Describe yourself in three words:

Supportive, strategic, reflective.

What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)?

I'm currently swaying between working through the Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin and the Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett.

Describe ACRL in three words:

Direction, community, caring.

What do you value about ACRL?

There is a lot that I can say about what and how much I value the work of the ACRL community. I feel it forms an important part of the foundation of our profession, and it’s pretty amazing. I have met so many passionate and caring people throughout my time in ACRL. As I’m writing this, I can’t help but keep replaying this great memory of my very first ALA conference. As a brand-new librarian, I was struggling to connect and find a professional community. I ended up sitting in on the STS Scholarly Communication committee’s meeting that first morning of the conference and I immediately felt welcomed. I met so many wonderful people. I think what keeps pulling me back to that story right now is knowing I will be finishing my third term on that same committee in just a few short weeks.

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus?

I think of myself as an advocate, trying to play some small part to improve lives and outcomes for our students and faculty and help contribute to building a healthy and sustainable scholarly communication environment. I’m a resource and an educator on topics like open access, copyright, publishing, journal and textbook markets, open educational resources, and some data management. I’m also the coordinator for the institution's digital repository, with a focus on helping support our electronic theses and dissertations program, and I’m the journal and conference publishing coordinator for New Prairie Press, the Libraries’ open access publishing imprint.

In your own words

Being a librarian, and in the role that I am in, has been both the most rewarding and the most challenging experience of my life so far. I have been through the high peaks, low valleys, and most everything in-between. It's been quite the ride. I never would have guessed what I'd be doing or where I'd be when I started my librarianship journey, but I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I'm incredibly grateful for that opportunity.

Pronouns:he/him

Title:Scholarly Communication and Digital Scholarship Librarian

Job Function:Educator on open access, copyright, publishing, journal and textbook markets, open educational resources, and data management. Coordinator for our institutional repository and journal publishing for New Prairie Press, our OA publishing imprint.

Workplace:Kansas State University

Location:Manhattan, Kansas