Kate Wimer, MLIS

My childhood was full of adventures that instilled in me the importance of community and taught me to be creative and flexible. I have been at George Fox since June of 2020, and truly believe that it has been my best adventure to date. I love working with the George Fox community, and am especially glad to support scholarly inquiry that is grounded in the virtues of our shared faith.

What do you do at Fox?

I am a research and instruction librarian, which means a large part of my job is supporting the questions and scholarship of students and faculty in my assigned liaison departments – specifically, the Portland Seminary and the School of Theology, business & economics, mathematics, undergraduate education, undergraduate psychology, and undergraduate social work. I teach, order materials, and offer one-on-one consultations to help students ask better questions, search efficiently, evaluate resources with wisdom, and apply information authentically and appropriately.

I also serve as the outreach & engagement librarian, working to support library programming and events, managing our social media and external communication, and dreaming up partnerships to do cool things here on campus.

Education & Experience

MLIS, Library and Information Science, University of Denver
BA, History, Harding University

I came to George Fox after two years leading Adult Services and Reference at a small public library, but I’ve spent most of my career in reference and instruction departments at academic libraries.

I do love library systems; my masters coursework focused on metadata structures, cataloging, and user experience. I have training and experience in project management, website design, event planning, book repair, and trauma-informed teaching, along with a host of other random skills learned in costume and scene shops, church camps, and from the non-fiction section of the public library.

Expertise & Research Interests

Over the past few years, I’ve been developing thoughts on constructive approaches to understanding authority in the undergraduate classroom grounded in wonder, kindness, and courage. These thoughts are constantly being refined through application in Research Ready, the George Fox faith-integrated information literacy curriculum. It is my hope that students leave George Fox not just trained in disciplinary knowledge, but with an authentic love of learning and a wise disposition toward our often overwhelming information environment.

I'm proud to be a founding member and the current chair of the Round Table for Virtue Driven Information Literacy, a collaboration of librarians at several Christian colleges and universities that seeks to give librarians in Christian higher education (and beyond) the opportunity to talk with peers about the crossover of intellectual virtue, information literacy, and faith.

You can find much of my recent scholarship in the Digital Commons.

What is something you'd like to do in the future?

Professionally, I’m hoping to publish some of my recent work in information literacy instruction. Personally, I am determined to learn major Oregon plants and wildflowers by sight.

Beyond the Library

I’m a daughter of a blended Catholic/Protestant family, and an advocate for neurodiversity and mental health awareness. If I’m not in my office at Murdock, I’m might be singing, playing with yarn, or chasing the sun.