Editor’s Note: For the month of January, we’re profiling student members of ACRL. For a limited time, ACRL membership dues for students are just $5.
Daria Hafner is an MLS student at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Daria first joined ACRL in 2017 and is your ACRL member of the week for January 29, 2018.
1. Describe yourself in three words: Curious, passionate, and hard-working.
2. What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? This is London: Life and Death in the World City by Ben Judah. This book is an eye-opening account of the lives of immigrants in London. Judah immerses himself in different immigrant communities throughout London, detailing the demographic transformation of the city in the last decade. I picked it up when I was at a bookstore in Paris last year.
3. Describe ACRL in three words: Informed, innovative, and communal.
4. What prompted you as a student to join ACRL? I was prompted to join ACRL because of its reputation as a leading resource for both aspiring and practicing librarians. ACRL is a community rich in mentorship and collaboration. Its focus on research libraries and higher education also align with my career goals.
5. What are your career goals? How might ACRL help you achieve those goals? Upon completion of my MLIS at Simmons, I hope to work as a librarian at an academic library. My background is in the social sciences, specifically law, international studies, political science, and history, so I hope to focus on those concentrations in an academic or research environment. ACRL can help me achieve these goals by connecting me with professionals in the field and providing both professional and educational opportunities specific to academic librarianship.
6. In your own words: I believe that academic librarianship plays a critical role in higher education. While students learn content in the classroom, I have found in my own undergraduate and graduate school experiences that the practical aspects of conducting research can fall by the wayside as students focus on the end result instead of the research process. Librarians can fill this void by helping students learn proper searching techniques, how to evaluate sources for authority and reliability, and by exposing students to new technology. In a sense, I see academic librarianship as an inherent part of both the educational and research aspects that comprise higher education.
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.
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