At the beginning of February, we were delighted to welcome Stephanie Swanberg, MSI, AHIP, as our new Academic/User Services Librarian. Below, Stephanie offers insight into her role at MSP and a little about herself. Welcome Stephanie!
Give us a snapshot of your professional/academic background.
I have volunteered or worked in libraries for 18 years and knew early on that libraries were my destined career! I started as a teen volunteer at the Canton Public Library in 2003, but my first library job was as a student assistant at the Taubman Health Sciences Library at The University of Michigan while getting my Master’s degree. I graduated in 2011 and immediately started my career at the Medical Library at the newly established Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB) in June 2011.
I was at OUWB for nearly ten years as Assistant, then Associate Professor, Information Literacy & eLearning Librarian and taught medical students information searching, evaluation, and organization skills for research and evidence-based practice; managed the library’s events, exhibits, and community outreach programming; and provided reference and research consultations to students and faculty on curriculum and research projects.
Describe your role at MSP.
I have joined MSP as the Academic/User Services Librarian and will be working with both students and faculty in supporting their teaching, learning, and research information needs.
In the curriculum, I will be teaching students how to search, select, and organize research in various courses as well as offering one-on-one consultations for course assignments and dissertations. For faculty, I will work to ensure all course materials are accessible to students, identify the best ways to integrate research skills training, synchronously and asynchronously, into courses, and also support faculty research through literature searching and where to publish. I will also be managing the psychological testing and assessment material processes and facilitating ILL requests for the library.
What attracted you to working at MSP?
MSP’s culture and community really resonated with me. Compassion, kindness, and a holistic, inclusive approach are the professional values of utmost importance to me and I strive to uphold in all of my work.
Community engagement is also a personal passion of mine and I was excited to hear about the new community mental health clinic opening and MSP’s initiatives and growth in community outreach and advocacy. I am excited to explore the ways the library can participate and contribute to those initiatives.
What are you looking forward to most in this position?
I am very excited at the opportunities for the library moving forward! COVID has prompted the transition to offer more electronic library resources as well as provided opportunities for reaching out and connecting with students and faculty in innovative ways. I’m looking forward to exploring these! I also thrive in small work environments where everyone knows everyone and I am very excited to get to know all my new colleagues and students!
What is one thing that people might be surprised to know about you?
I am an outdoor enthusiast and love to explore nature via hiking, kayaking, and backpacking! Visiting all of the US national parks is my personal goal and this year COVID prompted a new goal: to visit all of the Michigan state parks too!
