Raquel Cogell came to Yale in September of 1995, after spending a year at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Ms. Cogell chose two one-year assignments in different units of the University Library. She began her first term in the Reference Department of Sterling Memorial Library, whose collections primarily fall within the humanities and social sciences. Her assignments in that department included providing general reference service and training in bibliographic instruction as well as hosting the first workshops devoted to African and African American Internet resources. She was also responsible for collecting decisions for African American Studies materials. In her second year, Ms. Cogell worked in the Social Science Library and the Government Documents Information Center, both under the umbrella of the library's Social Science Libraries and Information Services unit. She provided reference service and participated in committees for collection and web development. During Ms. Cogell's second year, she was one of eight individuals chosen by the University Librarian to serve a term on SCOPA, the Standing Committee on Professional Awareness. SCOPA members sponsor lectures, take on special project requests by the University Librarian, and award grants to librarians for project development.

Outside of the library Ms. Cogell participated in workshops at Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, and on the national level was a presenter at the 1997 Black Caucus of the American Library Association's conference. In addition, she served a two-year term on ACRL's African American Studies Librarians Section's Policy and Research Committee.

While there was no deliberate effort on the library's part to introduce community-related activities in the defined responsibilities of the Librarian-in-Residence, Ms. Cogell's willingness to become involved in the African-American community resulted in an enormously positive experience. Her community experience included serving on the Board of Directors of the Urban Improvement Corporation, an organization of Yale students who provide tutoring and SAT preparation to inner city youth in New Haven. She also collaborated with a number of professors who were working on a discussion series titled, "The Public University." The series was designed to engage the New Haven community and the university in dialogue regarding changes affecting the community and the practical and policy implications of these changes.

Ms. Cogell left Yale in August 1997 to become a Reference Librarian at Emory University. Before leaving she served on the search committee to hire our second Librarian-in-Residence and provided valuable support and insight about the program.