Feature Story
Caleb Dransfield Joins Southern Virginia University as Lead Librarian for Academic Engagement
Caleb Dransfield joins Southern Virginia University as the lead librarian for academic engagement. In this role he will partner with faculty to provide research and information literacy skills while leading student outreach and programming and managing the Von Canon Library reference team.
“I’m really interested in teaching the different aspects of information literacy—including evaluating resource credibility, identifying bias, and understanding citation ethics,” Dransfield said. “Especially with AI and endless media, learning how to identify credible resources is an essential skill not just for school, but for virtually any career in this day and age.”
An alumnus of Southern Virginia University, Dransfield worked as the scene shop manager and an assistant for the theatre department after graduating before attending Binghamton University. There he served as a graduate assistant and as the graduate representative for the theatre graduate cohort.
“We want the Von Canon Library to feel like a place of belonging for the students,” said Dransfield. “We’re trying to help students overcome any library anxiety they may have. It’s not just a place to get books for class or a place to study, but there’s programs and services and assistance and exciting events that are taking place all semester.”
Before returning to SVU, Dransfield worked as a certified pharmacy technician at the University of Virginia Medical Center Pharmacy. Additionally, he had worked as an associate director for the Hill Cumorah Pageant and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ogden, Utah.
“The library is more than just a building full of books. It’s a place of resource connection. We want to gather people in the library and help them learn what they need,” said Dransfield. “I grew up in BV, so SVU is an institution that I have come to know very well and love. The interaction between faculty and students, the opportunities it provides, and the alignment with the Church make it a very unique and special place to be a part of.”
Dransfield earned a master’s in theatre with a concentration in theory and criticism from Binghamton University and a bachelor’s in English and theatre with a minor in music and psychology from Southern Virginia University. He will receive a master’s in Library and Information Studies from Old Dominion University in December 2026.