Employee Directory
Research, Teaching and User Services
About
The Research, Teaching and User Services Program has a primary focus on teaching, learning, and direct and proactive engagement with all levels of library users to promote long-term learning and successful outcomes for their research, scholarship, and creative endeavors. Program members engage library users through teaching and consultations in classrooms, workshops, online, in-person, at service locations, and through connections to a variety of departments and campus organizations. Members support library users through patron-focused services for resource access such as resource identification and selection, library guide creation and management, document delivery, interlibrary loan, reserves, and stacks management. They support academic programs with services such as scholarly communication support, research and writing camps, course-integrated library instruction, and online learning opportunities. The team works with subject librarians and campus faculty as the authority on integrating information, media, and digital literacy frameworks, instructional design, and outcomes-based assessment into pedagogical practices.
Contact
Members
Cheri Smith is the Psychology Librarian and Unit Head for User Services in the Teaching, Research & User (TRU) Services program. As Unit Head she oversees the functions of the Hesburgh Libraries Circulation, Stacks, Interlibrary Loan and Reserves units. Her interests include information literacy, library reference services, and open-access publishing.
M.L.S., Indiana University; B.A., Earlham College.

Daniel Johnson is subject specialist for English literature and digital humanities. He has graduate degrees in English from Wake Forest University (MA) and Princeton University (PhD), where he specialized in literature of the long eighteenth-century.

As Unit Head for Research Services in the Teaching, Research & User (TRU) Services program, Monica collaborates with faculty and staff to provide information and support related to scholarly communication issues that affect researchers. She is the liaison to the Graduate School and also serves as the library liaison to the French department. She earned her master’s degree in library and information science from Syracuse University.

F. Elizabeth Nicholson became the Interim Senior Director of Operations in July 2024. Nicholson has more than a decade’s worth of experience in academic libraries through expanding roles that have developed her expertise in several areas, including campus partnerships, library finances and facilities, strategic planning, talent management, and teaching in libraries.
As chief of the Operations division, Nicholson’s portfolio for the Hesburgh Libraries includes analytics, data, and insights; facilities and spaces; finance and budget; project management; strategic planning; and talent. She oversees dynamic and effective teams to provide a strong foundation for organizational effectiveness.
In her role, Nicholson collaborates with library and campus partners to enact key service, space, and resource decisions to benefit Hesburgh Libraries users and employees. Hallmarks throughout her experience have been a commitment to clear organizational communication, consensus-building around library and institutional goals, and creating affirming environments in which colleagues may see the value they bring to the organization.
Since joining Notre Dame and the Hesburgh Libraries in September 2021, Nicholson has served as the unit head for User Education & Engagement. In this leadership role, she collaborated with library faculty and campus faculty to develop creative and innovative ways to foster research and information literacy skills for undergraduate students to accelerate academic success. She also served as strategic planning implementation project manager, leading the advancement and communication of organization-wide goals, objectives, key results, and sustainers.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, Nicholson served as an instructional services librarian at North Central College (Naperville, IL).
Nicholson holds a Master's of Library and Information Science from the University of Missouri, an M.A. in French & Francophone Studies from The University of Iowa, and a B.A. in French and International Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University. Her current research interests include strategic planning in academic libraries, person-centered management, and organizational culture in academic libraries.

As the Entrepreneurial Spirit Endowed Business Librarian and head of the Thomas Mahaffey, Jr. Business Library, Pete provides comprehensive business reference, consultation, and information services to the University of Notre Dame community, in particular to the faculty, staff, and students of the Mendoza College of Business. She designs, teaches, and assesses instructional classes and serves as liaison to multiple programs, departments, and centers within Mendoza and within the University. Pete identifies, selects and acquires materials and databases in support of business information needs at the University. Before rejoining the Notre Dame family in 2009, she served as a Business Librarian at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and as Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University's West Campus Library. Pete was one of two staff members at the Mahaffey Business Library (née Business Information Center) when it first opened in 1995.

MLIS Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Academic Librarianship Specialization
MPH University of Illinois at Chicago
Community Health Sciences
BA University of Notre Dame
Psychology, Computer Applications
As Interim Co-Director of the Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship, Julie provides support and referrals across service and expertise areas, and collaborates with stakeholders across Hesburgh Libraries and University units to coordinate continual development of Center services, spaces, technologies, and educational opportunities.
If you have any questions about Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship expertise, services, spaces, or programming, please reach out to Julie!
