Kenny Garcia is Reference and Instruction Librarian at California State University – Monterey Bay in Seaside, California. Kenny has been an ACRL member since 2009 and is your ACRL member of the week for June 22, 2015.
1. Describe yourself in three words: Student-centered, praxical, and community-oriented.
2. What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device(s)? I just finished reading What’s Gender Got to Do With It? A Critique of RDA Rule 9.7 by Amber Billey, Emily Drabinski, and K.R. Roberto. I’m currently reading Environments for Student Growth and Development edited by Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Melissa Autumn Wong, Love Cake by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, This House, My Bones by Elmaz Abinader, Black Prophetic Fire by Cornel West, and Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci. I look forward to reading Uncivil Rites by Steven Salaita when it’s published in November.
3. Describe ACRL in three words: Community, collaborative, and engaging.
4. What do you value about ACRL? As a fairly new member to the library profession, I have found the association to be extremely valuable for my professional development, networking opportunities, and learning about best practices in the various areas of academic librarianship. I received a scholarship to attend my first ACRL conference in Portland this year. It was an amazing experience and I was able to reflect on my pedagogical skills and network with other academic librarians interested in critical information literacy, diversity, and faculty/staff collaborations.
5. What do you, as an academic librarian, contribute to your campus? As a reference and instruction librarian, I provide reference assistance at a reference desk and support business, nursing, and kinesiology students through consultations and library instruction sessions. I’m also responsible for the collection development in the business and health & wellness subject areas. I’ve also been able to build a pedagogical community with library colleagues, student affairs colleagues, teaching faculty, and students.
6. In your own words: I love collaborating with library colleagues, student affairs colleagues, teaching faculty, and students. I feel fortunate to be working at a Hispanic-serving institution that has historically valued serving undereducated and first-generation students, while incorporating social justice, inclusive excellence, and gender equity-based values in its vision and mission statements. As a profession, I hope academic librarianship will continue to grapple with issues related to diversity, critical librarianship, and social justice. As academic librarians, I also believe that engaging and collaborating with community-based organizations and partners is vital to the flourishing of students as civically and critically engaged community members. I love what I do, and find the process of engaging and building with academic communities and community spaces to be very fulfilling!
Editor’s Note: Are you an ACRL member? Would you like to be featured as ACRL Member of the Week? Nominate a colleague? Contact Elizabeth Caris at ecaris@ala.org for more information.