Education Experience Publications Presentations Service Memberships Media

Curriculum Vitae

Abubakar R. Tidal, Jr.

Office Address:

New York City College of Technology
City University of New York (CUNY)
Ursula C. Schwerin Library
300 Jay St.
Library Bldg. Rm. 434
Brooklyn, NY
11201
718.260.5481

https://library.citytech.cuny.edu
jtidal@citytech.cuny.edu

Education

  • Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
    M.S. Information Science
  • Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
    M.S. Library Science
  • University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    B.S. Telecommunications
    minor: Computer Science

Research Interests

Web Metrics, Web Usability, Mobile Design, Digital Privacy

Experience

  • Professor, Chief Librarian & Department Chair
    July 2024 - Present
    Ursula C. Schwerin Library, New York City College of Technology, CUNY
    Brooklyn, New York
    • Provide strategic, financial, and managerial leadership for the library, working collaboratively and collegially with faculty and academic leadership at the college and across the University’s library system
    • Chair the Library Department and guide the work and professional development of full-time tenure-line library faculty, professional and IT staff, civil service staff, and part-time faculty and staff in a collective bargaining environment
    • Serve as the primary advocate and spokesperson for the library and for library personnel on campus, locally, statewide and nationwide
    • Represent the library on the Provost’s Senior Staff, the college Personnel & Budget Committee, College Council, and other college committees
    • Collaborate with Library faculty and staff on the library’s strategic direction that aligns the library’s mission, goals, and objectives with the college and university mission and strategic plan.
    • Support assessment activities, resulting in development and implementation of improvement plans and reassessment
    • Represent City Tech and develop effective resources and services across the university’s library system on the CUNY Council of Chief Librarians and other university committees

  • Professor, Web Services and Multimedia Librarian
    August 2022 - June 2024
    Ursula C. Schwerin Library, New York City College of Technology, CUNY
    Brooklyn, New York
    • Develop, administer, and maintain the library’s cloud-based web server, containing a variety of different content management system driven websites.
    • Support research and information needs of 17,000+ students and faculty.
    • Oversee, recommend, and copy catalog media for the library’s 3,000+ piece multimedia collection with an annual budget of $2,000.
    • Supervise 1 full-time IT Associate, College Assistants, and library web development intern.
    • Provide reference and instructional support to faculty and students.
    • Subject liaison for the departments of Computer Systems Technology, Entertainment Technology, Electrical & Telecommunications Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Technology, selecting monographs with an annual budget of nearly $10,000.
    • Recommend books and media for purchase to support curriculum and course proposals.

  • Associate Professor (tenured), Web Services and Multimedia Librarian
    August 2015 – July 2022
    Ursula C. Schwerin Library, New York City College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn, New York

  • Assistant Professor, Web Services and Multimedia Librarian
    April 2006 – August 2015; tenured 2013
    Ursula C. Schwerin Library, New York City College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn, New York

  • Museum Assistant
    December 2005 – April 2006
    Lexington History Museum, Lexington, Kentucky
    • Coordinate information technology integration in conjunction with museum’s operations. Responsible for software acquisitions. Consult and develop the redesign of the museum’s website in January 2006. Assist with museum tours, research, and exhibitions.

  • Webmaster
    April 2003 – August 2005
    Office of Orientation Programs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
    • Develop the daily design, programming, and maintenance of the main office website and sub sites. Designed customized graphics for web, print, and t-shirts. Redesign office website, graphics, navigation, and layout, February 2005.

  • Freelance Web Designer
    June 2003 – August 2005
    Indiana Child Care Health Consultation Program, Bloomington, Indiana
    • Designed and maintained the program’s website with database capabilities, to be accessed for statewide child care professionals. Created detailed web metrics and server statistics reports for the program director. Archived and manufactured PDF documents for organization members.

  • Web Media Chief
    January 2003 – May 2005
    Indiana Daily Student, Bloomington, Indiana
    • Maintain daily news articles and site maintenance for award-winning, student-run newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. Lead team-based productions of special online features and photo galleries. Supervise a staff of 4 student web designers.

Publications

View my CUNY Academic Works Readership Report

View my Google Scholar Profile

Books

Book Chapters

Refereed Publications

Non Refereed Publications

Other

Conference Proceedings

Encyclopedia Entries

  • Tidal, J. (2016). Filipino-American Food. In Lan Dong (Ed.) American culture: From anime to tiger moms. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
  • Tidal, J. (2016). Filipino-American Music. In Lan Dong (Ed.) American culture: From anime to tiger moms. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
  • Tidal, J. (2016). Sushi. In Lan Dong (Ed.) American culture: From anime to tiger moms
  • . Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
  • Tidal, J. (2015). Slayer In David Moskowitz (Ed.) In The 100 greatest bands of all time. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Invited Talks & Workshops

Presentations

  • Tidal, J. (2023). Speaking volumes: Podcasts for patrons and Professionals. Niche Academy, virtual.
  • Lerski, M. and Tidal, J. (2022). Privacy in information literacy instruction presentation for LILAC Spring Training, virtual.
  • Jocson-Singh, J. and Tidal, J. (2022). Shush: Developing an extreme music bibliography by and for marginalized communities, as part of the "Creative Practice as Scholarly Practice: Artistic Alternatives to 'Publish or Perish' Models in LIS" panel presentation at Art Libraries Society of North America Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
  • Clyde, W., Cooney, C., and Tidal, J. (2021). Opening teaching beyond traditional instructional settings: A teaching portfolio program for non-instructional librarians. Presentation at the Association of College and Research Libraries National Conference, Virtual.
  • Abrams, K., Almeida, N. and Tidal, J. (2020). The way I see it: Using Go-Pro Cameras to understand student wayfinding obstacles]. Presentation at Designing for Digital 2020 Conference, Austin, TX.
  • Jones, B. N., Tidal, J. (2020). Pi-hole privacy: Tampering is a good thing. Pre-conference presentation at code4Lib 2020, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Abrams, K., Almeida, N., and Tidal, J. (2019). Get with the GoPro(gram): How ESOL students explore a library. Presentation at the 18th Annual CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2019). . Presentation at the Association of Recorded Sound Collection Annual Conference, Portland, OR. (Refereed)
  • Almeida, N., Hill, H., and Tidal, J. (2018). You can’t always get what you want: User experience & the shifting contexts of library pedagogy. Presentation at the CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Abrams, K. and Tidal, J. (2018). Optimizing library marketing with short links. Presentation at the Library Marketing and Communication Conference, St. Louis, MO. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2018). Accessibility and the City Tech Library Website Presentation at the L’Association des Bibliothécaires du Québec (Quebec Library Association) 86th Annual Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2018). Promoting banned books in the City Tech library. Presentation at Banned Books Symposium, Newburgh, NY.
  • Davis, R. C., Eaton, M., Klein, S., Tidal, J. (2017). Accessibility in the time of limited resources. Presentations at the 16th Annual CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Almeida, N. and Tidal, J. (2017). Mixed methods not mixed messages: Improving LibGuides with student usability data. The 9th International Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference. Drexel University. Philadelphia, PA. (Refereed)
  • Abrams, K. and Tidal, J. (2017). Electronic resource management and YOURLS. Presentation at OLC Collaborate with Emerging Learning Design, Montclair, NJ.
  • Tidal, J. (2017). Tips for better taps: How to conduct a mobile usability study. Presentation at Library Technology Conference, St. Paul, MN. (Refereed)
  • Davis, R. C., Eaton, M., Klein, S., Tidal, J., Ward, L., Zweibel, S. (2016). CUNY Libraries and open source: Wins and fails. Presentation at the 15th Annual CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2016). Shortened not stirred: Managing eResources with YOURLs. Presentation at ACRL New England Chapter Electronic Resources Management Interest Group Fall 2016 Program “Eresources Management Toolkit.” Cambridge, MA. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2016). LibGuides and usability. ACRL Universal Accessibility Interest Group Virtual Meeting [Webinar]. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2016). Forging the library website with open source. Presentation at City Tech Tech Day Brooklyn, NY.
  • Almeida, N. and Tidal, J. (2016) [Photo]-Opportunities for engagement using Instagram to promote student library use. Presentation at ACRL National Library Marketing & Outreach Interest Group-Greater NYC Area Meeting, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2015). Making access short and sweet: Developing a PHP proxy linker and URL shortening tool. Presentation at the Fall 2015 code4LibNYC Meeting/METRO SIG, New York, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (2015). Bootstrapping in the cloud: The development of a responsively designed library website. Presentation at the 14th Annual CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (2015). In your hands and on the phone: Usability and the mobile library website. Presentation at the Metro User Experience Special Interest Group, New York, NY.
  • Wochna, L., Charles, J.V., Costa, D., Mathson, S., Miller, M., Tidal, J. (June, 2015). Programming & promoting PPR films to patrons. Panel Presentation at the American Libraries Association Annual Conference: Video Roundtable, San Francisco, CA. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (March, 2015). One site to rule them all: Usability testing of a responsively designed library website. Presented at the Academic Research and College Libraries Conference, Portland, OR. (Refereed, 28% acceptance rate)
  • Tidal, J. (February, 2015). Bootstrap basics. Presented at the LACUNY Emerging Technologies Committee Workshop, New York, NY.
  • King, E., Klish, H., Miller, D. Tidal, J. (February, 2015). Decoding code words. Presented at the American Libraries Association Midwinter Meeting: LITA/ALCTS Joint Interest Group: Library Code Year, Chicago, IL.
  • Tidal, J. (November, 2014).Testing on a tablet: Usability testing of an mobile library website. Presented at the Library Information Technology Association National Forum, 2014, Albuquerque, NM. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (March, 2014). How to be a good backup. Presented at the 2014 code4lib preconference session “Technology, Librarianship, and Gender: Moving the conversation forward,” Raleigh, NC. (Refereed)
  • Zweibel, S., Davis, R. C., Tidal, J., & Verbovetskaya, A. (December, 2013). Life of Pi: Microcomputing in academia. Presented at the 12th Annual CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (November, 2013). Using web analytics for mobile interface development. Presented at the 11th Annual City Tech Faculty Research Conference, Brooklyn, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (October, 2013). Pinterest and Instagram(Pinterest). Association of Library Communication Outreach Professionals Annual Conference, Fort Washington, PA. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (March, 2013). From open source to on your phone: Using Drupal to develop the library’s mobile website. New York City College of Technology Annual Faculty Research Conference, Brooklyn, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (February, 2013). Using Drupal for electronic resources management. Presented at the LACUNY Mobile Roundtable February Meeting, New York, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (November, 2012). From open source to on your phone: Using Drupal to develop the library’s mobile website. Poster session presented at the 10th Annual City Tech Poster Session, Brooklyn, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (October, 2012). Transitions: Moving from a PHP flat-file electronic resources manager to Drupal 6 Views. Presented at the code4Lib New England Conference, New Haven, CT. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (August, 2012). [Libraries and mobile development: Successes and failures](Media Centers). Presented at the Consortium of College and University Media Centers Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (July, 2012). Integrating social media tools. Presented at the State University of New York Library Association Annual Conference. New York, NY. (Refereed)
  • Tidal, J. (November, 2011). Understanding users through WordPress statistics. Presented at the METRO Library Council SIG Lib 2.0. New York, NY.
  • Tidal, J. (October, 2009). Developing mobile websites. LACUNY Emerging Technologies Committee Spring Program. New York, NY.

Grant Activity

  • 2023 - American Libraries Association (ALA) Libraries and Transforming Communities Grant, $10,000
    • This grant provides the City Tech library with vinyl and podcasting equipment. Co-written with Profs. Anne Leonard and Monica Berger
  • 2022 - [Rising Against Anti-Asian Racism Grant](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/library/film-screening-5-4-and-bystander-intervention-5-12-training-asian-american-pacific-islander-events-for-may/), $2,500
    • This grant provided funding to screen the documentary Not Your Model Minorityand provide remote training on intervening against Anti-Asian American violence through the group, Right to Be.
  • 2020 - Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York Research Award Traditional A Year 52 (The Library Website for Everyone: Developing a Web Prototype through Participatory Design) #64023-00 TRADA-52, $3,058.35
  • 2020 – Carnegie-Whitney Grant with Joan Jocson-Signh of California Institute of the Arts), Award to fund the development of “A Bibliography Exploring Extreme Music and Marginalized Communities.”
  • 2020 - American Libraries Association, Library Census Equity Fund mini-grant $2,000 This grant provides limited funding for students to participate in the 2020 Census.
  • 2019 - American Libraries Association, Americans and the Holocaust $2,000 + panel exhibition
    • Co-wrote with Prof. Keith Muchowski in securing a grant for a traveling exhibition highlighting America and the Holocaust in WWII. The grant provided an interactive exhibit and a series of panels cover 1,100 sq. ft., and required the planning of 4 public presentations in connection with the grant.
      More information
  • 2019 - Vegfund, Love & Bananas Blu-ray disc with public performance license, est. $350.
    • This grant provided a copy of Love and Bananas, a documentary featuring the rescue of an elephant in Thailand. The grant provided the licensing cost of the DVD and refreshments for screening attendees.
  • 2018 - Causeumentary,
  • Tickling Giants
  • Blu-ray disc with public performance license, est. $350
    • This grant provided a copy of Tickling Giants, a documentary featuring Egypt’s version of the Daily Show during Arab Spring. Organized an event where Prof. Stephanie Anne Boyle facilitated a discussion, followed by a screening of the film.
  • 2018 - National Endowment of the Humanities/Gilder-Lerhman Institute of American History, World War I and America (NYCCT) $1,800
    • This grant provided funding for programming surrounding World War I. I assisted Prof. Keith Muchowski in shooting a video for the grant, interviewing veterans, including City Tech students and faculty.
    • Video
  • 2018 - National Endowment of the Humanities/Gilder-Lerhman Institute of American History, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Grant Funding and Film Set $1,500 (NYCCT)
    • Grant provided films that higlight America's Civil Rights Movement.
    • Grant application was co-written with Profs. Tess Tobin and Ian Beilin.
  • 2014 - Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York Research Award Traditional B Year 45 (Usability Study of Responsive Designed Ursula C. Schwerin Library Website) #67659-00 TRADB-45, $6,000
  • 2013 - Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York Research Award Traditional A Year 44 (Usability Study of the Ursula C. Schwerin Mobile Website) #66012-00 TRADA-44-5, $2,000
  • 2013 – National Endowment of the Humanities/Gilder-Lerhman Institute of American History, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Grant Funding and Film Set (with Prof. Ian Beilin and Prof. Tess Tobin)

Awards and Professional Recognition

  • 2023 - New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to Code4Lib 2023)
  • 2022 - LACUNY Professional Development Travel Grant (Travel to ARLIS/NA)
  • 2021 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to ARLIS/NA)
  • 2020 – The CUNY Academy Stefan Bernard Baumrin [SBB] Travel Award for Associate Professors for National & International Conferences (Travel to code4Lib National Conference, 2020).
  • 2020 – LACUNY Professional Development Travel Grant (Travel to Designing for Digital Conference)
  • 2018 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to LMCC)
  • 2017 – Library Technology Conference Scholarship (Travel to conference, registration and night at conference hotel)
  • 2016 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to ACRL NEC ERM IG Program)
  • 2016 – National Endowment of the Humanities/Gilder-Lerhman Institute of American History, World War I and America (with Prof. Keith Muchowski and Prof. Tess Tobin)
  • 2016 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to code4Lib National)
  • 2016 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to ALA Midwinter)
  • 2015 – ACRL Member of the Week April 27th – May 2, 2015
  • 2015 – ACRL 2015 Mid-career Librarian scholarship (Travel to ACRL 2015)
  • 2015 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to ACRL National Conference 2015)
  • 2015 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to ALA Midwinter 2015)
  • 2014 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to LITA Forum 2014)
  • 2014 – LACUNY Professional Development Award Travel Grant Fall Cycle (Travel to LITA Forum 2014)
  • 2014 – New York City College of Technology Seven Year Service Award
  • 2014 – code4lib Diversity Scholarship
    • (Travel funds for code4lib 2014 National Conference)
  • 2013 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel funds to ALCOP 2013)
  • 2013 – Awarded Tenure, New York City College of Technology, CUNY
  • 2012 – New York City College of Technology Professional Development Advisory Council Travel Award (Travel to CCUMC 2012)

Service

Professional Service

  • Code4Lib 2023 Conference Committee, Scholarship Committee - Member, 2022 - 2023
  • Code4Lib 2016 Conference Committee, Scholarship Committee – Member, 2015 – 2016
  • Code4Lib 2016 Conference Committee, Website Working Group, 2015 – 2016
  • Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) – Website Blog Coordinator, 2014 – 2016
  • RUSA Publications and Communications Committee (ex-officio), 2014 – 2016
  • Library Information Technology Association (LITA)/Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Joint Interest Group Library Code Year Co-Chair, 2014-2015
  • ALA Video Roundtable Notable Videos for Adults Committee, Member 2014 – 2016
  • Co-chair code4Lib New York Chapter/Metro Special Interest Group, 2013 – 2014

Community Service

  • Code4Lib Journal– Editorial board member 2015 – 2023
  • Urban Library Journal– Co-editor 2014 – 2015, Editor 2015-2016
  • Peer Reviewer – Access Conference 2013 (Canada)
  • Peer Reviewer – The Weave UX 2013 – 2015

Department Service

  • Library Alma Committee
  • Library Appointments Committee
  • Library Collection Development Committee
  • Library Exhibits Committee
  • Library Facilities Committee
  • Faculty Student Library Advisory Committee (elected 2-year term)
  • Library Open Educational Resources Committee
  • Library Public Relations, Outreach, and Marketing Committee
  • Library Public Workstation Committee
  • Library Reference Committee
  • Library Strategic Planning Committee
  • Library Web Committee, Chair, 2010-present
  • Library Workshop Committee

College Service

  • New York City College of Technology, Professional Development Advisory Council(PDAC) College Research Council 2022-2024
  • New York City College of Technology, Faculty Commons Using a Personal Website and Social Media to Promote Your Research and Creative Work Workshop
  • New York City College of Technology, [Faculty Commons Faculty Friday: Using Podcasts as a Teaching Tool](https://youtu.be/zjY2vQztGvI) Workshop
  • New York City College of Technology, PDAC New Faculty Orientation Committee 2019-present
  • New York City College of Technology, Personnel Appeals Committee member (elected), 2019-2021
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY College Council Delegate-At-Large (elected), 2017-2020
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY College Council Technology Committee Secretary (elected), 2015-2016
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY College Council Department Delegate (elected), 2014-2017
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY Technology Committee, Voting Member 2014 – present
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY Chief Librarian Search Committee, Member, 2013 – 2014
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY Personnel Committee, Non-voting Member 2013 – 2014
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY Humanities Department Annual Speech Competition, Judge 2010-2014
  • New York City College of Technology, CUNY Committee on Students, Non-voting Member 2008 – 2010
  • New York City College of Technology Cinem@Tech – Organized monthly library film screenings 2006 – 2009

University Service

  • CUNY University Faculty Senate, Senator 2020-2023
  • CUNY IT Accessibility Task Force 2014 – present
  • CUNY Copyright Committee, Member 2014 – 2015
  • LACUNY Institute 2017 Organizing Committee, Co-Chair Organized the annual conference, developed conference website.
  • LACUNY Institute 2013 Organizing Committee, Member 2012-2013 Designed print brochures for annual conference
  • LACUNY Mobile Development Roundtable, Member 2012 – Present
    • Presented Google Analytics Workshop to CUNY Librarians, December, 2010
  • Attended L.E.A.D. (Learn to Envision Alternative Directions) Workshop, 2010-2011
    • CUNY-wide librarian leadership program to foster management & training
  • LACUNY Emerging Technology Committee, Co-chair 2009 – 2010, Member 2007 – Present
    • Organized and facilitated the Electronic Books and Electronic Readers: Emerging Issues and Questions Program, April 2010.
  • CUNY+ Public Services Committee, Usability Sub-Committee 2009
  • LACUNY Junior Faculty Research Roundtable, Member 2008 – 2012
  • LACUNY News, Design and Production of Web and Print 2007 – 2014
    • Design web and print production of the organization’s bi-annual newsletter.
  • LACUNY Multimedia Roundtable, Member 2006 – Present
  • LACUNY Web Management Roundtable, Member 2006 – Present
    • Migrated, administered and maintained content and code programming of association website.
  • Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY), Executive Council
    • President-elect 2016-2017
    • Secretary 2011–2013
    • Delegate 2007–2009
    • Member, By-laws Committee 2011-2013
    • Member, Constitution Committee 2011-2013

Memberships

  • Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 2014 – 2015, 2020-2021
  • ALA Reference User Services Association (RUSA) 2014 – 2016
  • ALA Library Information Technology Association (LITA), Member 2014 – 2015
  • ALA Social Responsibilities Roundtable, Member 2005 – 2013
  • ALA Video Roundtable, Member 2014 – 2016
  • Association of College and Research Libraries/NY (ACRL/NY), Member 2011-2012
  • State University of New York Library Association (SUNYLA), member 2011-2012
  • Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY) 2006 – Present
  • Librarians Without Borders, Member 2006 – Present
  • American Libraries Association (ALA), Member 2005 – 2016, 2019 – 2020

Media Appearances

  • Carlson, S. (2022, March 9). Libraries are the great equalizers. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  • Carlson, S. (2022). Special collections in The Library of the Future. The Chronicle of Higher Education report. pg. 36.
  • Kroski, E. V. (2022, Jan. 3). Guest interview: Junior Tidal on podcasting. Video. YouTube.
  • Collins, K. & Ovadia, S. (Hosts). (2021, April 26). Episode 58: City Tech librarians talk podcasting[Audio podcast episode]. Indoor Voices