IWU OCLS Blog

David Dial OCLS Team Spotlight

April OCLS Team Spotlight

David Dial - OCLS Librarian

David is the OCLS Librarian based at the Cleveland, Ohio Education Center and has been there since 2003. If you call OCLS in the evening, you may speak to David, who covers the evening librarian shift.  

David is a lifelong Ohio resident and, before coming to IWU, was an administrator in various Ohio public libraries. 

David received his  B.A. in English Literature from Baldwin Wallace University and his Masters in Library and Information Science from Clarion University.

David has been married to Sharon for 36 years, and they have three children and one adorable granddaughter. David and Sharon like to travel, especially to Presidential sites. In their free time they enjoy gardening, spending time with their family and are involved with their church. 

David enjoys learning about new sources of information and recording what he finds in his blog, Knowledge Hander. He also has a SharePoint Blog covering research, library technology, grants, and money-saving tips that students and faculty may find useful. 

It is obvious to anyone who knows David that he enjoys helping others develop research and technology skills. He admits that he struggles to avoid being the "master" teacher described in the first chapter of Reflections on the Psalms by C. S. Lewis. 

When you took the problem to a master, as we all remember, he was very likely to explain what you understood already, to add a great deal of information which you didn’t want, and say nothing at all about the thing that was puzzling you.

David's favorite quote about reading is from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. 

It is a very silly idea that in reading a book you must never 'skip'. All sensible people skip freely when they come to a Chapter which they find is going to be no use to them.

Comments from the OCLS Team: 

David is one of the most remarkable analytic thinkers I have ever met. Given any problem, he always has a suggestion for how to fix or improve.

His calm manner can diffuse a situation and turn an angry student into a happy student in 5 minutes. 

I have never seen Dave angry. He has an unflappable spirit and can connect with everyone he meets.

David is a true gentleman. In his personal and professional life, he acts in an honorable way. When he gives his word, he will complete the work, and you can rely on him.

David is a wonderful co-worker and very patient with our students. He consistently goes above and beyond to make sure students have what they need in a timely manner.

David consistently goes above and beyond expectations in working with students who have technical issues and/or fear computers.

David’s willingness to work the second shift makes it possible for OCLS to offer our adult professional students evening hours. We are so grateful for his servant’s heart to IWU stakeholders.