Member Spotlight: Beth Johns
Beth Johns is the E-Resources Librarian at Saginaw Valley State
University, Zahnow Library. She began working at Zahnow in 2006, shortly after receiving her MLIS from Wayne State. As an electronic resources librarian, Beth manages access to the library’s online journals and administers the library’s link resolver software. She troubleshoots access problems with these resources and is called upon almost daily about some sort issue—there is never a dull moment where e-resources are concerned! Beth has also recently initiated a “roving reference” service at SVSU, which is currently in a pilot stage. She hopes to extend that service outside of the library in the future, perhaps as far as the housing areas of the campus. As is expected of most academic librarians, Beth does a significant amount of bibliographic instruction, which she finds very satisfying personally and professionally. Beth’s history with MLA goes back to her student days starting in 2002 when she joined MLA. She volunteered as a student during Annual Conference a few times and then began serving on committees and work groups once she received her degree. She has served on the MLA Awards twice, Michigan Author Award, and most recently Academic Libraries 2010 (member) and 2011 (co-chair).
Beth tell us about herself.
Describe yourself in three words.
Approachable – Adaptable -- Thoughtful
What do you most like about working in libraries?
I really enjoy working with the students, as well as faculty & staff, in a teaching capacity. It’s often a challenge when you are dealing with people at various levels of skill, but also a lot of fun most of the time.
Why did you join MLA, and is it the same reason you are still a member?
I joined MLA as a student at Wayne State. I have met many wonderful librarians and paraprofessionals over the past several years through MLA and Leadership Academy—the networking opportunities are very good—but as with most networking opportunities, you need to take advantage of them and be a bit proactive to gain the most from the experience.
What is your most memorable MLA experience?
Serving as a co-chair for Academic Libraries 2011. I hadn’t taken on this type of leadership role before and it was a great learning experience. I had a more experienced co-chair, Jennifer Dean, working beside me, as well as a really top notch group of members that worked very hard to make the event a success.
What is your favorite book and why?
This is a very difficult question. I really don’t have a “favorite” book, but I do have favorite authors and themes to which I gravitate. I enjoy memoirs where the author speaks about a difficulty he or she had to overcome, especially if it is very different from my own experience. For example, memoirs such as Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt or Stealing Buddha’s Dinner: A Memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen. I enjoy “women’s fiction,” such as the work of Elizabeth Berg. Lastly, vampire fantasy is very enjoyable now and then!
Pose a question to the library community that addresses future trends or is related to our theme this year, Common Goals, Uncommon Good.
With the many exciting changes happening in libraries technologically, what do you think our users will expect in terms of delivery of bibliographic instruction? Will they still be willing to sit in a lab or classroom to learn how to use resources or should we be thinking of alternative delivery methods?
