By Azana Carr '20, W&M Libraries
William & Mary Libraries welcomes Morgan Davis, Jessica Ramey, Mary Oberlies, and Liz Bellamy ’13 as new instruction and research librarians.
Morgan Davis earned her Master of Library Science degree from University of North Texas with a specialization in music librarianship. She comes to W&M from Towson University in Maryland, where she was the resident librarian for Diversity and Innovation. In that role, she forged strong connections with the fine arts faculty.
As the music and arts librarian, Davis will oversee the music library in Ewell Hall and help plan for the new music and arts library. She will serve as liaison to Music, Art and Art History, and Theatre, Speech and Dance.
“As someone with an interdisciplinary background, I think that my time as both a student of philosophy and music has made me keenly interested in helping students learn to connect their experiences and interactions with music and the arts to their academic pursuits,” said Davis. “For me, music really has been the bridge to all things and I really enjoy helping people learn to build those same kinds of bridges for themselves.”
Jessica Ramey comes to W&M from the State University of New York at Potsdam where she worked as an instruction coordinator. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Ohio State University and her Master of Library and Information Science degree from Kent State University. Ramey will serve as the liaison to sociology, philosophy and religious studies departments.
“Working at William & Mary has been a dream of mine for many years. I’m lucky enough to charge through life with an awesome husband and rambunctious daughter,” Ramey said. “We are all very excited to relocate to Virginia and hope to make it our forever state!”
As a liaison for history, international relations and political science studies, Mary Oberlies’ educational background and professional contributions in security science will benefit the departments.
Oberlies earned her master’s degree in library science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, has a master’s degree in violence, terrorism and security from Queens University in Belfast, Ireland and a graduate certificate in science, technology and security. Previously, Oberlies served as the undergraduate engagement librarian at the University of Oregon and the conflict and peace studies librarian at George Mason University.
“My background is in international relations and history, so I’m really looking forward to working with students and faculty in these areas again. W&M has a wonderful library staff and a beautiful library, and I’m really excited to join them.”
Alumna Liz Bellamy ’13, who earned her Master of Library Science degree from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, returns to W&M. Bellamy has focused her research interests on critical librarianship, which asks librarians to reflect on how power dynamics and privilege impact the information landscape. Bellamy will serve as liaison to the English, linguistics and American studies departments.
“As an alumna of W&M, it’s going to be a fun (and likely surreal) experience to peek behind the curtain and be a part of the side of higher-ed that you don’t think about as a student. I also can’t wait to catch up with some of my favorite professors from undergrad!”
This semester, Bellamy looks forward to seeing how the library fits in the workload of students and faculty so she can be more involved in their projects and research.
“My predecessor has done things in a certain way, and I want to use the great work they’ve done and put my own spin on it,” she said.
Students can make research appointments at the new Research Desk, located next to Circulation. The new librarians are excited to begin meeting students and working with them on their research assignments.