Charles Watkinson
ALA Divisions:
Curious, optimistic, cats.
I am listening to Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts. While mainly known for his military exploits, Napoleon was the ultimate multi-tasker - drafting France's legal code or intervening in scholarly debates between battles. History is written by the victor and the English propaganda that aimed to diminish his accomplishments after he was defeated has left a very biased, negative view.
Inclusive, supportive, valuable.
I have been invited in and welcomed by colleagues even though I have a non-traditional background. Involvement in the Association has brought me into contact with new friends from very different types of institution than my own who are doing all kinds of amazing work in so many different contexts. The staff are particularly dedicated to the success of the Association and its members.
"Our mission is to support, enhance, and collaborate in the instructional, research, and service activities of faculty, students, and staff, and contribute to the common good by collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, sharing, and creating the record of human knowledge."
What I particularly love about being an academic librarian (and indeed an academic publisher) at University of Michigan is that there is a strong emphasis on the "public good." This means thinking beyond the needs of our own faculty and students to try and enhance knowledge, understanding, and innovation in the State of Michigan, the USA, and beyond. What I've learned from working in scholarly communication my entire career is that experts don't just exist in universities and colleges, nor do they just live in North America. Especially when you distribute open access materials through repositories, library publishing units, digital collections, and supported university presses you quickly find that even the most specialist topics get read - gratefully and with great attention. When specialist knowledge is hidden behind paywalls we exclude so many potential users from reusing it to enrich their own lives and create good in their communities.
Pronouns:He/Him/His
Title:Associate University Librarian
Workplace:University of Michigan Library
Location:Ann Arbor, MI