College and Undergraduate Libraries, 27(2-4). https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2020.1830908

Isuster, M. Y., & Greene, D. R. (2020). Survey of Digital Humanities Online Guides in Canadian Academic Research Libraries. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 20(4), 733-748. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/766318   

Isuster, M. (2020). Make your own mix: Using social media stories to explore primary sources. In S.E. Morris (Ed.), The critical thinking about sources cookbook. Chicago, IL: Association of College & Research Libraries. https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/books/1r66j547p?locale=en 

Kingsland, E. S., & Isuster, M. Y. (2020). A different ball game: Physical education students’ experiences in librarian-led Wikipedia assignments. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2019.102089 

Isuster, M. (2018). Beyond research: The library’s role in graduate student professionalization. In C. Renfro & C. Styles (Eds.), Transforming libraries to serve graduate students (pp. 333–341). Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries. https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/articles/c247dx26p?locale=en

Presentations

Rod, A.B., Isuster, M.Y., Shelton, A., Condon, P. B. (March, 2023) Love to love your data: Building data literacy through celebration. Panel presented at ACRL 2023, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Rod, A.B., Isuster, M.Y., & Mawhinney, T. (November, 2022). Demystifying Qualitative Coding. Workshop presented at the Library Assessment Conference, Online.

Isuster, M.Y. (2022, July). Low-stakes activities for text analysis instruction in the undergraduate classroom. Oral presentation at DH2022, Online.

Isuster, M.Y. & Rod, A.B. (2022, July). The inevitability of a reproducibility crisis in the digital humanities. Poster session at DH2022, Online.

Isuster, M., Wheatley, A., & Hervieux, S. (2022, April). Managing sideways: Leveraging social capital skills for librarian peer leadership. Oral presentation at the Conference on Academic Library Management, Online.

Fuller-Gregory, T., Isuster, M., Puente, M., Moreno, T.H. (2021, June). Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework: An Update. Panel at ALA Annual, Online.   

Isuster, M. (2021, May). Empowering students as content creators with digital projects. Oral presentation at the LOEX Annual Conference, Online.

Isuster, M. & Garrett, J.(2021, April). The Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework: Progress Report. Oral presentation at ACRL 2021, Online.

Isuster, M. (2020, April). Digital Inception: Building a digital scholarship/humanities curriculum as a subject librarian. Webinar for the Library and Information Technology Association, Online.

Isuster, M. & Hanz, K. (2020, January). If you can dream it, you can plan it: Organizing volunteer-run professional development events without losing your head. Oral presentation at the Ontario Library Association Superconference, Toronto, Ontario.

Isuster, M. (2019, May). Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something due: Using social media stories to decolonize rare books and special collections. Oral presentation at the Workshop for Instruction in Library Use (WILU), Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Isuster, M. (2019, May). Master manipulators: Using manipulatives for tactile and kinesthetic learning in the information literacy classroom. Workshop presented at the LOEX Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Isuster, M. & Groenendyk, M. (2019, February). Crowdsourcing social justice: Fostering and promoting inclusion in the academic library. Oral presentation at the Ontario Library Association Superconference, Toronto, Ontario.

Isuster, M. (2018, December). Bringing the library into service: Understanding service learning. Webinar for the Ontario Library Association.

Isuster, M. & Groenendyk, M. (2018, June). Through time and space: Data as a narrative device. Oral presentation at International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology (IASSIST) & Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (CARTO) Conference, Montreal, Quebec.

Isuster, M. & Lange, J. (2018, May). Finding acceptance: Tips and tricks for getting your work out there. Oral presentation at the L’association des bibliothécaires du Québec - Quebec Library Association Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec.

Isuster, M. & Kingsland, E. (2018, April). Let it be (a Wiki): Speaking words of wisdom about Wikipedia assignments in university courses. Oral presentation at the Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Isuster, M. (2018, April). Stories-telling: Harnessing the power of social media stories for teaching, learning, and outreach. Workshop presented at the Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Isuster, M. (2017, October). Getting Started with Scalar: A free, open-source platform to publish born-digital scholarship online. Workshop presented at Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts. 

Isuster, M. (2017, June) Kill the research paper. Oral presentation at the Humanities Intensive Teaching and Learning Ignite Talks, Austin, Texas. 

Isuster, M. (2017, February). Researching the zombie apocalypse: Incorporating Fantasy, Fiction, and Fun Into Information Literacy Instruction. Oral presentation at the Ontario Library Association Superconference, Toronto, Ontario. 

Kingsland, E. & Isuster, M. (2016, November). La conception universelle dans les bibliotheques. Oral presentation at Congrès des professionnels de l'information, Montreal, Quebec.

Kingsland, E. & Isuster, M. (2016, May). May the resource be with you: Free online tools to improve service and rule the empire. Oral presentation at L’association des bibliothécaires du Québec - Quebec Library Association Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec.

Fahey, C. & Isuster, M. (2016, March). Playing for keeps: Game design and implementation for long-term learning. Workshop presented at the Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference, Dublin, Ireland.

Isuster, M. (2015, November). Preaching beyond the choir: Advocacy for ourselves, our jobs and our institutions. Workshop presented at the Congrés de milieux documentaires du Québec, Montreal, Quebec.

Jensen, E., & Isuster, M. (2015, June). Moving the threshold: Meeting students where they are. Workshop presented at the New England Library Instruction Group Annual Conference, Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Fitzpatrick, T., Zoppel, C., Isuster, M., & Dennis, N. (2015, May). Beyond bricks & books: Forging unique campus partnerships. Poster session at the Association of College and Research Libraries - New England Chapter Annual Conference, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Isuster, M., Fitzpatrick, T. K., Fahey, C., Dennis, N.C., Brown, R.E., Chenault, T.G., & Coleman, L.J. (2015, June). Embedded librarianship: Librarian and faculty perspectives. Contributed paper presented at Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts.

Isuster, M. & Fahey C. (2015, May). Bewitching the town: Community collaborations in academic libraries. Oral presentation at L’association des bibliothécaires du Québec - Quebec Library Association Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec.

Fahey, C., Fitzpatrick, T.K., & Isuster, M. (2014, December). Embedded librarianship across disciplines. Webinar for the Reference and User Services Association, Online.

​Dennis, N., Fahey, C., Fitzpatrick, T., George, N., Isuster, M. Newell, Z., Soohoo, J., & Zoppel, C. (2014, June). Making magic in Witch City: Improving information literacy at Salem State University. Poster session at the American Library Association Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Professional Activities

2023-2025 - ACRL Diversity Alliance Committee, Member and EDI Committee Representative

2023-2025 - ACRL Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, Member

2023-2026 - ACRL New Publications Advisory Board, Member

2022-2023 - ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, ACRL Representative

2021-2023 - ACRL Professional Values Committee, Chair

2021-2023 - ACRL DSS Professional Development Committee, Member

2021-2023 - WILU 2023, Co-chair

2020-2022 - Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force, Co-Convener

2020-2021 - ACRL EBSS Education Committee, Member

2019-2021 - ACRL Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, Member

2019-2021 - ACRL EBSS Higher Education Committee, Member

2019-2021 -  ACRL IS Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) Committee, Member

2019-2021 - ABQLA, Director

2018-2019 - ABQLA College and Research Section , President

2018 -2019 - ABQLA Conference Committee, Programs Chair

2017-2018 - ABQLA College and Research Section , Vice-President

2017-2018 - ABQLA Conference Committee, Programs Chair

2016-2017 - ABQLA Conference Committee, Programs