Christina R. Hillman

Christina R. Hillman headshot
Describe yourself in three words:

Learner, collaborator, driven.

What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)?

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"Dare to Lead" by Brené Brown, re-reading "Shadow of Night" by Deborah Harkness, articles about organization change and planning; my YouTube music at work is filled with Halloween music this week.

Describe ACRL in three words:

Adapting, educating, connecting.

What do you value about ACRL?

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The opportunity to network with librarians doing similar work -- esp. graduate student librarianship and online programming. Being part of the discussion groups and sections has been both informative (as a learner) and rewarding when I'm able to share my own experience. I appreciate that since the pandemic there have been more free webinars and online discussions; this really equalizes access to this type of professional engagement.

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus?

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It depends on the day. I'm at a smaller university, so all the librarians wear many hats. A few weeks ago I was providing consultation services to graduate students across our schools of nursing and education. This week I'm focusing on my working group tasks for the Universities upcoming Middles States accreditation visit. More generally, I support online library services and library-wide assessment, areas of librarianship that have grown in importance over the years. The online piece of my position has morphed over the years from hands-on creation to support/management of online learning objects and integration with the online program manager now working with two of our schools. This change has afforded me opportunity to view library services more holistically for the online learner -- recognizing how instruction and research support is valuable, but we also need to consider access to collections (e.g., remote access, ILL, digital collection development).

In your own words

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Being an academic librarian is great. It's allowed me to stretch professionally in ways I never expected when I began my career 10 years ago. I relish the chance to support colleagues in their work or brainstorm ways to remove barriers to achieving their goals. It also fulfills my desire for learning, every interaction with a patron or colleague offers me the chance to learn something new.

Credentials:MLS (she/her)

Title:Assessment & Online Program Librarian

Workplace:Lavery Library, St. John Fisher University

Location:Rochester, NY