This fall, we were delighted to welcome Rachel Melton, as our new Resource Management Librarian. Below, Rachel offers insight into their role at MSP and a little about themself. Welcome, Rachel!
Give us a snapshot of your professional/academic background.
I attended the University of TN – Knoxville (UTK) for several years and ended up with 2 BAs (English – Literature Concentration and Anthropology – Cultural and Physical Anthropology Concentrations) and my MS in Information Science (MSIS). While I got my MS, I worked at the Preston Medical Library (PML) and Health Information Center(HIC) (located inside the UT Medical Center) as a Library Assistant. The PML served the University of TN School of Medicine’s faculty, staff, and students and the HIC served the general public. It was a very unique library and working there is what ultimately led me to pursuing a MSIS. After I graduated, I became the Cataloging and Metadata Librarian at Idaho State University. I worked there for four years and, though my title did not change, my responsibilities grew across those years to include heading the Cataloging and Government Documents departments. I’m very excited to continue my professional career here at MSP!
Describe your role at MSP.
I’ve been hired as the Resource Management Librarian. I will be doing the core library work of supporting students, assisting with research, holding down the reference desk, checking materials in and out, etc. I will also be managing the collection. This looks like a million things that are, usually, boring and confusing for people outside of Librarianship, so I describe my main functions as removing barriers and enhancing access. If I’m doing my job correctly, you won’t know about it.
What attracted you to working at MSP?
The anti-racism resource banner and mission statement were a big part of why I submitted my application. After my initial interview, I already felt like I fit as a part of this team. Once I arrived here, my feelings only increased. As an agender individual, it felt like I wouldn’t ever get to be close to my authentic self, especially in my place of work; it was very clear from my first interactions at MSP that I would be safe to try, which means a whole lot to me.
What are you looking forward to most in this position?
Honestly, every bit of it. I love that we are a “many-hat” institution. Every day and task is different and I have an opportunity to be involved in things beyond Librarianship, while also having my core focus be the things I love most about librarianship: removing barriers and enhancing access.
What is one thing that people might be surprised to know about you?
My top artists on Spotify usually include Shakira and Dua Lipa – I’m in both of their top 0.5% of listeners…ha!
