Alyssa M. Valenti is a electronic resources & web services librarian at Raritan Valley Community College in Somerville, NJ. Alyssa has been a member of ACRL for 12 years and is your ACRL Member of the Week for October 11, 2021.
Describe yourself in three words: Eager, service-minded, problem-solving.
What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? I’m always reading at least 2 books, one in print and one on my kindle. In print I’m reading Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, and on my kindle I’m reading My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.
Describe ACRL in three words: Opportunity, impactful, networking.
What do you value about ACRL? ACRL has been a great resource for me during the course of my profession. Once I began serving on committees, the value of ACRL expanded even further. I’ve made great connections with librarians across the country and have really enjoyed learning from others in the profession. I look forward to continuing serving on ACRL committees in many different capacities.
What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus? I oversee all of our electronic resources as well as our website. I troubleshoot any issues related to database links, authentication, and issues in accessing our online content. I am also currently serving as our Library Chairperson as we do not have a library director. In addition to that, I also get to help students at the reference desk, teach information literacy instruction, and serve as the liaison to the Math & Computer Science and Health Science Education departments. Aside from my library-specific work, I participate on college-wide committees and have served as chair of our Faculty Senate and participated in our college’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship.
In your own words: I so enjoy being an academic librarian. I enjoy my work, the opportunity to constantly be learning something new, and the chance to help a student have an ‘a-ha’ moment in their own research process. I really enjoy introducing librarianship to people who are considering this as a career and have served as a mentor to a few new librarians. It’s not often you find a field where so many people involved are so supportive of each other.
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