Member Spotlight

Thanks to the many interests our communities of practice represent, LLAMA has a diverse membership including new librarians, directors, HR professionals, architects, fundraisers, and more.  Each month the Membership Committee will feature one of these members in the Member Spotlight.  It's a great way for you to you meet your colleagues and find members with similar interests.

To see yourself in the spotlight, just send an email to the Membership Committee with some basic information.  A member of the committee will then follow up with you.  It only takes a minute and the committee would love to hear from you. 

Current Member Spotlight:


 

 

Tyler Dzuba
Outreach Librarian for Academic Programming
University of Rochester,
River Campus Libraries
Rochester, NY

LLAMA member since 2012

Professional experience, particularly LLAMA activities

  • ALA Emerging Leader 2013, working with LLAMA
  • Founded the New Professionals Section of LLAMA, chair 2014-2015
  • Section Representative, LLAMA Board of Directors, 2015-2016
  • Member, LLAMA Reorganization Task Force, 2015-2017
  • ALA Election Process Task Force, 2016
  • ALA Councilor-at-Large 2016-2019
  • Co-founded Rochester Early-Career Information Professionals, 2013; Conference Planning Committee 2014, 2016

How has membership in LLAMA helped your career?

Through LLAMA, I’ve met and learned from library workers across institution types, specialties, and career stages, all sharing an interest in library leadership and management. It can be challenging as a new professional to find communities that span so many dimensions of experience. LLAMA is where I found my home in ALA for professional conversations, exploring career aspirations, learning from colleagues, and serving my peers. ALA’s a big place. Having seen a few corners of it in my first five years in the profession, I can confidently say that LLAMA has been radically open to change and evolution in ways that are beginning to spread throughout the Association. I’m proud to have a part in that, and I’m sure the connections I’ve built will help me immensely as I move toward the middle phase of my career.

If you had not chosen your present career, what would you be doing?

My love affair with coffee started in college, but it really grew into an obsession during the interim between finishing grad school at UNC and landing in my first professional position in Rochester. To make ends meet, I worked as a barista at a local coffee company, Joe Van Gogh. I won’t claim it was all roses, but making thousands of drinks for my community was a fantastic experience (most days). If I hadn’t wanted to be a librarian, I’d probably still be working my way up in the coffee industry, sharing the joy of espresso with as many people as I could.

Connect

Recent Member Spotlights (to see earlier member profiles click here)

Felicia Wilson
  April 2017
Sue Considine
  November 2017
Jennifer Paustenbaugh
  July 2016
Amy Hanaway
  May 2016