I am ACRL Member of the Week

Compassionate, inquisitive, earnest.

I am rereading "Emma" by Jane Austen in light of the new movie adaptation directed by Autumn de Wilde. My next book in the queue is "Sanditon."

Nexus, education, leadership.

For me, ACRL has been a place to develop myself more as a librarian. Several years ago I had the privilege of attending the Immersion Program Track, and I learned a great deal from both the leaders and other participants. ACRL also does a great job of creating and supporting connections between information professionals. The sections, interest groups, and discussion groups are excellent places to connect with colleagues, share ideas, and spark innovation.

As the graduate studies librarian at Texas A&M, I advocate for the needs of our graduate students within Libraries, and I oversee our graduate information literacy program and major projects related to graduate students, such as the creation and renovation of our Grad Student Lounge. I also teach workshops for researchers and graduate students, particularly concerning copyright. Because of my interest in the intersection of writing studies and information literacy, I was able to collaborate with colleagues to create a composition and information literacy OER textbook that was launched in fall 2019 for freshman writing classes.
 

I love the opportunities for interdisciplinary work in libraries. In my job, I get to work with graduate students from across all departments. It is interesting to see what questions and needs are common to students and where there are divergences, particularly regarding information dissemination. Beyond that, I am amazed time and again at how dedicated graduate students are as learners, researchers, and teachers. I am glad to see that the national conversation about graduate student education is becoming more prominent, and I know libraries are rising to the challenge of finding the best ways to serve this population.