Brandi Hart is a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Brandi has been a member of ACRL for 1 year and is your ACRL Member of the Week for October 25, 2021.
Describe yourself in three words: Enthusiastic, kind, thoughtful.
What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? I am currently reading How the Word is Passed by Dr. Clint Smith, who is the keynote speaker at the upcoming annual conference of the Illinois Library Association.
Describe ACRL in three words: Inspirational, educational, empowering.
What prompted you as a student to join ACRL? I was given the honor of being awarded the ACRL Spectrum Scholarship this year. I am so grateful and appreciative to the ACRL for all of the support and generosity they have shown me, including providing me membership. I am very excited be a member of the ACRL to be surrounded by and learn from such a welcoming and intelligent community.
What are your career goals? How might ACRL help you achieve those
goals? I hope to become a research librarian at a small liberal arts college assisting undergraduate students with their research. I am particularly interested in doing outreach programming and developing services to help international students and first-generation college students. The ACRL provides so many helpful resources that I believe will help me achieve my career goals, such as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion LibGuide and the e-learning ACRL webinars (to name a few) that provide useful strategies and training to help implement library services and programs. I haven’t had the chance yet to read the First Year Academic Librarian Experience Blog, but it looks like such an amazing resource, especially given that I have no experience working in libraries. It will be really great to read about others’ experiences as first year librarians, what they learned, and how they navigated the profession.
In your own words: While I have no experience working in an academic library yet, I have spent some of my fondest moments as an undergraduate doing research in academic libraries. I am planning to gain my first work experience doing a practicum this Spring. My hope is that as a future academic librarian, I can help make the library more accessible to the staff, faculty, students, and other communities whom we serve. I plan to actively work towards making the library a more inclusive and diverse space, acting as an advocate for our patrons, providing a safe, welcoming space for all, and developing tools and services that help our community.
Editor’s Note: Would you like to be featured as ACRL Member of the Week? Nominate a colleague? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch!