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. Dan Woulfin, Computational Research Instruction Librarian, focuses on teaching computational and other literacies through open workshops, consultations, and classroom instructions for Columbia students, faculty, and staff.
Q: What is your role in the Libraries?
Dan: I’m the Computational Research Instruction Librarian. I teach computational and other literacies through open workshops, consultations, and classroom instructions. This runs the gamut from computational thinking to programming skills to teamwork and project organization to algorithmic concepts and literacies, like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Q: What does your typical day entail?
Dan: I don’t think I have a typical day; every week is rather unpredictable. I’ve had days dedicated just to teaching, days where I am creating or revising materials for workshops and instruction sessions, and days where I am traveling from Morningside campus to the Medical Center, Barnard College, and/or Teachers College. The only constant is that I focus as much of my time and energy on teaching and reaching as many Columbia students, faculty, and staff as possible.
Q: What originally inspired you to become a librarian?
Dan: I feel like I stumbled into becoming a librarian more by serendipity and happy accident than design. When I was at Queens College of the City University of New York for their Master of Library Science program, I took classes in information analytics, knowledge management, and data curation rather than the traditional library curriculum.
I only applied for librarian jobs when my funding was running out at the international educational research center I was working at before Columbia. Before becoming a librarian, I developed pipelines and software to curate and archive sensitive human survey research data. I did so in support of IRB-approved grant-funded projects across every stage of the research data cycle. I also held roles in events management, fundraising, and development at different organizations, including Queens Public Library.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of working at the Libraries?
Dan: I find it incredibly rewarding to witness students, scientists, staff, and others have an “aha moment” when they figure out a computational concept or skill during workshops, instructions, and consultations. I genuinely believe that computation is for everybody, so when someone stops me in the halls, emails for a consultation, gives feedback after a workshop, or teaches me something new (which happens more often than you think!), it’s all equally rewarding.
Q: What’s the best kept secret about Columbia’s libraries?
Dan: I’m not going to give away my favorite secret spot, but I will say that Gottesman Libraries’ quiet floor at Teachers College, the first floor of the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning at Barnard College, and the Music & Arts Library in Dodge Hall on Morningside Campus are all gems depending on what you want (quiet, activity, or coziness).
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?
Dan: Any day that I can interact with a fellow instruction or pedagogy librarian is a good day. I’m in awe of Madiha Zahrah Choksi, the Digital Learning & Emerging Technologies Specialist, Ava Kaplan, the Research and Instruction Librarian at Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College, and Sydni Meyer, the Teaching and Undergraduate Services Librarian. They’re all brilliant and impact more students, faculty, and staff through their work than you can imagine. And they do so while publishing, presenting at national and international conferences, and somehow finding time for fun chats and collaborations!