Sandy Rodriguez
Curious, intentional, authentic.
I am reading The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Mate with Daniel Mate (print book) and One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (audiobook).
Connection, support, expertise.
I value the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from others navigating academic librarianship within an increasingly volatile higher education landscape. My work on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee has been particularly demanding this year, given the broader political climate and policy pressures bearing down on this work, but that's where ACRL's value has shown up most clearly for me. This spring, the committee co-hosted a panel on library core values under threat, where I drew on frameworks such as ACRL's Standards for Libraries in Higher Education. Even as that work grows harder, ACRL gives me the chance to keep engaging alongside others facing similar challenges, and to effect change, no matter how small, in academic libraries.
Roughly two years ago, I made an intentional decision to pivot from special collections and archives administration to an administrative role with responsibilities that include faculty affairs, recruitment, organizational development, and assessment. Most people bristle at the thought of engaging the bureaucratic processes of our institutions, but I derive a great deal of purpose in co-creating interventions that produce more equitable outcomes. These systems were designed. They can be redesigned. For example, I implemented calibration processes within the library to mitigate bias and inconsistency in performance evaluations, a model our campus HR is now looking to as a potential template for staff evaluations university-wide. Though I primarily engage internally with library workers, my campus-facing work includes partnering with human resources, the Provost's Office, and other Associate Deans. Cultivating these relationships takes time and intention, but the reward serves not only the library, its workers, and their communities, but the broader institution as well.
A paradox of our time: We have more ways to connect than ever, but are more disconnected than ever. My hope is that we resist by taking the time to seek connection with each other. In a climate where fear breeds a scarcity mindset and isolation, it’s very hard to do, but it’s also necessary.
Pronouns:she/her
Title:Associate Dean of Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Workplace:Wake Forest University
Location:Winston-Salem, NC