Bio

Isabel Soto-Luna (she/her/hers) is a bilingual, information professional, educator, liaison, and communications specialist with experience in academic libraries, archives, fundraising, translating, and project management. Using her training in Mass Communications and Spanish, Isabel has proven to be a multi-dimensional thinker that can come up with creative solutions to the challenges that educators in higher education face today. Flexible and open to change, Isabel teaches information literacy to students in various formats, including online, synchronous, and asynchronous while meeting student learning outcomes. She also provides reference and research services in all manners to students and faculty.

As a liaison to the Hasan School of Business, Isabel maintained communications between her respective school faculty and the library in order to ensure that their needs are being met, including visiting classes and scheduling consultations to help students and faculty with their research. She is responsible for collection development in her respective area including print and electronic materials and databases. She is also in charge of creating and maintaining LibGuides and tutorials to assists students and faculty with their research.

Isabel is an advocate for Open Educational resources and as such became an OTN Ambassador to help promote OERs. She has a certificate in Creative Commons Licensing and is a member of the CC Global Network. In conjunction with other colleagues, she held various workshops on the importance of OERs on campus and the costs they would save for the students. She has created promotions for OER week on campus and is sure to always mention OERs to faculty and students doing research. In collaboration with Lona Oerther, they created a docu-series that promotes the use of CC licenses in OER that they are hoping will be used across campuses and the OER community. You can find the link to that project on the projects page of this site.

Isabel is experienced in creating communication plans that prioritize the services and spaces that the library offers, increase the profile of the library and its importance to the overall organization, and allow the campus community to get to know library faculty and staff while also working with the institution’s communications department to ensure that the overall organization’s goals are being met.

Isabel also serves on the Advanced Web Editors group and has been tasked with helping to maintain the library website up to date and designing new pages that help promote library services like Open Educational Resources and Archives and Special Collections. She works with the group to ensure that the overall design of the University’s web page is maintained and web page policies followed. She is also experienced in creating LibGuides, and tutorial/instructional videos for students.

Always willing to jump in where needed Isabel has participated in projects outside of her job description like doing the entire layout for the El Rio Journal in 2020 and 2021 when students found themselves unable to finish the publication due to the pandemic. She also became a member of the Colorado Chicano Movement Archives Board when the Archivist retired and assisted users of the Archives and Special Collections with their research.

As a person with a diverse background, Isabel is very aware of the varying needs of students on campus. She works with students at whatever level they need to provide appropriate help and guidance. She has served as a first-generation student mentor and is always willing to share her experiences in the hopes that they will encourage others to achieve their goals. She works with her community volunteering her services as a translator for various organizations that assist children and immigrants.

Interests

  • Reading
  • Taekwondo
  • Wine Making
  • Cooking
  • Walking and Hikes
  • Game Nights
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