Solo Librarians and Independent Libraries at the University Of Michigan

Benedette Palazzola, Librarian, English Language Institute, University of Michigan, palaz@umich.edu

To Be Solo Librarian

“What is the biggest challenge of the job?” I asked the two women sitting across the office from me. One was the director and the other was the associate director of the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan. Their forthcoming answer was intriguing, although at the time I had no way of knowing how it would result or fit into the University’s big picture. The biggest challenge of the job, said the directors, would be to define my own role and that of the Institute’s library, a setting where I would be the only librarian.

Several months later, I now know what my interviewers were talking about. As a solo librarian at the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan, I serve a specialized clientele. The Institute is a small, departmental library in a thriving and sizeable section of the University. My roles are to provide materials and services in support of research and teaching in applied linguistics and ESL. I also make virtually every decision affecting our library’s policies and planning with the assistance of four (very busy) faculty and staff representatives who sit on the Library Acquisitions Committee. At the Institute, I have found a milieu where I, as the person most intimately involved with its maintenance and development, can define myself as a one-woman force for change: a truly Independent Librarian.

Of course, it took a little while for me to get a clear sense that I was not the only independent librarian on campus. My library was also not the only compact gem of a specialized collection catering to a sub-community of scholars. As a student at the University, I had known about the existence of small libraries in cute little corners of departments like Economics or Aerospace Engineering, but had never thought more about their phenomena. I was not long in my new position before the occasion arose to contact other departmental librarians in order to compare notes, ask for advice, and commiserate— to network. Eventually, I met the Independent Librarians’ Group, a band of solo librarians who have a long-standing tradition of regularly meeting for mutual support and assistance. Through the group, I was introduced to some of my counterparts in other areas of the University and discovered the rich variety of specialized collections on campus. A handful of these are described later in this article.

Being an independent librarian at definitely has its joys, but it is naturally not without laments. Independent libraries at this university are sensitive to attitudes the University Library System holds towards them. They had been viewed to some as “illegal”, while sometimes they are accepted and given help to flourish, if at all.

“It has always been sort of benign indifference/unawareness,” describes Jeanne Miller, librarian at Center for the Education of Women.

Lucy Schiller of General Pediatrics Information Resource Center, a self-described collection in progress, likes how this independent library gives her freedom and the opportunity to be tightly focused.

“There aren’t a lot of limitations for me,” says Schiller, although she adds that sometimes funds are not available for resources she feels are needed. Schiller says that independent libraries provide the advantage of having access to the wealth of resources available all over campus.

“You have to create your own opportunities for networking,” says Schiller. She says the Independent Librarians’ Group has also been important for her to keep lines of communication open with other solo librarians.

Molly Mahony, librarian at Tanner Philosophy Library, notes that while she likes her independence, it can be sort of a “double-edged sword” at times when more external support would be helpful. She enjoys the flexibility of her job and being her own boss. However, the reference-question traffic is a little slow and Mahony remarks, “my mind is getting a bit crusty…” from that. It seems likely that other independent librarians might voice a similar complaint.

For me, the real fun of being an independent librarian is in the influence you can often exercise on the direction of your library’s destiny as a collection and an institution. For librarians like me who had worked in large libraries where the planning was done by higher-level staff, it is exciting to be in the forefront of decision-making regarding collection building, policy, administration – even interior decorating! Independent libraries provide a real opportunity to leave a little corner of the world better than you found it, to strengthen a library and enhance its reputation as its primary representative. After all, I’m sure this is probably the closest I’ll ever come to being a library director!

Independent Libraries at the University of Michigan

The University of Michigan campus is studded with independent libraries, only a few of which are described here. Each one augments and complements the impressive but sometimes impersonal University Library System by providing a specialized clientele with an information center that often becomes the meeting-place of committees, friends, scholars, students, seekers, collaborators, and minds.

The University of Michigan’s best-known independent library is the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. This library is part of the system of presidential libraries under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). While it is opened to the public, scholars, journalists, students, and media personnel are the Ford Presidential Library’s primary clienteles. Its collection holds historical materials relating to President Ford and the Ford Administration. It also holds materials on domestic and foreign policies of the federal government and national political affairs, especially of the 1970s. Approximately 20,000,000 pages of records, half-million still photos, and extensive audio- and videotape and film holdings are housed in the Ford Presidential Library.

The Career Center Library [email link] is a very hands-on facility. This library’s non-circulating collection and services are primarily aimed at students of all levels; however, these resources are also available to alumni and the community. The Career Center Library focuses on career development and exploration issues, and offers assistance with job search strategies, decision-making, and occupational research, and provides directories of organizations. Their print resources are complemented by a wealth of online resources.

In a more scholarly vein, the Center for Afro-American and African Studies has the CAAS Information Resources Center on central campus. The CAAS collection holds materials about Africa and the African Diaspora, as well as books authored by Africans and people of African descent. Borrowing privileges extend throughout the University, but the collection and its archives are open to alumni and members of the community.

At the medical campus, UM Cancer Center patients and their families are served by the Patient Education Resource Center. The Center also serves health consumers with resources on cancer and related topics such as nutrition, support, coping, end-of-life issues, and complementary therapies. Materials circulate to Cancer Center patients and hospital staff. Their collection is also open to the community at large.

Another lesser-known medical collection that I had visited is the Henderson Ophthalmology Library that is housed on an upper level of the Kellogg Eye Center on the medical campus. Its breathtaking view from its reading lounge is enough to make any librarian envious: wide, green, willow-dotted expanses on the banks of the Huron River among the backdrop of the Ann Arbor skyline. Materials circulate only to Eye Center affiliates, but the library is open to patients and their families, healthcare providers, and the community.

The Tanner Philosophy Library is a positively tweedy place. Frequented by professors and graduate students, this is an all-print collection housed in centrally located Angell Hall, its walls lined with philosophical classics, a cozy little periodicals reading area in one corner. While the Philosophy Department is the main clientele, and books and journals circulate only to departmental faculty and graduate students for twenty-four-hour loans, other scholars and members of the community are welcome to browse.

One independent library that does not restrict borrowing privileges is the Center for the Education of Women Library. About 25% of collection is available for circulation to patrons from the University as well as the community. The circulating collection supports the Center’s counseling work in areas such as careers and job searches, educational plans, and life transitions. The remaining collection consists of reference sources focusing largely on women in employment and education, and covers topics that affects the lives of women such as work/life balance issues, nontraditional fields of endeavor, and statistical information.

Solo Librarians and Independent Libraries at the University Of Michigan

To Be Solo Librarian

Independent Libraries at the University of Michigan

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