Tom Reinsfelder
Department Address
320 Campus Drive
Mont Alto, PA 17237-9703
About Me
Distinguished Librarian, Penn State University Libraries
Head, Penn State Mont Alto Library
Head, Lee R. Glatfelter Library, Penn State York
Dr. Thomas (Tom) Reinsfelder has worked for the Penn State University Libraries since 2002 and is currently Head Librarian at Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State York.
He is responsible for ensuring the members of the Penn State Mont Alto & Penn State York communities have access to all the services and resources of the Penn State University Libraries. This includes Penn State’s collection of over 8 million books, plus many more available from other universities via Interlibrary Loan services. In addition to print books, the library at Penn State offers many e-books, as well as online newspaper, magazine, and journal archives, and other specialized databases for advanced research. Dr. Reinsfelder and the library staff enjoy helping students and faculty use a variety of information sources and strategies to find answers to the most challenging questions.
Dr. Reinsfelder’s primary professional interests include following new developments and trends related to open educational resources (OER), scholarly publishing, and open access. Reinsfelder also has a strong interest in online reference services and has served as coordinator of Penn State’s “Ask A Librarian” chat and email service since 2013 (ask.libraries.psu.edu).
He has presented at Pennsylvania Library Association (PaPA) conferences and regional workshops, and has written for the PaLA Bulletin. He was an American Library Association Emerging Leader in 2011 and received a Certificate of Merit for service to the PA Library Association in 2014. He has also written for professional publications including American Libraries, College & Research Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Library Trends, and The Reference Librarian. Dr. Reinsfelder served as Co-Founder & Co-Editor of the online, open access, peer reviewed journal, Pennsylvania Libraries Research & Practice (2013-2020), and was elected to serve as President of the Pennsylvania Library Association in 2021. In 2022 he became a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and remains active in that organization as a peer-reviewer and contributor to various research projects.
Research Interests
Subject Expertise
- Forestry
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Nursing
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
Library Guides
Publications
Implementing a Rules-Based Chatbot for Reference Service at a Large University Library, Journal of Web Librarianship, 2023
Power dynamics in a complex oer environment: Who is leading the way?, Library Trends, 2020
Current usage patterns of open educational resources in the engineering mechanics classroom and barriers to adoption, Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 2020
Work in progress: A snapshot of OER adoption in engineering mechanics courses, ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings, 2018
Using Library Funds to Support Open Access Publishing through Crowdfunding: Going Beyond Article Processing Charges, Collection Management, 2018
Editors' Note: Five Years of PaLRaP, Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice, 2017
PaLRaP Earns the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Seal of Approval, Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, 2016
Donations as a source of income for open access journals: An option to consider?, Journal of Electronic Publishing, 2015
E-Books and Ethical Dilemmas for the Academic Reference Librarian, Reference Librarian, 2014
Observations and perceptions of academic administrator influence on open access initiatives, Journal of Academic Librarianship, 2013
Editor's Welcome, Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice, 2013
Open access publishing practices in a complex environment: Conditions, barriers, and bases of power, Journal of librarianship and scholarly communication, 2012
Charting a course: Local libraries can help the growing number of charter schools locate the resources they need, American Libraries, 2007
Other Publications
Chapters
Dual-Enrollment Students: The Library Connection Can Start Here, Informed Transitions: Libraries Supporting the High School to College Transition, 2013
Magazine/Trade Publications
Stronger Together: Building Academic & Public Library Partnerships, Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, 2023
Anyone Can Be A Leader, Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, 2021
Others
Academic Administrator Influence on Institutional Commitment to Open Access of Scholarly Research, 2012