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Secretary Candidate: Patricia Hartman
Biology, Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and Math Librarian Auburn University she/her |
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
I’m the subject librarian for the Biological Sciences and Mathematics Departments, as well as the College of Forestry, Wildlife & Environment at Auburn University. Before I became a librarian, I was a conservation biologist and studied migratory songbirds for my graduate work. When I realized a career as an academic in biology wasn’t for me, I thought, “what would you have done in a parallel life?” It didn’t take long to figure out it would have been research librarian. So like many librarians, I fell into this as a second career and haven’t looked back. Because I’m able to keep a foot in the natural science work, this job is the perfect fit for me.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I joined STS in 2013, as soon as I started my first (and only) job as an academic librarian. When exploring service options, STS just made the most sense. I’ve had the opportunity to work with wonderful librarians from around the country and have learned a ton from them! So far, I have served as co-chair of the Membership & Recruitment Committee and have been a member of the Research Agenda Task Force and the Hot Topics Roundtable Committee.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
I spend a great deal of time advocating for and promoting open access, so that is where I would say the bulk of my EDI efforts lie. Although access to information alone doesn’t resolve disparities in the research ecosystem, it is an important step toward a more equitable and inclusive one. In addition to outreach, I manage an undertaking to populate our institutional repository with the help of a staff member and student assistants. And this year I am coordinating AU Libraries’ first Open Access Week. Its theme of climate justice opens the door to conversations about the disproportionate social and economic impacts of climate change on underprivileged populations.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
I don’t know what role the secretary plays in change and growth, but I do love learning from our colleagues – our members do a lot of great work! The new(ish) monthly communications and crowdsourced news sections were a brilliant idea and I would love to see us build from there. We can’t all match the speed of science, so it would be great to hear more from niche librarians. For example, I know reproducibility librarians exist, but I don’t see one anytime soon on the horizon at our library. I would love to hear about what such a librarian does in order to fill gaps in our services.
Is there anything else you’d like for STS members to know about you?
I am a soapmaker! In order to sustain my hobby, I recently started a side hustle selling my soaps at local markets. Now I not only enjoy making the soaps, but meeting Alabama artists and makers. So many talented people in this world!
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Secretary Candidate: Jason Burton
Interim Director, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library University of California, Los Angeles He/him/his |
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Tell us more about yourself and how you became a librarian.
Librarianship was a bit of an accidental career choice. I started my graduate educational journey studying political science, but after deciding to step away from that I stumbled into library school. Using the library was my favorite my part of college, so it was a natural fit. 14 years later it was certainly the right choice.
How long have you been involved in STS and what attracted you to the section?
I joined STS in 2017. I served the last four years as the co-chair of the Assessment Committee as it grew into a completely new charge and became the Data Curation and Assessment Committee. I am currently the co-chair of the Publications Committee.
The broad, multi-disciplinary membership was what initially caught my attention and is still one of the things that I enjoy most about STS. I am a member of other associations with greater subject focus, but the chance to work with colleagues across the sciences is always rewarding.
How have you demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion?
At my home institution I have been a member of User Engagement Anti-Racism Cross Functional Team, bringing together colleagues from around the various public services units, and am currently active in our Anti-Racism Initiative Collections Team and Ethical Description sub-team. Collections is the central responsibility of my position and in all of these groups I’ve been able to work on projects that examine our collections and identify new ways to collect and describe our collections through an anti-racist perspective.
How do you envision STS growing and changing, and what role would you play in that process?
The move to digital and remote meetings and programming has fundamentally reshaped how STS looks and operates. This digital orientation provides opportunities to expand and diversify STS membership, increase programming, and act with greater independence from the traditional ALA calendar. The challenge is finding a balance between these opportunities and lost, or at least decreased, in-person component that makes Section and Association membership and participation attractive for so many. I am excited for the chance to participate in those conversations and help STS find a sustainable and diverse path to growth.
