Rochelle Mazar is an Emerging Technologies Librarian at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Raised in Guelph, Rochelle first saw the internet at her friend’s house in 1991, but thought it was only for people who understood math (i.e., not her).
She started building learning objects by accident; she stumbled upon telnet-based multi-user spaces in 1993 and promptly built interactive versions of her history papers. After completing a BA in English and History at Carleton University, she went on to Harvard, where she kept up with Canadian news via live streaming audio from the CBC.
With a Master of Theological Studies in hand, she proceeded to the University of Toronto to begin work on a Ph.D in history. While reading for her comps, she discovered the power of social media and how people from around the world will use anything available to them to interact, connect, and collaborate. Rochelle had an epiphany; she was destined to be, not a historian, but a librarian.
She left Toronto for London and completed an MLIS at the University of Western Ontario, where she learned the joys of MySQL and PHP, and the discovered the wonders of librarianship. She has called Mississauga home since 2005.
