During World War II the United States mobilized its industrial assets to become the great “Arsenal of Democracy” through the cooperation of the government and private firms. The Dallas Story examines a specific aviation factory, operated by the North American Aviation (NAA) company in Dallas, Texas. Terrance Furgerson explores the construction and opening of the factory, its operation, its relations with the local community, and the closure of the facility at the end of the war. Prior to the opening of the factory in 1941, the city of Dallas had practically no existing industrial base. Despite this deficiency, the residents quickly learned the craft of manufacturing airplanes, and by the time of the Pearl Harbor attack the NAA factory was mass-producing the AT-6 trainer aircraft. The entry of the United States into the war brought about an enlargement of the NAA factory, and the facility began production of the B-24 Liberator bomber and the famed P-51 Mustang fighter. By the end of the war the Texas division of NAA had manufactured nearly 19,000 airplanes, making it one of the most prolific U.S. factories.

Joe Olexa enlisted in the US Army in December 1940, figuring that if he was going to be in a war, he might as well start training. Assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed “The Big Red One,” he served in Company L of its 26th Infantry Regiment for the next four years. Along the way he trained with the division in maneuvers in the United States; shipped to England in 1942; landed at Oran, Algeria, in the Operation Torch landings of November 1942; and fought in Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. Olexa was one of the first group of enlistees that brought the division up to full strength in the buildup prior to Pearl Harbor, and was a sergeant by the time he went overseas. He served as a squad leader, platoon sergeant, and acting platoon leader, outlasting nearly all the men in his company. His memoir features accounts of unusual adventures in Tunisia when his battalion was detached from the rest of the division, and presents a detailed and intense account of his platoon’s experiences at El Guettar. Later, Olexa became a “Sea Scout,” going ashore on Sicily the night before the invasion to provide signals to …

Poster focuses on developing a conceptual framework to understand data literacy needs in community colleges. The authors propose a framework for studying data literacy by conceptualizing data literacy and explicating the core content and competencies associated with it. It was presented at the 2023 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This work is part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant.

Presentation highlighting the Trans Accessible Libraries Initiative at the University of North Texas Libraries. The Trans Accessible Libraries Initiative aims to remove some of the barriers trans individuals face accessing information and to provide more equitable access to our services and collections. The presentation shares the different phases of the project with guidance for others looking to start similar initiatives at their library, even if there is little administrative support.

Presentation used to report the evaluation of UNT Libraries’ holdings supporting the curriculum and research in the area of gaming production.

Presentation focusing on a project-based experience to analyze workflows within technical services that influenced workload leveling and understanding of work across technical services at the UNT Libraries. It was presented at the CORE Interest Group Week held March 6-10, 2023.

This presentation for panel discussion #396 is about making sense of the curriculum for the Knowledge Management Practitioner within Society 5.0. It addresses the iSchool's version of "harnessing the power of information and technology, and maximizing the potential of humans" by recommending forward-thinking KM curricula and capabilities relevant to Society 5.0.

Poster exploring the need for all-gender restrooms and the processing for implementing them in the University of North Texas Libraries' Annex building. It was presented at the University of North Texas Equity & Diversity 2023 Conference held in Denton, Texas.