Melissa A. Wong
Curious, empathetic, grateful.
I just finished Nell McShane Wulfhart's The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet, which was incredible. She tells the history of women as flight attendants, their fight to be recognized as professionals, and how their union work resulted in labor rights for all women.
Connection, innovation, expansive.
ACRL connects me to colleagues in libraries across the country. Whether we are serving together on a committee, attending a webinar, or grabbing coffee at a conference, connecting with colleagues energizes and sustains me. For the past three years I've served on two groups - the Awards Implementation Task Force and the Awards Coordinating Committee - responsible for revamping ACRL's awards program to make it more transparent and equitable. I'm excited to see the awards program relaunch this fall! Another aspect of ACRL that I value is its resources for professional development. ACRL's publications, webinars, and events help me stay on top of developments in the field, particularly for topics outside my normal areas of expertise.
As an adjunct instructor in the iSchool, I teach courses in instruction, eLearning and reference, and help graduate students prepare for careers in many types of libraries, including academic libraries. I try to equip our graduates with the knowledge and skills they need for their careers, while also modeling reflective practice and empathetic approaches to users. My courses have a heavy emphasis on accessibility and I am proud to give my students practical skills to create more inclusive library services. I also try to be available to current and former students for mentoring. My spring calendar was full of one-on-one meetings with students to talk about job searching and preparing for academic interviews. In addition to my teaching, I am in the middle of a three year appointment as Editor in Chief of Library Trends, a scholarly journal published by the iSchool. We work with guest editors to publish thematic issues on important topics in LIS. It has been a great learning experience and reinforced how much I love supporting others in the writing and publishing process.
I have had wonderful mentors at every stage of my career. I did not necessarily seek them out as formal mentors, but in looking back, I can see that I would not be where I am now without their wisdom and guidance and the doors they opened for me. Mentorship is powerful and happens in both large and small moments. Anytime we pause our own work to support a student or a colleague, we not only make a difference for that individual, we create stronger libraries, campuses, and communities. It is the most important work that we can do.
Pronouns:she/her
Title:Adjunct Lecturer and Editor in Chief of Library Trends
Workplace:School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Location:Champaign, IL