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Dr. Ruth Hodges
Ruth Hodges

Miller F. Whittaker LibraryDean of the Miller F. Whittaker Library & Information ServicesMiller F. Whittaker Library803-536-7045

Ruth A. Hodges

Dr. Ruth A. Hodges is responsible for the general organization, development, and operational procedures of the Miller F. Whittaker Library at South Carolina State University.

Education

  • Ph.D., Information Studies, Florida State University, 2006.Dissertation Title: Impact of Collaborative Tools on Digital Reference Users: An Exploratory Study.
  • M.L.S., Library Science, Atlanta University, 1980.
  • M.S., Biology, Atlanta University, 1979. Thesis Title: Photoaffinity as a Tool for mRNA Binding Proteins.
  • B.S., Biology, South Carolina State University, 1976.

Background

Prior to coming to SC State, Hodges worked in Bethesda, Maryland’s National Institutes of Health and Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution, the National Academy of Sciences, Howard University, and District of Columbia General Hospital.

Hodges’ initial work at SC State was the coordinator of library instruction, as she led the library’s development and implementation of its credit-bearing information literacy course. As interim dean from 2016, she advocated for the health, safety, accessibility, and related needs of students, faculty, staff, and library personnel.

Some of her key accomplishments as interim dean included:

  • Procured additional funding for the library through collaborative grant writing and alumni donations.
  • Renovated individual and collaborative workspaces, incorporating technology in the library to enhance innovation, study, research, and student success.
  • Implemented library programming for students, faculty, alumni, and the community (faculty and alumni publications on the library website; and professional development workshops at the library).
  • Collaboratively sponsored a national workshop on Open Educational Resources (OER) for HBCU academic librarians and their faculty cohorts.
  • Disseminated 4,000 solar eclipse glasses to the campus and community (NASA award for the 2017 solar eclipse).
  • Resurrected and completed the Miller F. Whittaker Wall of Friends initiative. 
  • In collaboration with the library team and others, Hodges, as interim dean, also implemented the state-of-the-art technological enhancement in the library, including  a new website driven by LibGuides, which incorporates a chat reference service, self-reserve study/conference rooms service, online tutorials, among other resources, and services.

Hodges also implemented a shared library services platform, which includes the online catalog, and allows collaborative internal and state-wide workflows for cataloging, interlibrary loan and collection development. 

A Marquis Who’s Who listee, Hodges has presented at professional conferences and served on local, state, and national committees. She has published articles in refereed and other professional literature.

She is the daughter of the late Clyde and Mary L. Hodges of Smoaks, South Carolina.

Further Education

  • Grantsmanship Training, 2017
  • E-Fellows Online Teaching Certificate, 2017
  • ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians, Harvard University, 2012
  • Information Literacy Leadership Institute, Johnson C. Smith University, 2007
  • Fellow, IMLS Outcomes Assessment Institute, University of Illinois-Urbana, 2003
  • Fellow, Medical Informatics, National Library of Medicine (NLM), Woods Hole Marine
  • Biological Laboratory, 1995." "The Interim Dean of Library & Information Services has worked at SC State for over 20 years. Prior to the Dean's position, she served as Coordinator of Library Instruction/Assistant Professor.  She has worked at the following institutions in the following roles:
  • Chief Librarian - DC General Hospital, Washington, DC
  • Pharmacy/Reference Librarian; Assistant Librarian - Howard University, Washington, DC
  • Contract Indexer - Freelance, Greenbelt, MD
  • Associate Librarian - National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
  • Entomology Librarian - Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, DC
  • Biologist - National Institution of Health, Bethesda, MD

Research Interests

Digital information services and resources, including open-educational and related affordable resources

Funded Grants

  • HBCU LIBRARY ALLIANCE: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR HUMANITIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS at HBCUs, $13,000 – Co-Principal Investigator
  • Open Educational Resources for HBCU Academic Librarians, $249,000 - Principal Investigator
  • Received faculty development grant for doctoral study, Title III, over $125,000, 1999-2005.

Publications

  • Gross, M., McClure, C., Hodges, R., Graham, A., and Lankes, R. 2002. Phase II: Site Visit Summary Report. Retrieved September 2003, from http://www.ii.fsu.edu Hodges, Ruth A. “ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education” [News from around the State]. South Carolina Libraries 1(1): Article 13, 2014.
  • Hodges, Ruth A. “Assessing digital reference.” Libri 52 (2002): 157-168. (Refereed).Elizabeth Amy Kreiser Weisburger.” Pp. 409-413. In Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary, edited by Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara Shearer, Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997.
  • “Helen Appo Cook.” Pp.137-140. In Notable Black American Women, Book II. Edited by Jessie C. Smith, New York: Gale Research, 1996.
  • “Myrtle Foster Cook.” Pp. 140-143. In Notable Black American Women, Book II. Edited by Jessie C. Smith, New York: Gale Research, 1996.
  • “Sargent Claude Johnson.” Pp. 642-644. In Notable Black American Men. Edited by Jessie C. Smith, New York: Gale Research, 1999.
  • Thurgood Marshall: Power of His Legacy.” Howard Law Journal. 37 (1993): 117-134. “Kente Cloth. Selected Bibliography.” MSRC, 1994.

 Hobbies & Interests

Traveling, genealogical research, and gatherings with family and friends.