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James Gelarden
Employed as a Librarian again!
Professional Background
James Gelarden is a seasoned library professional who has dedicated his career to enhancing access to information and resources across academic and public library settings. With extensive experience in the library sector, James has provided exemplary leadership and strategic planning for the Access Services department. His work has encompassed essential functions such as Circulation, Course Reserves, Stacks Maintenance, Connecticut College (CTW) Consortium borrowing, and Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery.
With a focus on fostering a supportive and efficient environment, James has skillfully supervised a diverse team, comprising three full-time and four part-time Access Services staff members. Moreover, he has managed a large cohort of 40-50 student assistants who play vital roles within Access Services, Special Collections, Technical Services, and other departments in Shain Library. His ability to nurture talent and provide guidance reflects his commitment to both staff development and service excellence.
In his capacity as the Alma Fulfillment Administrator, James has collaborated closely with the Technical Services and Systems Librarian, as well as the Serials and E-Resources Librarian, to ensure seamless oversight of various Alma modules. His work with Alma Analytics has been pivotal in compiling relevant circulation, reserve, and user statistics, providing insights that support decision-making and enhance user experience.
James has also created and maintained an informative Google site for Access Services staff and students, facilitating effective communication and resource sharing. In addition to his administrative roles, he participates actively on the Reference team, providing invaluable reference and research instruction and assistance to both students and faculty members.
Demonstrating his commitment to academic collaboration, James serves as the library liaison to the Anthropology department, offering course-specific information literacy instruction and engaging in collection development. His role is crucial in ensuring that academic resources align with curriculum needs. Furthermore, he extends his expertise beyond the academic realm by serving as the library liaison to non-academic departments, including Physical Plant, the Library Café (Blue Camel), and Campus Safety, fostering a sense of community across campus.
Education and Achievements
James Gelarden's educational background is as diverse as his professional experience. He pursued a Master's degree in Library Science (MLS) at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he honed his skills in information management and library services. Prior to that, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Oswego, providing him with a strong foundation in research methodologies and cultural analysis. Additionally, he holds an Associate of Arts and Sciences (AAS) degree in Business Administration from Clinton Community College, equipping him with essential skills in organization and management pertinent to library operations.
Notable Achievements
Throughout his career, James has achieved numerous milestones that underscore his dedication to enhancing library services and education. His role as Access Services Librarian at prestigious institutions, including Connecticut College and O'Malley Library at Manhattan College, showcases his capability to adapt and lead in varied academic settings. His experience as a Practicum Student at the Reference Department of Amherst Main Library and as a Reference Student at the Health Sciences Library demonstrates his commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
Furthermore, his tenure as Circulation Clerk and Children’s Services Coordinator with AmeriCorp at Oswego Public Library highlights his early passion for library services and community engagement. Through these roles, he has cultivated a well-rounded skill set that encompasses both academic and public service, making him a versatile asset in any library environment.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.