Amanda Koziura
ALA Divisions:
Collaborative, strategic, person-centered.
I am reading The Caring University by Dr. Kevin R. McClure.
Connection, professional development, opportunity.
The ability to connect with other library professionals from all over and work with them toward a goal. I look for service opportunities that have the potential to have a positive impact on the profession, and ACRL has been where I’ve found them. For example, serving on the New Roles and Changing Landscapes committee is allowing me to work across the membership to bring some of our standards documents up to date and into alignment with what academic librarians need from our institutions in order to do our work effectively and sustainably. I also appreciate them as a publishing partner - they’ve been excellent to work with in that regard (thanks, Erin!).
My department addresses researcher needs throughout the research lifecycle to complement the subject and information literacy expertise of our colleagues. We provide instruction, consultations, resources, and other support in the areas of scholarly communication, open research, open access publishing, research metrics and impact, GIS, research data, and data visualization. We also run the institutional repository, OAsis. As the department head, I set strategic direction, build relationships, ensure communication flows where it needs to, represent my unit across the university, and mentor and advocate for my reports.
I love that academic libraries are uniquely positioned to have such an incredible impact on everyone at an institution. We get to be at the heart of teaching and research, working with folks regardless of their background, discipline, or whether they’re students, faculty, or staff. We also get to bring our own unique interests to our work, weaving them into our own teaching and research and using them as a way of connecting with others.
Personally, I also enjoy the challenges that come with being a manager. I get to see the larger picture and figure out how the unique expertise, interests, and experiences of my folks can fit into longer-term strategic goals and have a positive impact. I work with them to set priorities and help create the conditions that allow them to do amazing, impactful work that helps everyone across the institution. While it’s challenging to do all this while navigating various hierarchies and ensuring our work is sustainable, it’s also very rewarding.
Pronouns:she/her
Title:Head, Scholarly Communication and Data Services
Workplace:University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Location:Las Vegas, NV