I am ACRL Member of the Week

Resilient, headstrong, day-dreamer.

I am surrounded by an endless pile of books about librarianship, but I am currently reading "Becoming a Library Leader: Seven Stages of Leadership Development for Academic Librarians" by Shin Freedman and James M. Freedman. I am also an avid reader of novels that can make me escape in different lives and worlds. At the moment I am reading "Troubled Blood" by Robert Galbraith (or J.K. Rowling?) and I am about to start listening to the audiobook version of "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, one of my all-time favorite authors.

Engaging, supportive, community.

Coming from a non-American background, I found in ACRL a fixed point for my professional life. ACRL gave me many opportunities for engaging in professional development activities that helped me thrive in my career. I greatly appreciate the possibility to have access to a network of professional librarians and experts that share my interests and can provide support and advice. To me ACRL means opportunities, to meet colleagues, to learn about recent developments in the profession, to stay current, and to be part of a community.

Most of my professional life has been dedicated to provide instruction and to promote information literacy at my institution. I believe that in this capacity I can support the mission of the university that aims to create life-long learners that can critically understand the world in all its aspects. I also think that an academic librarian is an ideal partner for collaborative projects. Academic libraries are placed at the intersection of the students' and faculty's worlds, and they can function as catalysts of change in their own communities, therefore the academic librarian can foster and fuel collaboration.

I am at a professional intersection myself, since I am now also Interim Head Librarian. In this new position I have had the opportunity to take a look at the role of the library from a different perspective, but I still firmly believe that the academic library is the heart of the institution, the place where everyone in the community can find their space, both physical and intellectual, and where they can create their voice.

My love for books and for the written word has brought me to become a librarian. In my mind the world of libraries was quiet and full of silence. Then I became an instruction librarian and I knew that my perception of this world was entirely wrong. Being an academic librarian made me challenge myself: at the beginning of my career I was not enthusiastic about standing in front of a group of students and talk to them about research. Quite the opposite! I had to struggle with my inner fear of being in front of an audience, but then I learned that being an instruction librarian does not mean being the sage on the stage. Realizing that my role was more that of a guide on the side that accompanies students throughout their academic journey made me perceive the full meaning of my job.