Nicole Carpenter

Biography

Nicole Carpenter is the Research Librarian for Social Sciences at UC Irvine Libraries, where she has served since 2018. She holds a Master's in Library and Information Science with an emphasis in Academic Librarianship from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from California State University, Santa Cruz. Her professional focus centers on open educational resources (OER), work culture, and student success.

At UC Irvine, Carpenter leads campus affordable course materials and OER awareness and adoption efforts, while participating in UC-wide programs and initiatives focused on open education. She develops collaborations across outreach, collections, instruction, and research projects, working with campus agencies and the academic social science community to increase awareness and access to library services. Prior to her current position, she held library faculty and reference positions at Santa Monica College and El Camino College, and served as Librarian at Santa Barbara Business College from 2010 to 2016.

Carpenter has contributed to professional discourse through publications in ANSS Currents and College & Research Libraries News, with recent work examining topics such as digital archives, database interfaces, and library staff interactions. She has presented at conferences including the Cal OER Conference and the Acquisitions Institute, focusing on affordable learning solutions and the impact of open educational resources on campus communities. She taught Library Research Methods as adjunct library faculty at Santa Monica College in 2018.

Education

• M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science, San Jose State University
• B.A. in Sociology, California State University, Santa Cruz