Nimisha Bhat is a visual arts librarian at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Nimisha has been a member of ACRL for 4 years and is your ACRL Member of the Week for April 19, 2021.
Describe yourself in three words: Loquacious, hungry, educator.
What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? I’m currently reading Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham, cooking & eating my way through In Bibi’s Kitchen by Hawa Hassan, and building a playlist around The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop by Clover Hope.
Describe ACRL in three words: Community, motivation, collaboration.
What do you value about ACRL? ACRL has allowed me to continuously learn from my peers and inspire me in new ways, always opening up the possibilities of what an academic library can do for our students. I value how the organization has helped me grow into the profession while bringing my own unique identities & perspectives to the table.
What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus? As a teaching and research librarian in the arts, I provide students and faculty with reference, collection, and scholarship support. One of my favorite parts of my job is doing deep dives on research ideas with students about their fascinating topics — one day it will be finding articles about the influences on Indigenous casino architecture and the next day it will be looking up case studies on using mushrooms to make decorative objects & furniture. Getting to have these conversations and learn about all these topics along with my students is so fun.
In your own words: Whenever students or faculty ask what I can do for them, I always say that I’m the conduit between their inspiration and the resources that will help their exploration. Seeing my students grow and shine within the academy is a privilege, and I seek to provide equitable and inclusive ways of learning & knowing that position them as knowledge creators. Art scholarship is unique in that the types of information & knowledge that inspires can be anything from soundscapes to color theory to scholarly articles. I try to encourage all my researchers to hold space for those creative possibilities.
Editor’s Note: Are you an ACRL member? Would you like to be featured as ACRL Member of the Week? Nominate a colleague? Contact Mary Jane Petrowski at mpetrowski@ala.org for more information.