Melanie Smith
( She/Her/Hers )
First-Year Experience, Outreach and Communication | Senior Assistant Librarian
Student Success and Engagement Team
Phone:
(415) 338-1620
Email: smithms@sfsu.edu
Location:
LIB 321
Research & Instructional Services
About Me
I want to make it easier for all SFSU students to take advantage of everything your Library has to offer. Before I became a librarian, I worked at a newspaper in the Central Valley for more than a decade, and I care about sharing information freely and clearly.
I hope the Library is a place you feel welcome and free to explore, play and ask questions!
How I Can Help
- Explore our get-started guide to learn what you can do here at your Library — and what we can do to help you.
- Email me anytime, or send me a Teams chat! I check messages frequently during work hours Monday through Friday.
- Meet with me on campus or on Zoom to get help with a research project or other library questions. Here's where you can check my calendar and book a time to talk.
Ask Me About
- Inviting a librarian to your meeting or event
- Displays, events, and communication at the Library
- Formatting citations and reference lists
- Tolkien's Middle-earth
Education
- Master of Library & Information Science, University of Washington Information School
- Bachelor of Arts in Literature/Writing, University of California, San Diego
Selected Research and Publications
- Smith, M., Davidian, Z., & Rusk, F. (2025, April 24). Bringing wellness to the library: a cross-campus collaboration [Conference session]. Big Ten Academic Alliance Student Wellness Symposium 2025, online.
- Rusk, F., Smith, M., Davidian, Z., & Borges, E. (2024). ‘I wish I knew this earlier!’: A qualitative analysis of student instruction feedback. LOEX Conference Proceedings 2024. 28. https://commons.emich.edu/loexconf2024/28/ (see also: Presentation slides)
- Davidian, Z., & Smith, M. (2024, May 31). The amazing makerspace race: An active-learning library orientation for new STEM students [Lightning talk]. California Conference on Library Instruction (CCLI) 2024, San Francisco, CA.
- Rusk, F., Borges, E., Maxwell, J., & Smith, M. (2023, March 17). High-impact information literacy collaborations for student success [Poster]. ACRL 2023, Pittsburgh, PA.
- Ray, L., & Smith, M. (2022, October 20). What OER authors want: Lessons from an OER publishing platform user survey [Conference session]. Open Education Conference 2022, online.