CSUF Pollak Library
Will Breitbach
Contact Information
LibraryPLN 123
wbreitbach@fullerton.edu
657.278.2151
Bio
I am Unit Head of Instruction & Information Services at California State University, Fullerton's Pollak Library. I oversee a variety of operations and services. I have several years of experience in academia and education. In a former life, I was a teacher. I taught middle school science and then went on to teach English to adults in Ankara, Turkey where I lived for a year. Upon returning from Turkey, I earned a Master's degree in political science from CSULA where I focused my studies on international politics. Afterwards, I attended the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA where I earned my M.L.I.S. My studies at UCLA were focused on reference and instruction services and intellectual freedom. I also have a BA in Physical Anthropology from UCSB where I studied behavioral biology.
In additition to my responsibilities as Instruction & Information Services Unit Head, I am subject liaison to the Departments of Nursing, Social Work, and Political Science. I teach information literacy courses in a variety of subjects, provide reference services, provide research consultations, and serve on a variety of teams and committees at the Pollak Library and the University.
Publications
Refereed Scholarly Publications
Breitbach, W. & DeMars, M. (2009) Enhancing virtual reference: Techniques and technologies to engage users and enrich interaction.
Internet Reference Services Quarterly 14(3),
82-91.
Breitbach, W., Mallard, M., & Sage, R. (2009) Using Meebo's embedded IM for academic reference services: a case study.
Reference Services Review 37(1), 83-98.
Book chapters, Profesional Publications, and Proceedings
Breitbach, W. (in press) Web-scale discovery: A Library of Babel? In M. Popp & D. Dallis (Eds.), Implementing Resource Discovery Tools in Academic Libraries
Breitbach, W., & Lambert, J. E. (2011). Patron-driven ebook acquisition. Computers in Libraries, 31(6), 17-20.
Breitbach, W. (2009) Using Jing to turn your IM or chat reference into a multimedia educational experience, Proceedings of the 9th Annual Brick and Click Symposium.
Book and Resource Reviews
Breitbach, W. (in press) [Review of the book Teaching information literacy online eds. T. Mackey & T.E. Jacobson] Serials Review
Breitbach, W. (2011) [Review of the book Critical Information literacy eds. M. Accardi, E. Drabinshi, & A. Kumbier] Serials Review 37(1), 63-64.
Breitbach, W. (2011). Gimlet. Charleston Advisor, 12(4), 36-38.
Breitbach, (2010) EBSCOhost Mobile. Charleston Advisor, 12(2), 13-14.
Breitbach, W. (2010) Google Voice. Charleston Advisor 12(1), 20-22.
Breitbach W. (2009) Jing. Charleston Advisor 11(3), 37-39.
Breitbach, W. (2009) Libstats. Charleston Advisor 11(1), 44-45.
I have also authored a number of book and resource reviews for Choice Reviews in the area of Turkish and Middle Eastern politics and history.
Presentations
Prieto A. & Breitbach W. Orchestrating the technical and humanistic aspects of virtual reference. A presentation to be given at Chatting about chat: Service models and service styles in virtual reference. California Library Association Conference, Pasadena, CA (forthcoming).
Breitbach, W. (2011, August) Engaging users with screencasts during virtual reference. Presentation given at Introduction to Screencasting for Online Tutorials and Reference, American Library Association, Machine Assisted Reference Service Webinar.
Breitbach, W. (2010, December) Lessons learned from reference service assessment at CSUF. California Association of Research Libraries Discussion and Interest Group Annual Symposium, Los Angeles, CA.
Breitbach, W. & Prieto A. (2010, November) Setting up a free text messaging reference service, California Library Association Conference, Sacramento, CA
Prieto, A. & Breitbach, W. (2010, November) Top 10 strategies to enhance communication in virtual reference, California Library Association Conference, Sacramento, CA
Breitbach, W. (2010, June) Capitalizing on technology: A teaching technology fair (Panel Presenter), American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington D.C.
Breitbach, W. (2010, June) Using screencasts to enhance the educational experience of virtual reference. Presentation given at The (screen) casting couch: Tips and tricks to effectively use screencasting tools for library instruction, American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington D.C.
Breitbach, W. (November 2009) Using Google Forms: Marketing research, assessment, and other types of measurement, Gold Coast Library Network, Oxnard, CA.
Breitbach, W. & DeMars, M. (October 2009) Making virtual reference multidimensional. Internet Librarian 2009, Monterey, CA.
Breitbach, W. & Prieto, A. (October 2009) Pathways, skills, and opportunities in academic librarianship. California Librarian Association, Pasadena, CA.
Breitbach, W. (November 2009) Using Jing to turn your IM or chat reference into a multimedia educational experience. 9th Annual Brick and Click Symposium, Maryville, MO.
Breitbach, W. & DeMars, M. (November 2009) Turning your virtual reference service into the kind of first-class service that users expect and deserve. 9th Annual Brick and Click Symposium, Maryville, MO.
Special projects, initiatives, and programs
Pollak Library 10 Things - A technology training program based on 23 Things.
Executive Summary and Recommendations
IM/Text Reference
- Using Libraryh3lp and Google Voce.
Case study of the first iteration of the program.
WOREP - Reference evaluation
Library Prize - Temporarily suspended :(
Environmental Scan - Survey of our users' library and
information technology use.
Appendix
B (Survey Questions) and
unprocessed data
summary
Favorite reading
Blanchette, J. and Johnson, J. (2002). Data
retention and the panoptic society: The social benefits of forgetfulness.
Journal of the American Society of Information and Technology
18(1), 33-45.
Brown, D. E. (1991). Human universals.
Chang, J.
(1991). Wild swans : Three daughters of China.
Coelho, P. (1998).
The alchemist.
Coelho, P. (2004). Eleven minutes : A
novel.
Li, Z. (1994). The private life of chairman Mao: The memoirs of
Mao's personal physician.
Lippmann, W. (1922). Public
opinion.
Mill, J. S. (1863). On liberty.
Pamuk, O. (2004).
Snow .
Roberts, S. (2004). Self-experimentation
as a source of new ideas: Ten examples about sleep, mood, health and weight.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27(2), 257-262.
Selznick, B. (2007).
The invention of Hugo Cabret: a novel in words and pictures.
Shelley, M. (18xx). Frankenstein: Or
the modern Prometheus
Shostak, M.,(1981). Nisa, the life and words of
a !kung woman.