Professional portraits of Danielle Berchtold, Hope Dunbar, and Reanna Esmail against a blue background. Text overlay: Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, Welcome New Members

As of January 2025, the NYS Library welcomes three new members to the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries. Join us in getting to know our new RAC members! 

Danielle Berchtold

Danielle (Dani) Berchtold is a trustee and the president of the Board at the Apalachin, NY Library. She became involved in the Library as a trustee in 2021 and has provided leadership and support during a period when the long-time library director retired and a new director was hired. Since 2014, Dani has served as the Senior Associate to the Vice President of Academic Affairs at SUNY Broome Community College. She works with academic programs and curriculum, academic policies and procedures, the college catalog, and is a member of the academic leadership team. She taught as an adjunct instructor in the social sciences for fifteen years.  

Prior to working in higher education, Dani worked for regional community organizations. She worked at Southern Tier AIDS Program as a case manager, health educator, and program coordinator, then at the Rural Health Network as a health advocate and an AmeriCorps program director. Dani is passionate about the importance of connecting people and resources and is eager to participate in work that fosters synergy. 

Hope Dunbar

Hope Dunbar is the University Archivist at the University at Buffalo, where she leads the ongoing operations of the University Archives, building and promoting its collections through outreach, donor relations, and partnerships. With a robust background in archival management, Dunbar applies best practices to ensure access to the university’s rich manuscript and archival collections. She is also actively involved in grant writing and development to support archival projects and services. Prior to joining the University at Buffalo, Dunbar spent seven years as a Special Collections Archivist at SUNY Buffalo State University, where she worked extensively on processing, digitizing, and managing special collections, while fostering community engagement and enhancing archival services through collaborative initiatives.

Dunbar holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science with a specialization in Archives & Special Collections from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University, College of Law. She is a Certified Archivist and has served in various leadership roles within the archival community, including as a board member for the Society of American Archivists Foundation. Dunbar has contributed to the academic and local community through numerous exhibitions, publications, and presentations, with a particular focus on LGBTQ history and Western New York regional collections. Her professional achievements have earned her accolades such as the Parkside Partner Award and the Western New York Library Resources Council’s Excellence in Library Service Award. 

Reanna Esmail

Reanna Esmail is the lead librarian for instruction at Cornell University. Working in Olin Library’s Research and Learning Services Department, she oversees the library’s information literacy program, provides in-person and virtual reference help, and supports the research and collection needs of Asian American studies, game studies, media studies, and philosophy. Prior to her promotion in July 2021, Reanna was the outreach and engagement librarian at Cornell and previously a digital asset management intern at the Corning Museum of Glass. She holds an MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, an MA in English from the Freie Universität Berlin, and a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Reanna is currently a co-primary investigator on an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)–funded grant project to create open educational resources for algorithmic literacy and Association for Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program Fellow. She is also a Minnesota Institute alum, columnist for American Libraries magazine, and Library Freedom Project member.  

As a library instructor, Reanna is particularly interested in critical pedagogy and providing services for various campus communities, especially those that have historically been underserved and underrepresented. Her research interests include intellectual freedom, targeted online harassment self-defense, data brokerage, and algorithmic literacy.