Title: Library Assistant
Brief description of what you do/your responsibilities at your institution.
I am a solo library assistant (or Library Assistant PLUS, as our director likes to say,) and I have a blend of assistant and liaison duties that include inter library loan, circulation desk activities, building the library relationship with the Central Coast Physician Assistant Program, and acting as chair of the Diversity in Education Committee California.
Why is MLGSCA important to you?
MLGSCA is important to me because I am able to connect to other librarians and build community and network within the profession. I love connecting and learning from others.
Why did you become a librarian?
I became a librarian because I have a passion for helping others and enjoy doing so from the library setting.
What was your first library job or professional position?
This is my first library job!
What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?
Most of what you do on a daily basis is learned on the job, so I encourage those new to the field to ask for help.
What has been the most interesting project you have worked on?
As the chair of the DECC, I worked with a local non-profit and with the dean of our college to bring training to the CCPA program on the indigenous mixtec people of Mexico who have immigrated to our part of the central coast of California. I learned so much in that process and from attending that training and I am honored that I get to be a part of helping students of the medical profession learn how to help serve our most underserved communities.
What do you consider to be the most pressing issues or trends in librarianship?
The elitism is most concerning to me. Though the MLIS degree has value, there are some of us in the field who have the customer service experience that is so crucial to the profession but is discounted because we lack the specific library science degree.
What is something you have on your bucket list?
I want to go to Turkey to see the Hagia Sophia in person.
What do you do in your spare time for fun, or to relax?
I love to play with my cat Calliope, read, geocache, go to concerts, and do jigsaw puzzle nights with my friends.
What is the best thing you have read/watched/listened to recently?
All About Love by bell hooks and polysecure by Jessica Fern
Describe yourself in five words.
content, magic, fun, tired, listener
Is there anything about you that others would be surprised to know?
I acted in school plays in 8th grade through college, and just started acting in community theater this autumn.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of how far I have come in becoming myself and truly investing in myself over the past year.
A Chapter of the Medical Library Association
