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Christina Chan-Park Research Librarian for Science and Data Baylor University she/her
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
Although I don’t remember, I have friends from college who said that I talked about perhaps being a librarian way back then. My path to librarianship was not linear. After undergrad, I went on to get an MS and a PhD. After my post-doc, I got a position as a visiting professor and director of a geoscience learning center and then moved into a more administrative role running an NSF-funded professional development program for minority PhD STEM students. While in this position I also got my MPA with an emphasis in higher education. When I got married and moved, I was asked by the library dean who knew my husband if I would be willing to step in as the science librarian. (She was desperate as there had been a string of bad fits and failed searches over more than 5 years.) As I enjoy teaching process rather than content, it was a great fit. After a year, I was hired on permanently and went on to get my library degree.
How long have you participated in STS, and how have you been involved?
I joined ALA as soon as I finished library school in 2014 and have been a member of STS since then. I have been a member of the Organization and Planning Committee for most of this time (you have to roll off for a year every 5 years) including co-chair from 2022-2024. One the large projects I have worked has been the file organization project that hopefully will help ensure that information is available to all STS members in Connect and to help committees transfer institutional knowledge from one year to the next.
Please share either how you have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, or how you might do so in STS, libraries, and/or the community.
I have been very involved in supporting EDI since college where I served as a Minority Affairs Advisor for my dorm; and frankly, somedays I just want to give up, stop fighting, and let someone else deal with it. But passions although wearisome never really go away. During my PhD and my time as a visiting assistant professor, I was heavily involved with the disability services. At my current institution, I founded the Faculty of Color Alliance and am still involved in leadership. I also help start the Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association. I have served as an advisor for the Asian Student Organization and even won the outstanding advisor award twice. I am often tapped by our Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging to join his different initiatives and have finally learned how to say no occasionally. I think a program to train librarians to be allies could be very beneficial for the students that we serve and give practical concrete ways to notice inequities and how to step in help.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
I am going to swap this question around and address how I don’t want STS to change. Because of budget and time constraints, there is a possibility that the members of STS become less diverse in terms of the schools they serve. I want to keep STEM librarians who are serve small liberal arts colleges in STS. I want to keep STEM librarians who are at community colleges in STS. I want to keep STEM librarians who are at regional public universities in STS. This means that STEM librarians must see the value in joining STS even if it means they have to pay to join ALA and ACRL. I think one way to do this is to make sure that STEM librarians feel connected to other STEM librarians through STS.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
My favorite animal is the naked mole rat. They are so ugly they are almost cute, and they are amazing creatures.
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Greg Nelson Chemical and Life Sciences Librarian Brigham Young University he/his/him |
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
I grew up in Portland, OR, and have lived on both coasts and several place in between: Loma Linda, CA; West Virginia; Manchester, NH; Mesa, AZ; and Provo, UT. I earned my BS in Microbiology from Brigham Young University (BYU) and PhD in Molecular Genetics from Loma Linda University. I did two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ and the other at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. After job hunting for eight months, I broadened my employment horizons and applied for a science librarian position at BYU and have been so blessed for the past 17 years with a wonderful job that I love and great people to work with: co-workers, students, faculty and staff at the university.
How long have you participated in STS, and how have you been involved?
I have been a part of STS for the past 17 years. I have been a member and co-chair of the following STS committees: Organization and Planning Committee (2021-2025); Awards Committee (2019-2021, member only); Nominating Committee (2017-2019, member only); STEMM Librarianship Resources Committee (2015-2018, formerly Science Resources: Discovery & Access Committee); Research Committee (2010-2015).
Please share either how you have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, or how you might do so in STS, libraries, and/or the community.
As a member of the BYU Library “Belonging Through Library Collections Task Force” in 2023, we evaluated methods to study how inclusive our collections were for our users and suggested adjustments to collection-building strategies. I am fully supportive of changing or dismantling any system that places individuals on unequal grounds based on their seen or unseen identities. STS should welcome and be welcoming to all.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
STS, like most of ACRL and ALA, is facing reduced membership and fewer volunteers to continue the important work of science librarianship. The membership and volunteer trends may result from the poor overall economic conditions; however, some of these downward trends may be, in part, due to a lack of personal connection. How can I be of use? As member-at-large, I will personally contact 1/3 of the membership each year with a focus on those who have engaged with STS in the past, followed by those who have historically not participated in STS and let them know that they are wanted and needed in the Section. We want them to know they belong.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
I am a person of faith, and I believe that most people desire to do good, especially librarians. We live in a challenging world and when solving problems, we should recognize that conflict is inevitable, but contention is a choice. As a science librarian, I am blessed with a great family, I go to work happy and go home happy. What more could I ask for?
