About

I bring a background in poetry writing and composition to instruction and librarianship, creative energy that allows me to design engaging, informed, and user-friendly curriculum. I believe in working with students' innate curiosity and use backward design and universal design for learning (UDL) to make lesson plans to meet all students where they learn.

Education

• M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of Memphis, 2016
• M.L.I.S, University of Southern Mississippi, 2008
• B.A., English, University of Southern Mississippi, 2006

Work Experience

• Editor, Tennessee Libraries, 2022 - present
• Associate Editor, Tennessee Libraries, June 2021 – 2022
• Book Reviews Editor, Tennessee Libraries, 2018 – 2021
• Research and Instruction Librarian, University of Memphis, 2016-2017, 2018 - present

Research Interests

• Critical Information Literacy
• Modes of teaching and learning
• Poetry and creative writing

Publications & Creative Work

Peer Reviewed

• Hess, C. and Roach-Freiman, A. (2023). Together in the same (zoom) room: Building campus community around first-year writing and information literacy through a collaborative online forum. Journal of Creative Librarianship. https://creativelibrarypractice.org/2023/01/12/together-in-the-same-zoom-room/ 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (2021, December). BEAM me up: Teaching rhetorical methods for critical reading and source synthesis. Communications in Information Literacy, 15(2). DOI: 10.15760/comminfolit.2021.15.2.5

Book Chapters

• Roach-Freiman, A. and Chant, P. (2023, accepted). Creative Writing Is (Process, Inquiry, Conversation) Hard: Bringing Information Literacy to the Blank Page. In Teaching Information Literacy by Discipline: Using and Creating Adaptations of the Framework. Eds. Malia Willey and Scott Libson. Association of College & Research Libraries.

Other Professional Writing

• Roach-Freiman, A. and Hess, C. (2023, accepted). "Wait, We're Drawing?": Treating First-Year Students to Maing Art in the Library Orientation." LOEX Conference Proceedings 2023. 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (January 2023). Review of the book Arranging Stories by Heather A. Fox. Southeastern Librarian, 70(4).
• Harris, J., Kincaid, A., Roach-Freiman, A., Smith, S., Wibking, L. & Wimer, A. (2022) Five Years and Counting: A Library Instruction Tennessee (LIT) Oral History. Tennessee Libraries, 72(3). https://www.tnla.org/page/72_3_LIT 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (May 2022). Review of the book My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland. College & Research Libraries, 83(3). https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/25439/33308 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (March 2021). Zoom Tomato: Leverage Digital Meetings to Get Shit Done. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (July 2020). Motherhood, Returning to Work, and the Virus: A Diary of Sorts. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (December 2019). Resistance is Futile: Unexpected Careers in Librarianship. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (December 2019). “They’re All Kind of Idiots”: In Defense of First Year Learners. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (November 2019). Librarians, Twitter, and Critical Toxicity: Pulling at the Strings of Rhetoric in Activist Communities. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (October 2019). The Appointment Hat. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (August 2019). Librarianship as Mothering and Other Cries for Help. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform. The Library Collective.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (August 2019). Fakin’ It Till You Make It: Overcoming Back-to-School Jitters. Essay. The League of Awesome Librarians platform.
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Winberry, J. (2019). Opening our minds: Two early career librarians. Two roundtables. Where to from here? Tennessee Libraries, 69(2). https://www.tnla.org/page/69_2_Roach
• Roach-Freiman, A. (May 2019) BEAM me up: Source use and synthesis. CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments).  https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/beam-me-source-use-and-synthesis.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (2019, Spring). Square peg, round hole: Big picture planning and the opportunities and limits of design thinking. Journal of Creative Library Practice. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/square_peg 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (2018, Fall). Activating uncertain library instructors: Bridging the gap between point-and-click teaching and active learning. ACRL Instruction Section, 35(2). Retrieved from https://acrl.ala.org/IS/wp-content/uploads/is_fall2018.pdf 
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Winberry, J. (2018, Fall). Timber!: ACRL chapters should make some noise. ACRL Chapters: Chapter Topics. Retrieved from https://acrlchapters.libguides.com/c.php?g=893523&p=6425095 

Poetry Books

• Roach-Freiman, A. (2019). Violator. Full-length poetry manuscript. Unpublished. 
• Roach-Freiman, A. (2017). Bright along the body. Poetry chapbook. Dancing Girl Press.

Individual Poems

• Poems have been published in a variety of print and online creative writing journals, including Southern Women’s Review, Poet Lore, Fugue, The Boiler, Ghost Proposal, The Literary Review, Superstition Review, Bone Bouquet, Smartish Pace, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Rock & Sling, and Thrush Poetry Journal, among others.

Conferences

• Roach-Freiman, A. & Hess, C. (October, 2023). "Wait, We're Drawing?": Engaging Visual Strategies for First-Year Library Orientation. Referred. ARLA/SELA Annual Conference. 
• Roach-Freiman, A. & Hess, C. (May, 2023). “Wait, We Are Drawing?” Treating First-Year Students to Making Art in the Library Orientation. Refereed. LOEX Annual Conference.
• Harris, J., Kincaid, A., Roach-Freiman, A., Smith, S., Wibking, L. & Wimer, A. (April, 2023). Library Instruction Together: Building a Community of Practice on a Shoestring Budget. ACRL ULS Professional Development Committee. Webinar.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (April, 2023). You and Me Would Be a Big Conversation: An Attempt at a Unified Theory of the Meta Information Swiftie-verse. University Libraries Colloquium.
• Roach-Freiman, A., Hess, C., & McClure, J. (April, 2023). “Wait, We Are Drawing?” Engaging Visual Strategies for First-Year Library Orientation. Refereed. Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference.
• Roach-Freiman, A. & Taylor, C. (April, 2023). Reach for the Stars: Learning Professional Writing Skills. Refereed. Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference.
• Kantor, S., & Minnich, L, & Roach-Freiman, A. (November, 2022). Who are we measuring? Assessment and Inequity in Librarian Labor. CLAPS: Critical Librarianship & Pedagogy Symposium. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/claps_measure 
• Hess, C., Harris, M., Roach-Freiman, A., & Singarella, I. (November, 2021). Changing Roles & the Role of Change: Research and Instructional Services & Health Sciences Librarians Change Roles During Covid-1. WeTALC. Co-created presentation.
• Hess, C., Roach-Freiman, A., Hayes, P., and Kenny, H. (October, 2021).  Together in the Same (Zoom) Room: Building Campus Community Around First Year Writing and Information Literacy Through a Collaborative Online Forum. National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (December, 2020). Flip This Whole Thing Around: Democratic Learning in a Flipped Online Classroom. 2020 UM3D Winter Summit. University of Memphis.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (November, 2019). Helping Underprepared Students Succeed in College.  Invited Panelist. WeTalc (West Tennessee Academic Library Consortium) conference. November 15, 2019.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (September, 2019). BEAM Me Up: Considering Usefulness for Source Synthesis. Refereed. Arkansa Library Association/Southeastern Library Association conference.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (June, 2019). BEAM Me Up: Considering Usefulness for Source Synthesis. Refereed. Library Instruction Tennessee (LIT)  conference.
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Winberry, J. (2019). Opening Our Minds: Two Early Career Librarians. Two Roundtables. Where To From Here? Refereed. Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference.
• Roach-Freiman, A. Panelist. (2019). Stand and Be Counted: Libraries Facilitating Voter Engagement. with Holly Hebert, Kevin Dixon, Pamela Johnson, Chris Hall, & Amber McKee, Refereed, Tennessee Library Association Annual Conference.
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Varner, B. (2018). Making It Work Online: Collaborating to Create an Online Research Path. Presentation, Tennessee Library Association Conference, Memphis, TN.
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Varner, B. (2018). NEDtalks: Lightning Talks in the Library. Presentation, Tennessee Library Association Conference, Memphis, TN.
• Roach-Freiman, A. and Varner, B. (2018). Use Your Words: Thing-Explain Library Lingo. Presentation, The Library Collective Conference, Knoxville, TN.
• Roach-Freiman, A., Page, S., and Decker, B. (2017). Looking for the Picture in the Frame: The ACRL Framework in Practical Library Instruction. Presentation, Tennessee Library Association Conference, Knoxville, TN.
• Roach-Freiman, A. (2016). Accessibility for LibGuides. University of Memphis Libraries.

Outreach, Service & Membership

• Steering Committee, Library Instruction Tennessee (LIT), 2017 – present
• Accessibility Committee, Member, 2023-present
• Accessibility Committee, Co-Head, 2021-2023
• Honors Research Forum, Judge, 2019
• Quaesitum Undergraduate Research Journal, Peer-Reviewer, 2019, 2023
• Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee (TLAC), 2017 - present

UofM Teaching Experience

• UNHP 1100: Call It What You Want: Taylor Swift as Cultural Product
• LBRY 4/6020: Research and Information Literacy for Hospitality and Resort Management
• UNHP 1100: Know Your City, with co-instructor Brigitte Billeaudeaux
• UNHP 1100: Know Your University, with co-instructor Brigitte Billeaudeaux
• ENGL 3606: Poetry Writing
• ENGL 1020: Composition and Analysis
• ENGL 1010: Composition

Awards

• The Scott Cohen Torchbearer Award, Spring 2023
• James E. Ward Library Instruction Award, TLA, 2008

Additional

• Roach-Freiman, Ashley. (May 2019) BEAM me up: Source use and synthesis. CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments). https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/beam-me-source-use-and-synthesis.