Library Profiles & Subject Teams

Christine is the Undergraduate Success Librarian, and on the Arts & Humanities Team. She can help you with questions related to library instruction, information literacy, reference, and research.

Christine has taught a variety of courses at Stony Brook, including in the Music Department, Program in Writing and Rhetoric, School for Professional Development, and Honors College. Her research interests include information literacy, information behavior, and modernist music.

Education:

• MS, Information and Library Science, University at Buffalo
• PhD, MA, Music History and Music Theory, Stony Brook University
• BA, Music, Barnard College

Selected Publications, Projects, and Presentations:

Selected Publications 

• Medved, P., Albanese, J., & Fena, C. (2025). [Forthcoming chapter]. In Digital literacies and human connections (Coad, D., Buck, A., Gupta, A., & Shivener, R., editors).
• Fena, C. (2024). [Forthcoming]. Evidence Summary: Perceived and actual library resources and programming show a deficit of content supporting Korean immigrants in three southeastern suburban counties. Evidence-Based Library & Information Practice, 19(3).
• Fena, C. (2024. Evidence summary: For optimal inclusivity in the research process, researchers should reflect early and often on how to create welcoming research environments. Evidence-Based Library & Information Practice, 19(1), 141-143. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30476
• Fena, C. (2023). Evidence summary: Increasing access to digital archives is a complex problem, and more collaboration between archivists and users is needed to enact solutions. Evidence-Based Library & Information Practice, 18(3), 75-77. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30380/22704
• Schierhorst, G., & Fena, C. (2023). "Being able to play for a larger audience": Student musician perspectives on performing in library spaces. In Creators in the Academic Library: Library Services for Artists, Designers, Engineers, and More (Watkins, A., & Kuglitsch, R., editors). ACRL.
• Fena, C. "Doing hope in desperate times" at CCCC, Chicago, February 2023. (2023). Biblio-Notes 81, 6-8. https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/les/biblio-notes/Biblio-Notes_Spring_2023.pdf
• Fena, C. (2023). Evidence summary: Significant differences between information behaviors of older adults in the USA and India during the COVID-19 pandemic show systemic inequities. Evidence-Based Library & Information Practice 18(1), 188-120. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/30257/22648
• Nyitray, K., & Fena, C. (2022). More than recipes: Enriching a campus common read with historical cookbooks. Teaching with Primary Sources (TWPS) Case Study Series. Society of American Archivists. https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/TWPSCase_23_More_Than_Recipes.pdf
• Albanese, J., & Fena, C. (2021). Bridging boundaries: Perceived roles of librarians and writing center tutors in supporting student research writing. WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship 45(9-10), 18-25. https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v45/45.9-10.pdf
• Fena, C. (2021). Searching, sharing, and singing: Understanding the information behaviors of choral directors. Journal of Documentation 77(1), 199-208. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2020-0087
• Julien, H., & Fena, C. (2018). Thirty-one Years of the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science: A Content Analysis / Trente et un ans de la Revue canadienne des sciences de l'information et de bibliothéconomie : une analyse de contenu. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 42(1), 1-17. https://www.music.jhu.edu/article/717385
• Fena, C. (2018). ‘Soulless Machines’: the question of human expression in player piano discourse 1900-1930. Keyboard Perspectives 11, 187-205.

Digital Projects and Posters

• "Information Literacy in a New Active Learning Classroom: Successes, Challenges, & Student Reactions" (June 2020), Virtual Poster / Prezi, SUNYLA 2020 Virtual Conference.
• "Empowering Yourself in a Post-truth World" (2019), an EdX MOOC designed in collaboration with SUNY Albany, Empire State College, and University at Buffalo, https://learning.buffalo.edu/courses/course-v1:UBx+IITG.Sp19.1x+Sp2018/about.

Selected Presentations

• "More than recipes: Enriching a campus common read with historical cookbooks," co-presented with Kristen Nyitray, Southeastern Archives Association and Society of Georgia Archives Summer Symposium, Virtual, June 13-14, 2024.
• "Fruitful collaborations: Preparing underserved high school students for college and beyond," co-presented with Janet Clarke and Chris Kretz, LOEX 52nd National Conference, Naperville, IL, May 2-4, 2024.
• "Navigating a land of plenty: Centering student voices in academic research journeys," co-presented with Patricia Medved and Jennifer Albanese, CCCC Annual Convention, Spokane, WA, April 3-6, 2024.
• "Didn't you learn this in high school? The 'Ready for Success' collaboration between Stony Brook University Libraries and Brentwood High School," co-presented with Janet Clarke, Chris Kretz, Diane Longo, and Maureen Ryan, SUNYLA, Bronx, NY, June 15, 2023.
• "Research as expression: An interactive virtual workshop for first-year students to support research creativity and ease anxiety," LOEX 51st National Conference, Harrisburg, PA, May 13, 2023.
• "Same topic, different sources," ACRL Instruction Section Virtual Engagement Committee Lightning Round, May 1, 2023.
• "Choose your own adventure: Building confidence and easing anxiety in an online interactive research workshop for first-year students," SILC Instruction Showcase, SUNYLA, January 12, 2022.
• "Digital privacy 101: A primer for librarians," invited presentation, co-presented with Claire Payne, Empire State Library Network, December 9, 2021.
• "Don't dread the open web: Empowering students to be confident, effective, and inclusive information seekers," PILLARS Symposium, Empire State Library Network, July 7, 2021.
• "Citation as empowerment: Motivating undergraduates to value their source lists," Lightning Talk, Virtual ACRL 2021 Ascending Into an Open Future, April 2021. ACRL 2021 Viewer's Choice: Lightning Talks Group #4.
• “Thirty-one Years of the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science: A Content Analysis,” co-presented with Heidi Julien, Canadian Association for Information Science, Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2018: Gathering Diversities, Regina, Saskatchewan, May-June 2018.
• “’Soulless Machines’: The question of ‘human expression’ in player piano discourse 1900-1930,” Ghosts in the Machine: Technology, History, and the Aesthetics of the Player Piano, a conference sponsored by the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies, Cornell University, May 2017.
• “ ‘The Sensational Ballet Mécanique:’ George Antheil, the general public, and American modernist music in the 1920s,” National Meeting of the American Musicological Society, San Francisco, CA, November 2011.
• “The ‘Piano Technician’ and his ‘Unfortunate Piano:’ Henry Cowell in the Machine Age,” National Meeting of the Society for American Music, Denver, Colorado, March 2009.
• “The Sounds of Shenandoah: Nature and Place in Souvenir Soundscape Music,” Music and Nature Symposium, Syracuse University, September 2006.
• “Bosnian Sevdah: Music, Emotionality, and National Identity,” Jeunesse Musicales symposium at Groznjan Vocal Workshop, Groznjan, Croatia, June 2005.
• “Consuming Nature: Imagery, Music, and Meaning in SUV Ads,” National Meeting of the Society for American Music, Eugene, Oregon, February 2005.

Selected Panels & Moderated Sessions

• "Research Careers for the Public Good," panelist with Olivia McCall, Anne Krassner, and Esther Moerdler, and moderated by Jody Dublin, Opportunities Conference, Barnard College, September 29, 2023.
• "AI and ChatGPT," panelist with Wanda Moore, Shyam Sharma, and Rose Tirotta-Esposito, Faculty Development Day, S.P.A.R.K., The Center for Excellence & Innovation, SUNY Delhi via Zoom, May 22, 2023.
• "ChatGPT in the Classroom? A Discussion about AI Literacy," moderator with Jennifer Adams, CELT Symposium, Stony Brook University, March 24, 2023.
• "Trends & Tips: Assessment in the Classroom ChatGPT Panel," panelist with Jennifer Adams, Niranjan Balasubramanian, Cynthia Davidson, Andrew Flescher, Wanda Moore, Kristen Slovak, and Jenny Zhang, CELT, Stony Brook University via Zoom, February 2, 2023.
• "Pedagogy and Instruction," moderator, Symposium for Advancing Equity in Higher Education on Long Island, Stony Brook University via Zoom, April 9, 2021.