Summer’s done, in case you haven’t heard. Tree leaves are turning yellow and being blown off their branches. We’re putting away our camp collar shirts, Birkenstocks, and frozen cocktails, and breaking out the wool sweaters, Blundstones, and hearty soup. Pool parties? More like gathering around a campfire late into the Fall – at least where I’m from, in the Great White North of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
My summer’s been good—our science and health science librarians hosted the 8th True North Science Boot Camp, I helped host the 2024 Canadian Health Libraries’ Association’s annual conference in Winnipeg, and I was lucky enough to attend IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives) Conference in Toronto. We’ve said goodbye to respected, long-time colleagues and welcomed new ones.
As our university turns from a summer of deserted hallways and untrampled pathways to hordes of students and faculty cramming every public space across campus and making me stand on the bus, liaisons across our institution are busily prepping instructional sessions, getting course reserves ready, and ready to host library orientations.
As for our first-year students, I welcome you, but I have to say, some days I feel like I’m embarking on my first day. I’m taking over liaison responsibilities for our Engineering faculty, which means I’m meeting new faculty and students, learning all about standards and patents, looking into which engineering resources we should get, and putting together presentations for one-shot sessions. Getting up to speed takes a lot of time.
Not only is it a change in liaison subject areas, but a different library as well. As I opined at length in a previous post, I’m getting use to a new workspace in a different library while our science library undergoes renovations. It’s tricky to find spaces to do online instruction and takes more time to find adequate meeting spaces to meet with students.
I’ve joined ACRL’s Research Planning & Review Committee, and we’re getting prepped to work on the 2025 ACRL Environmental Scan (2023’s scan available here). I’m continuing my work on the ACRL’s Science & Technology Section’s Information Literacy Committee and excited to see what we’ll accomplish over the coming year.
Some of my work is old hat to me at this point, and some is brand new. Change can take time to get used to, especially if you need to learn new skills or expertise. Continual change seems to an omniscient presence in academic librarianship; institutional change, including new library administration and colleagues, library reorganizations, and new services among these changes. In a lot of ways, academic librarians are well suited to build connections and working relationships with people inside and outside of libraries and of course, I find most academic librarians are suited for continual learning.
As I grow and develop my career, I want to be sure to welcome change, to look at the glass half full, and realize change can be positive. I’m excited to keep learning, changing, and transforming alongside the students and faculty that I support.