Beth is a Technical Services Librarian at Trevecca Nazarene University (FTE: 3595) in Nashville, TN. She has been a member of ACL for 18 years.
Describe yourself using a book title: An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (I identify with Anne as a fellow red-head but wish I could be more of a free spirit like she was!)
What’s the best thing about being a librarian? Getting paid to do the job of my dreams
What are you currently reading? Re-reading a Bess Streeter Aldrich novel and memorizing the Gospel of John
Describe ACL in three words: Christian / Library / Community
How do you (or How have you), as an academic librarian, contribute to your campus? In my role as Technical Services Librarian, I contribute to the success of students and faculty by acquiring, cataloging, and maintaining library resources. I am a liaison to the School of Music and Worship Arts. I also work directly with students as they need assistance with library research.
I began my career as a librarian . . . many years ago now. I had wanted to be a librarian since I was in 4th grade. I went straight to library school out of college. Near the end of my time in library school, a library position came open at Trevecca. Ruth Kinnersley, who had been a library supervisor at my undergraduate institution, interviewed for the position. She and her husband did not decide to relocate to Nashville at that time, but she gave my name as a possible candidate to Ray Thrasher, the library director at Trevecca. Ray contacted me and brought me to Nashville for an interview and offered me a position to begin once I finished my library degree. I came to Trevecca in January of 1992 as Public Services Librarian and have been here ever since. During my tenure here, I have transitioned from Public Services to Interlibrary Loans to Technical Services – my first love.
What do you value about ACL? I value having an organization such as ACL that has given me many opportunities for professional development, but, more importantly, within the context of Christian community. I also appreciate the opportunities I have had to travel to places I might never have been were it not for the ACL conferences.
How were you introduced to ACL? I was introduced to ACL by our former library director, Ray Thrasher, a long-time member of ACL. I joined ACL when Trevecca hosted the 2002 annual conference.
How are you or have you been involved in ACL? In ACL I have done retrospective indexing, and am now also a current indexer for the Christian Periodical Index. I have presented at several ACL conferences. And from 2006 to the present, I have been the team coordinator for the Christian Library Consortium (CLC).
Do you have any specific interests in the library world? Cataloging, RDA, linked data, name authority