I am ACRL Member of the Week

Meet ACRL Member: Jenny Dale

ABOUT

Jenny Dale
Information Literacy Coordinator
UNC Greensboro University Libraries
Greensboro, NC

Describe yourself in three words

Creative, empathetic, Batgirl!

What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)?

I'm currently reading Kate Atkinson's "Transcription" and also making my way through the collected editions of "All-New Wolverine". Up next for me (and pretty representative of my typical taste in reading material) is "The Girl King" by Mimi Yu.

Describe ACRL in three words

Friends, learning, networking.

What do you value about ACRL?

ACRL gave me my first opportunity to present at a national conference when I was an early career librarian. Since then, ACRL has provided me with many other opportunities that have helped me grow as a professional, from participating in Intentional Teaching Immersion (RIP) to presenting at conferences to joining the Framework Roadshow presenter team. While I've sometimes been frustrated that I couldn't break into a committee I was really interested in, and I've been disappointed by conference proposal rejections, other opportunities from ACRL have always opened up when I needed them the most.

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus?

As a teaching librarian, I feel fortunate to have opportunities to contribute to student learning and student success every day. At UNCG, librarians have faculty status, and that affords us privileges to be engaged on campus. Right now, I'm serving on the General Education Revision Task Force, the First-Year Retention Network, and as a steering committee member on the Humanities Network and Consortium, among other campus committees. This kind of work makes me feel connected to the larger campus, and gives me opportunities to promote library resources and services in environments outside of the traditional classroom setting.

In your own words

I decided I wanted to be a librarian after working as an undergraduate student assistant in a small branch library. The branch librarian was so engaged with the students and faculty in the department, she was a huge advocate for information access, and she never seemed to get bored with her job. I love being an academic librarian for exactly the reasons I thought I would - I get to work closely with students and faculty, I get to teach things that really matter to me, and no day is exactly like the one before. Even on days when I have rough classes, or too many deadlines, or a lot of committee work, I can't imagine doing anything else.