Telling Our Story: Career Paths in Resource Sharing

You will leave this 60-minute webinar with ideas on how to do both from experienced heads of resources sharing from academic, special and public libraries! Resource-sharing librarians often describe their career paths as serendipitous. They happen to get an internship or entry-level position in resource sharing and fall in love with the work. Important concepts for resource sharing like management and copyright can be found in some library school courses, but there is no formal educational pathway that leads to this specialization. The alternative to education is on-the-job training, which can vary widely in efficacy depending on staff knowledge and existing documentation. This is challenging because each library does resource sharing differently depending upon consortial partnership, software, and workflows to meet the unique needs of patrons. Building off a research project where heads of resource sharing from Big Ten Academic Alliance libraries were interviewed and results analyzed through inductive thematic analysis, panelists will answer questions about their career paths. They will identify the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to be successful in the field and discuss recent trends as they offer advice for the next generation of resource sharing libraries.

By the end of this webinar, the participant will be able to:

• Identify the key knowledge, skills and abilities needed to be successful in resource sharing
• Compare differing career paths that have led to success within the resource-sharing field
• Incorporate information on upcoming trends with advice offered by experienced heads of resource sharing into their own career journeys

This webinar is relevant for people who are interested in a career in resource sharing as well as mid-career professionals looking for direction.

Presenters:

Brynne Norton, is the Head, Resource Sharing and Reserves, at the University of Maryland College Park. She has been in this position since 2019 and has spent over 12 years working in access services and has worked at university, a small liberal arts college, a government library, and a community college library. She has a Master's of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include career paths in resource sharing.

Meg Massey, is the Manager of Interlibrary Loan at Penn State University Libraries. In this role, Meg provides direction and leadership to the Interlibrary Loan unit, coordinating all resource sharing activities. The Interlibrary Loan department is also responsible for Delivery services, which includes Office delivery to faculty, staff and graduate students, and home delivery to distance users. Meg is the current Chair of the RUSA STARS Education and Training Committee.

Salima Appiah-Duffell, is the Resource Sharing Librarian (aka "Book Detective') for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She also serves as Chair for the Mid-Atlantic chapter of ARLIS (Art Libraries Society of North America); and recently completed a two-year term on the SHARES Executive Group.

Mallory Duff, is the Head of Interlibrary Loan for Carroll County Public Library in Maryland. She coordinates lending and borrowing functions and supports the county's many active book clubs by procuring additional copies of titles being read monthly. She is an active participant in local resource sharing groups. She previously served as a member and Chair of the STARS Interlibrary Loan Committee and is currently a member of the STARS Organization Committee.

This webinar is sponsored by RUSA-STARS. Find out more about the Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section at https://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/stars