Librarians are our path to students, our path to faculty, and our ambassadors on campus. We will be highlighting Academic librarians who have unique perspectives regarding their approach to content curation and management.  

This month, we are excited to spotlight Academic librarian, Leslie D. Burke! Leslie is a Collection Services Librarian at Kalamazoo College. We spoke with Leslie about her work, here’s what she had to say:  

What aspect of being a librarian do you find most fulfilling? 

I love the variety! There is variety in the job tasks that I do, especially in a smaller academic library where we wear multiple hats. I enjoy working with the variety of people I encounter – faculty, students, student workers, the public, and vendors. There is always something new to learn, different questions to answer, and many ways to help our users get to the information they need. 

How do you inform faculty about the new resources acquired by your library? 
Our library does the usual promotional things: social media posts, emails to departments, and inclusion in our A to Z lists and LibGuides inclusion. I have found, however, that I am most effective in both relaying and learning information from faculty when I go where they are. I go to meetings, sit next to them (especially if they’re new), go to informal lunches, and I listen to the things they are saying. I follow their social media feeds and often get a sneak peak into the resources they might be planning to use. If something we have seems to resonate with their research interests, I try to make sure to send a personal email to them, or mention it when I see them. 

Could you describe how you are optimizing your library budget amidst uncertain economic conditions? 

We are trying to be as creative as possible, using endowed funds to help shore up things that we need to keep, which can be tricky, as some of them are not large, and sometimes they are dedicated to certain subject disciplines. We also look strongly at usage and at the most important needs to supporting our students and our curricula. Most of the “fluff” has been cut previously, so we are trying to be as strategic as possible in what we decide not to renew. We’re also as honest with current and potential vendors about our situation and what we can or can’t do. In every decision we make, we try to minimize loss of access and provide alternative sources when possible. 

Interested in promoting Kanopy at your library?

Here are some free resources to start using today:

Reach faculty, staff, students—everyone on campus with social using our new 15-second video featuring documentaries. It invites the viewer to explore the vast streaming catalog your library unlocks. Download Now. 

Want to promote a deeper dive into a film? Our director Q&As from our Cinema Series provide major insights into the films. Register today for the next director Q&A featuring the Finding the Money documentary. And be sure to promote to your campus! 

Looking for more assets? We have even more promotional assets in our Resource Center.