michael wirtz

Michael Wirtz is the Design Research Librarian with specific liaisonship to and teaching responsibilities in the VCUQatar’s Masters of Fine Arts program. In addition to supporting the research of the MFA students and faculty, Michael provides instruction on research methods, information literacy and critical thinking. Michael’s research centers around the development of tools and techniques for information literacy and critical thinking instruction, and the use of technology in producing reliable information resources.

Michael graduated with a MA in Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona. Previous to that, he received his MFA in Painting and Drawing from Arizona State University. For his undergraduate education, Michael attended the University of Wyoming where he received both a BFA, specializing in Painting and Printmaking, and a BA in Journalism with a minor in Religious Studies. Before joining the VCUQatar Library in 2009, Michael was the Library Supervisor for the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus library in Mesa, Arizona.

Michael Wirtz's current research looks at developing interactive tools for information discovery. He is interested in finding ways the library can connect students to information as an alternative to the "lists of links" subject guides that are common in academic libraries. Most recently I have been developing map and timeline-based interactions designed to allow students to discover connections in Islamic art history as well as typographic history. Through this research, I hope to create tools that will allow students to see objects in context and interactively discover, rather than simply choose, appropriate information resources.