Dean Riley

Office of the Provost
Moody Library
  • Senior Librarian
  • Professor of Library Science

Education

  • MALS, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • MARE, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
  • BME, University of Texas at San Antonio

Library Focus

Main Responsibilities

  • Library administration
  • Managing technical and automation operations including the SirsiDynix Symphony server, CloudSearch, Enterprise catalog, and proxy server,
  • Assist with scholarly publications which include maintaining the DARIUS institutional repository, providing dissertation document management and assistance,  Cloudsource OA+ resources, and developing an OA/OER strategy,
  • Assist with public resources which include LibGuides creation and management, web page management, responding to reference questions,
  • Cataloging and acquisitions,
  • Assist with the university archives and special collections,
  • Managing the database budget,
  • Assist with grant writing,
  • and serve as an automation liaison to Campus ITS Services. 

His professional goals include writing more about library foundational thinking in regards to information. While no one can truly define it, he hopes to develop a broader understanding of information and its role and importance in our daily lives, especially from a Christian worldview. He hopes that this understanding will aid Librarian Christians have an understanding of God’s Work even through research. He believes it is most important that students understand the significance  of information in our daily lives and that we learn how to develop research strategies to find what we really need rather than settling for information that is merely good enough. His professional vision is:

Given HCU’s central confession that “Jesus Christ is Lord,” I seek to help all students by endowing them with critical research skills with a high degree of satisfaction so their current research can springboard and become “useful vessels” to empower their future organizations, their lives, and to honor Christ (II Timothy 2:21-22; Isaiah 64:8; Colossians 1:9-15).

Academic Focus

Religion, Philosophy, Computers, Technology, History, Military, Music

Certifications

  • Texas Learn OER, Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas. Certificate ID: KAHKQ0-CE000398

Refereed Publications

  • Information Apprenticeship: Integrating Faith and Learning in the Library. Accepted August 2010 by The Christian Librarian (Peer-reviewed). Fall 2010.
  • Rogers, Ben, Ozmun, Adria L., Riley, Dean. “Texas Baptist Associations, 1840-1886.” Texas Baptist History, Vol. 5, 1985.

Non-refereed Publications

  • Wisdom and God in the Age of Information: Potter and Clay. The City. (Houston Christian University). Fall 2010.

Awards and Honors

  • Nominee, Opal Goolsby Teacher Excellence, 2006.
  • Elected in Beta Phi Mu International Library Honors Society, 1995.

Invited Presentations:

  • Unlocking Value: Keys to Incorporating Open Access in Library Collections sponsored by ACRL/Choice and SirsiDynix. June 9, 2022
  • Then and Now: Student Workers in Library History and Their Current Uses in CCCU Libraries Today. Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. Snezek Library Leadership Institute. May 10, 2022.
  • Getting Started with Open AccessWeb panel sponsored by SirsiDynix and Library Journal. May 10, 2022.
  • From Theory to Practice: How to Make Open Access Content Work for Your Library. Web panel by Library Journal, sponsored by SirsiDynix. August 30, 2021.
  • Potter and the Clay or It’s Not Just Information, HCU Convocation Address (recorded), Spring 2021.
  • Stewardship of Minds. Texas Library Association, Library Instruction Round Table Annual Summit, September 2019.
  • Potter and the Clay: Integrating Faith and Librarianship in the 21st Century. Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, Snezek Library Leadership Institute, July 2018.
  • Utilizing LibAnswers to Create a Campus-Wide Knowledge Base. Co-presented with Alan W. Presley, Associate Director of Web Strategies and Operations, 10th Annual Innovations in Teaching and Learning Technology Conference, Lee College, Baytown, TX. November 6, 2015.
  • Integrating Faith and Learning in the Library. Association of Christian Librarians. Evangel University, Springfield, MO.  June 11, 2009.
  • Library Databases: From Mayhem to Management. HCU Faculty Professional Development Symposium. August 2007.
  • Maximizing Library Database Use. HCU Faculty Professional Symposium. August 2006.
  • Understanding and Maximizing Research Skills and Tools. (1998, 1999, 2004, 2010). Southeast Texas Homeschool Association, Houston, TX.

Additional Information:

Mr. Riley’s main professional interests are the quality of information, particularly from the Internet, and the theological implications of information theory. He presented a paper at the 2009 annual meeting of the Association of Christian Librarians entitled Information Apprenticeship: Integrating Faith and Learning in the Library which discussed the significance of Christian perspectives of information theory and how it could be viewed from a theological perspective.

Mr. Riley currently serves on the Institutional Technology and Knowledge Committee, the campus Safety and Crisis Committee, Administrative Web Advisory Committee, and the Administrative Systems Advisory Group.

He has served as Minister of Music, and Minister of Music, Youth, and Education at several churches in the Midwest before coming to HCU in 1994. He recently retired from Wilcrest Baptist Church after serving as pianist/accompanist since 1998.

Mr. Riley enjoys playing the piano, keyboards, and mountain dulcimer as well as learning to play new styles of music (American and International) and incorporating them into worship. He also enjoys collecting international coins, and learning about astronomy, outer space, and meteorology.