In recognition of National Library Week (April 6-12), we’re highlighting just a few of the librarians that make up a fantastic team of staff who keep our libraries running. To kick off the week, Will Vanti, Science & Engineering Librarian, shares how his experience doing research in science labs inspired him to pursue librarianship and describes the most rewarding parts of working at Columbia Libraries.
Q: What is your role in the Libraries?
Will: I am the Science & Engineering Librarian. My nominal role involves supporting the School of Engineering, as well as the Departments of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Statistics, with regards to collection development, as well as research and instructional support. I also provide reference and instruction services more broadly to the Columbia community.
Q: What does your typical day entail?
Will: One of the enjoyable aspects of this job is that every day is a little different. While we have scheduled departmental and committee meetings, instructional sessions, and consultations, there are always new questions or requests from students and faculty (and colleagues) that pop up throughout the day, requiring varying amounts of time and effort to address. The best days are the ones involving some manner of detective work to track down an answer or a particularly obscure citation.
Q: What originally inspired you to become a librarian?
Will: A long time ago I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up, and I did spend many years working in labs doing research. At some point I realized my desires had shifted, and suddenly I needed something else to do with all the science background I had accumulated. Becoming a science librarian seemed like an ideal way to step out of the lab while still keeping contact with that world.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of working at the Libraries?
Will: The most rewarding aspect of this job is the satisfaction I get when helping patrons. They all come with different questions, and sometimes figuring out how to answer the question behind the question, as it were, is very gratifying.
Q: What’s the best kept secret about Columbia’s libraries?
Will: For our patrons, I think the best kept secret is the fact that we have so many locations available; even after all these years, it still seems like they see Butler Library as the library, not realizing how many other excellent spaces we have for them.
Q: Give a shout-out to a fellow librarian for National Library Week! Which Columbia librarian(s) help make your day-to-day work enjoyable?
Will: Any of my SESSL colleagues would fit into this category, so I’m going to think outside my division and name Sydni Meyer, the Teaching and Undergraduate Services Librarian, who is always a delight to work with.