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Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate: Sam Putnam
Director, Bern Dibner Library New York University he/him |
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
It seems as if I have always been moving toward a role in libraries. My first library “job” began in 4th grade when the school librarian asked me if I would like to volunteer at the school library. She had just found me organizing a disheveled table of books during a Scholastic Book Fair, which is an apparently unusual thing for a 9 year old to do. Since then, I have worked in school libraries, museum libraries, and academic libraries before I eventually found my footing as an engineering librarian at the University of Florida. I am glad I found my way to academic librarianship because I love it!
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I have been involved in STS since 2016 when I joined the committee formerly known as Science Resources: Discovery and Access. I was attracted to the section because I was interested in meeting other STEM librarians. But I stuck around because of the relationships that I built over time. Since my first committee appointment, I have served as co-chair of Science Librarianship Resources (we renamed the committee!) and served as Member-at-Large. During each step of my library journey, I have met interesting and generous librarians in STS who were happy to provide advice and insight to an early career librarian. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without the support of my fellow STS members.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
I think commitment to EDI work is a lifelong process. I try to do my best to read often and listen well as I grow as a librarian and person. Ultimately though, my philosophy is that librarianship is not neutral and we cannot try to see both sides when one side supports stances like white supremacy or transphobia.. I try to weave EDI principles into my everyday work, whether it is building collections and programming around critical perspectives related to engineering, practicing inclusive pedagogy in the classroom, or creating space and providing support for library workers who want to demonstrate their own commitment to EDI. Some examples that come to mind include a time when white supremacist Charlie Kirk came to speak at campus, I organized a poster-making event where students could make a protest poster as long as they found a scholarly article to support it. Another was as co-chair of the Science Librarianship Resources committee, I worked with my co-chair and committee members to change the charge in order to begin publishing blog posts on EDI-related issues, a project that came out of the EDI Task Force. If I am elected chair, I will do my best to use the role to guide and support the EDI work of our section members, while also pushing against systemic barriers that keep us from doing more.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
I would like to see STS play a larger role in equipping STEM librarians as advocates for change in the profession. One example, a number of scholarly publishers have amended their name change policies to be more trans-inclusive, but not all publishers have made the recommended adjustments. I would like to see STS adopt a stance in support of trans-inclusive name change policies and work to equip STEM librarians in conversation with these publishers. Another example, publishers such as LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and RELX (parent company of Elsevier) have spent much of the past decade developing their role as data brokers, knowingly selling data ultimately used by law enforcement groups in the arrest and deportation of people of color; I believe STS can provide training and support for librarians engaging in conversations with publishers around these issues. I think the EDI task force (among others) showed us that groups within STS can accomplish great things with focused, time-limited charges; I would like to leverage some of that success to address these and other important issues.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
If you know where I can find a good sandwich, hoagie, grinder, po’ boy, torta, or croque, let me know. I am interested.
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Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate: Britt Foster Director of Teaching & Learning University of California, Riverside She/her |
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
I worked for years in special and enrichment/GATE education at the K-12 level and came to really appreciate libraries for providing the resources that allow people, but especially kids, to have the freedom to explore their passions and to engage in learning outside of formal environments. While applying for youth librarian positions I took a part-time academic position, and fell in love with information literacy instruction and working with college students and instructors. I’ve been an academic librarian for almost 11 years now, with 10 of those years as an agricultural/food science subject specialist.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I believe I’ve been a member of STS since 2016, attending webinars and other events, and took on my first leadership role in 2018 when I was appointed as co-chair of the Framework for Information Literacy STS Companion Document. I had been active in USAIN, the United States Agricultural Information Network, and few of those members suggested STS as a good fit for my interests, particularly the unique considerations of providing service to the STEM disciplines. They were definitely right, and I’ve learned so much from the section membership!
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
Equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as social justice, are deeply-held personal values that attracted me to librarianship, and I am committed to a more equitable and just profession, academy, and society. I frequently participate in learning opportunities as well as taking actions towards this goal. I recently completed a course on equitable assessment that approached assessment through a critical, anti-racist lens, and I’m enrolled in Silvia Vong’s We Here workshop, “Critical Management Studies: Critical Praxis for Library Managers.” A recent project I participated in tasked a working group to identify barriers to research and scholarly activity for women faculty. We embraced an intersectional approach, addressing the unique barriers women of color, parents, gender non-conforming, and temporary faculty experience when trying to participate in research. I’ve also loved the opportunity I’ve had to mentor library school and early-career librarians towards success in our field. As a first-gen, Pell recipient that transferred from a tiny rural community college, easing the path and building bridges for others from my region who have historically been excluded from higher education has been some of my most rewarding work.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
STS has always supported librarians who find themselves as STEM subject specialists without any formal education or background in the sciences. Libraries are experiencing a higher number of vacant positions (College & Research Library News, 2022), which may mean subject specialists in other areas are adding STEM disciplines to their portfolio, resulting in a possible increase in the need for support for these new STEM specialists. These activities would likely be of interest to new STEM librarians, or library school students interested in a STEM specialty, as well.
At the same time, economic inequality and instability continues to be a struggle for library workers. To be a member of STS requires membership in ALA and ACRL, and ALA membership has been declining significantly for the last few years. This means several things for STS: 1) A need to demonstrate high value for current members to prevent declining membership in the section; 2) A need to advocate “up” for section/potential section members with ACRL and ALA, to encourage more responsive membership options, services, and supports that prevent membership loss and encourage new/rejoining members; and 3) Promoting programming, collaboration, and partnerships with organizations and institutions in addition to ALA, so potential members can attend and gain awareness of STS and its membership benefits.
