Miriam Heard
BFA in Illustration, MLIS
Head of Access Services
Lake Forest College
What are your main duties at your library?
Main duties include supervising the student employees of the circulation desk, supervising the ILL Coordinator, and managing course reserves.
What do you like best about your job?
All the puzzles! Every day brings a new challenge and way to exercise my brain.
What are you working on now that you’re excited about?
With Alma going live in June, I’m excited that we have a chance to work out many kinks before we have a ton of patrons back on campus and full circulation services.
Why did you decide to become a librarian?
I was intrigued by my student employee role in undergrad. I found the many duties fun and wanted to continue to engage with a lot of stimulating tasks in my daily work life.
What does librarianship mean to you?
Librarianship means a few things to me. It’s about helping people whether you’re helping through research, access, or just being a social worker for the day.
What do you think is the most important challenge or opportunity for libraries going forward?
I think we’ve been given a great opportunity to show our value by continuing to provide services during this pandemic! I never thought I’d encounter a challenge like this, but our work has had a great chance to show just how valuable we are. Going forward I think our challenge in light of this opportunity is to continue to provide resources in an equitable way for all patrons. This has put a spotlight on how accessibility—especially to technology—is still a challenge well into the 21st century.
Describe yourself in three words.
Easy-going, approachable, sleepy (very)
What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now?
I look at a LOT of words all day, so I’ve been spending my off-line time reading knitting patterns and listening to Spotify. My main genre of choice is dnb (drum and bass) and I love many of the subgenres within it.
What are your hobbies?
I really like knitting and love to bake when the weather cools (like it is at the time of me composing this!).
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’m rather boring, but a weird fact is my mother, brother, and I are left-handed. Ah, here’s one: I went to high school with Isaiah Thomas, an NBA player who’s currently signed with the Washington Wizards (previously played for other sports ball teams).
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