Personal Information and Capstone Project Overview
About Me
Welcome! My name is Susan Raber, and I’m completing an Associates in Information Technology, Library Paraprofessional at Belmont College.
I was born and raised in rural West Virginia, and my childhood was filled with books. Every two weeks we would drive into town and visit the library, and I would leave with as many books as I was allowed to check out. A country girl at heart, the books I loved often featured dogs and horses as the main protagonist. I also enjoyed mysteries and thrillers. Some of my favorite authors were Marguerite Henry, James Herriot, Lois Lowry, and Lois Duncan. Of course, every girl’s hero back then was Nancy Drew, and I read them all. My mom encouraged me to read her favorite authors, like Jane Austen and Daphne Du Maurier, while my dad wanted to make sure I read diverse books, the Western canon, and lots of biographies. It’s not surprising that an immersion in literature during those formative years influenced my idea of the perfect career—one that centers around books.
I met my husband at college, where we both graduated with a Bachelors in Religious Education. I worked for a few years in supportive, administrative positions, but when we had children, we decided to homeschool. We loved the learning lifestyle, allowing them to freely pursue their interests and be more involved in the community. We volunteered for many programs at our church, visited in nursing homes, and socialized puppies for a local service dog agency. I was on the leadership team for a large homeschool group for several years, and started blogging to connect with other homeschooling parents. I also reviewed homeschool curriculum for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
During those years I found I enjoyed creating websites, exploring social media platforms, crafting marketing strategies, and teaching myself graphic design. My love for books and reading has never diminished, so after our youngest son graduated, my website pivoted from a homeschool blog to a place where I could write about my interest in books, film and television, culture, education, and faith.
Around that time I also re-entered the workforce as a part-time administrative assistant at the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce. After a couple of years, I received the opportunity to work full-time in an administrative assistant role at the Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau, supporting the Sales, Services, and Marketing departments, and managing the CRM.
I enjoy organizing information, solving problems, and improving workflows. I would love to take what I’ve learned over the years and apply my skills and knowledge in a library or in publishing, so I’ve started that career path with an Associates in Information Technology, Library Paraprofessional at Belmont College.
Capstone Project Overview
A Tale of Four Patrons: Omnichannel Marketing for Libraries
Omnichannel marketing provides customers with a seamless, personalized experience across channels and devices. For libraries, this means the library website, app, and social media channels are as integrated as possible, and users who opt-in to this service will receive more relevant information about the topics they are interested in, giving them a richer experience inside and outside the library. This capstone will take you on a journey with four library patrons as they use the library to find the materials and services they need, and how omnichannel marketing improves their experience.