Terence O'Neill - Dossier for Librarian III

Letter of Application

Dear reading committee and colleagues at Michigan State University Libraries,

Welcome to my submission materials for promotion to Librarian III. The period under review covers work from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2026.

This dossier reflects purposeful building over time that will continue to pay dividends in the years to come. These efforts show up as a compounding skillset; a growing and deepening network of professional relationships; and the benefit of sticking with certain topics and letting projects gradually build.

Several major themes carry through my work — across my two roles as Head of Digital Scholarship Services and Entrepreneurship Librarian, over the years 2019 to 2026, and throughout the criteria:

  • Information synthesis, and understanding entrepreneurs’ needs and information habits
  • Community-conscious business
  • Digital scholarship
  • International business
  • Strategic planning and implementation

I held two roles during the period under review, and a brief outline may be helpful. I began work at MSU in September 2013. In January 2018, I began work as the Head of Digital Scholarship Services, helping launch the Digital Scholarship Lab at that time. I submitted materials for and achieved Continuing Appointment (Librarian II) in 2019. On November 1, 2021, I shifted back to Entrepreneurship Librarian. The following spring, in 2022, I moved to a modified “Academic Year” appointment at 82% of full-time. In fall 2025, I returned to 100% status. My current title is Entrepreneurship and Business Librarian, at the Gast Business Library in the Teaching and Learning Division, at the rank of Librarian II.

Over this period, I have made significant contributions across all three criteria, with instruction reaching over 5,000 student impressions (Cr. I), launch of major initiatives both at DSL and as Entrepreneurship Librarian (Cr. I), four peer-reviewed papers published or under review (Cr. II), seven credited courses taught (Cr. II), and serving as an impactful chair for the RUSA-BRASS Education Committee nationally and for MSUL’s Strategic Plan Implementation Team (Cr. III).

I have organized this documentation as Criteria I, II, and III. For Criterion I, I have brought together narrative and artifacts that illustrate how I contribute to MSU as an educator and collaborator. Teaching materials and correspondence show how I have persistently integrated with entrepreneurship educators throughout MSU’s curriculum, in collaboration with partners across MSUL. Reference consultations show how I serve student-entrepreneurs in ways they and my collaborators value, drawing on my knowledge of specialist business databases and a willingness to find useful materials beyond our holdings. Project materials showcase how I have developed programs that integrate library materials and information literacy practices in new, collaborative, and powerful ways that meet the changing needs of students and other members of MSU’s community. These materials include not only more recent work, such as the Midwest Entrepreneurship Case Competition, but also contributions in the formative years of the Digital Scholarship Lab.

Criterion II shows how I have used research and for-credit teaching to deepen my understanding of the information needs of entrepreneurs. My research program deepens over time as I collect data and present findings on what I see as an important gap in information behavior literature: how do entrepreneurs integrate secondary information into their information processes and workflows? Within this broader landscape, I aim to better understand the distinctive contributions of business librarians and to advance the profession’s understanding of how entrepreneurs’ information needs are changing. As with research, for-credit teaching is particularly valuable in informing my day-to-day duties as Entrepreneurship Librarian, giving me a richer, deeper set of interactions in which to practice information-literacy teaching.

Criterion III holds contributions to MSUL and the profession, including my work with the Business Reference and Services Section of ALA/RUSA as well as MSUL’s Strategic Plan Implementation Team. In both, I have used leadership roles to help these organizations update key practices and functions to better serve their members.

Thank you for your time, attention, and contributions to MSU Libraries.

Regards,

Terence W. O’Neill

Curriculum Vitae

References

Ken Szymusiak, Managing Director – Operations, Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, MSU

Bethany Judge, Director of Experiential Learning, Undergraduate Education, MSU

Nicole Smeltekop, Special Materials Catalog Librarian, MSU

Zoeanna Mayhook, Assistant Professor of Information Studies, Business Information Specialist, Parrish Library of Management & Economics, Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies

Wendy Pothier, Associate Professor, Business and Economics Librarian, University of New Hampshire

Personal Performance Review Items

2019–2020

2020–2021

2021–2022

2022–2023

2023–2024

2024–2025

2025–2026