I am ACRL Member of the Week

Attentive, enthusiastic, determined.

I am reading "Catch and Kill" by Ronan Farrow and "Algorithms of Oppression" by Safiya Nobel. I also love listening to podcasts, and some of my favorites right now include Ologies with Alie Ward and Dolly Parton's America.

Supportive, engaging, influential.

I value ACRL's commitment to providing opportunities for early-career librarians like myself. Whether it is an early career scholarship to attend the biennial ACRL conference or being a sponsor for the ALA Emerging Leaders program, I am incredibly grateful for the support that ACRL gives to me and other librarians like myself, because it leads to building a more dynamic and well-connected profession.
 

When family, friends, and even faculty on campus ask me the perennial question, “So, what do you do?” I tell them two things. First, I say, “I teach people how to do research.” This entails teaching undergraduate students in the First-Year Writing program how to conduct searches in our databases and how to evaluate the sources that they find. It also means helping students outside the classroom. I regularly hold workshops for graduate students on using research tools and I have one-on-one reference sessions with first-generation college students in the Capstone Center for Student Success.  In addition, I tell them, “I support researchers and their needs.” This is my way of describing my liaison relationships. I am the liaison to the Modern Languages and Classics department, so I purchase materials for the collection that benefit the faculty and I field any questions about the services and policies of the University Libraries. I often have faculty ask me to come to their classes and teach citation practices or searching strategies. I do extensive outreach in order to cultivate these relationships in my liaison areas.  As I’ve grown into my role, I’ve found that my small contribution has allowed people to see the University Libraries as a place where you can receive assistance whether you are seeking knowledge or creating it.

My journey to becoming an academic librarian has manifested a lot of full-circle moments. When I first started college as a TRIO/SSS student, I had a lot of trouble finding scholarly sources for my history and literature classes. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college, so I couldn’t ask them for advice. Instead, I went to the library and asked a librarian for help. Their support and encouragement made me a better researcher and inspired me to go to library school. Now, I’m the academic librarian that supports TRIO/SSS students. I consider myself very fortunate to have that responsibility. And it’s thanks to the librarians that have helped me along the way.