Megan Lotts

Art Librarian
Librarian, Art Library
Library Faculty, New Brunswick
Megan Lotts

Contact

Art Library

71 Hamilton St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1248

Megan Lotts is the Art Librarian at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she teaches research workshops, builds collections, facilitates programming, and events, and closely engages with students and faculty researching in the Arts. Lotts has presented her research both nationally and internationally and has published articles in portal: the Libraries and the Academy, Art Documentation, Journal of Library administration, College and Research Libraries News and more. In 2021 the American Library Association published her first book Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement<https://www.alastore.ala.org/creativityculture> and will also publish her second book “The Playful Library” forthcoming July 2024. Her research interests include creativity, outreach & engagement, makerspaces, play, and the work of library liaisons. She is known for her work implementing LEGO play, a culture of creativity, and curating the exhibition spaces at the Rutgers University Art Library, as well as teaching a semester long seminar “Playing to Learn in Higher Education.” Megan earned her MFA (2004) and MLIS (2007) from University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a BFA in Painting (2000) and BFA in Art History (2002) from the University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana. She currently lives in New Brunswick, NJ and continues to create site-specific conceptual works of art.

*Picture by Nick Romanenko

Experience

June 2012- present Arts Librarian, Research and Instructional Services Library Faculty.  Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey- New Brunswick. 

August 2008- May 2012 Assistant Professor- Fine Arts Librarian.  Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

September 2006- May 2008 Outreach Specialist University of Wisconsin-Madison:  Forest Art Wisconsin, Assistant Curator and Project Manager. 

Summer 2002- Spring 2003 CIMC Library Supervisor- University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Summer 1995- Summer 2000 Parkland College Library- Public Service Assistant/Circulation Desk Supervisor.

Selected Publications

*This is a selected list of publications.  Please reach out to megan.lotts@rutgers.edufor a complete CV. 

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Peer-Reviewed

Lotts, Megan. “The Art Librarian Wears Many Hats: A Survey of the Skills Art Librarians Need in the 21st Century.” Art Documentation 39, (fall 2020).

Lotts, Megan, Nancy Kranich, Jordan Nielsen, and Judit Ward.  “Moving from Collecting to Connecting: Capturing, Assessing, and Communicating the Work of Liaison Librarians.” portal: Libraries & the Academy 20, no. 2 (April 2020): 285-304.

Lotts, Megan. “Low Cost High-Impact Makerspaces at the Rutgers University Art Library.” Art Documentation 36, (Fall 2017): 345- 362.

Charles, Leslin H., Megan Lotts, and Lily Todorinova. “A Survey of the Value of Library Employment to the Undergraduate Experience.” Journal of Library Administration 57, Iss. 1 (2017): 1-16.

Lotts, Megan. “On the Road, Playing with LEGO, and Learning about the Library: The Rutgers Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part Two.” Journal of Library Administration 56, Iss. 5 (Summer 2016): 499-525.

Lotts, Megan. “Playing with LEGO, Learning about the Library and ‘Making’ Campus Connections: The Rutgers Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part One.” Journal of Library Administration 56, Iss. 4 (May 2016): 359-380.

Hubbard, Melissa A., and Megan Lotts. “Special Collections, Primary Resources, and Information Literacy Pedagogy.” Communications In Information Literacy 7, Iss. 1 (March 2013): 24-38.

Arendt, Julie, and Megan Lotts. “What Liaisons Say about Themselves and What Faculty Say about Their Liaisons, a U.S. Survey.” portal: Libraries & the Academy 12, no. 2 (April 2012): 155-177.

Academic Degree

Masters of Library and Information Sciences (M.L.I.S.), 2007

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison

Masters of Fine and Applied Arts (M.F.A.), 2004

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bachelors of Fine Arts- Art History (B.F.A.), 2000

  • University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign

Bachelors of Fine Arts- Painting (B.F.A.), 2000

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Books

Lotts, Megan. “The Playful Library,” (Chicago: American Libraries Association, forthcoming 2024).

Lotts, Megan. “Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement,” (Chicago: American Libraries Association, 2021).