At the beginning of November 2024, the Center for Digital Scholarship added a new team member, Rachel Molina. If you are familiar with the IU Indianapolis campus, you might recognize that name. While completing a Library Science degree, Rachel worked in key offices on our campus supporting students, faculty, and staff. We’re excited about this next step in Rachel’s career and thrilled that she can help us as our services adapt and grow. If you haven’t had the chance to get to know Rachel, here’s a short, basic introduction by interview.
What is your role at University Library?
I’m the Digital Publishing and Repository Librarian in the Center for Digital Scholarship. I promote open access research dissemination and am responsible for maintaining the institutional repository and open access journal publishing program. Additionally, I help authors participate in the IU Indianapolis Open Access Policy.
Where are you from and where did you go to school?
I am from Cincinnati, Ohio. I received my BA in Fine Art in 2015 and graduated from IU Indianapolis with my MLIS in 2024.
What did you do before joining the library?
I moved to Indianapolis in 2018 and spent my first year here as a painting instructor at Painting with a Twist. I started working on this campus at the end of 2018 as an administrative assistant in the Computer Science Department. In 2022, I moved into my previous role as the administrative coordinator for the IU Indianapolis Staff Council. I started my position in the library in November 2024.
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun?
I like to draw in my spare time, and over the Covid shutdown I got really into knitting and crochet! I also enjoy baking and try to make as many things from scratch as possible. I’m a fan of all Cincinnati sports, though soccer is my favorite--I follow FC Cincinnati and the US Women’s National Team religiously. Of course, I enjoy reading as much as I can outside of work; I try to dabble in all the genres but fantasy/sci-fi are my favorites. When the weather's nice I like to take my dog, Josie, hiking at state parks.
If there was one tip you would share with researchers and/or readers about open access, what would it be?
I think I would just stress the importance of taking advantage of the open access resources available to you. As a student with a tight budget, I really appreciated being in a program that promoted open access materials--it’s something I wish I had known about during my undergraduate career. There is so much information out there that isn’t blocked by paywalls, and people are working very hard behind the scenes to keep that information accessible to everyone. Make sure you use it!
What is the best way to get in touch if a patron needs some help with OA journal publishing or ScholarWorks?
Carrier pigeon preferred, but email works.