Jennifer Chan

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Jennifer Chan
Describe yourself in three words:

Inquisitive, creative, unconventional.

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

I have been reading my copy of "Common Ground at the Nexus of Information Literacy & Scholarly Communication" because some colleagues and I recently launched a workshop series to encourage our librarians to further integrate scholarly communication tools and concepts into instruction. This was largely inspired by the ACRL Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy workshop, taught by Molls and Watts, which we attended earlier this year. I have also been wading through the legislative history for the Copyright Act of 1976. Did you know that copyright transfers were not standard in author agreements prior to this Act taking effect? Perhaps the better question is whether the transfers were the legal necessities to publication they were characterized to be鈥 What say you, copyright librarians?

Describe ACRL in three words:

Community of Practice.

What do you value about ACRL?

ACRL Speaks Out is one of my favorite examples of advocacy because I see enormous value in active engagement to increase our professional visibility and influence. These efforts communicate support for our community in ways that are timely and responsive, and are opportunities to express our professional values and ethics.

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

I strive to build connections and establish the relevance of the library to our community. The evolving nature of the academic research library necessitates that we are many different things, but I do not know that we can or should endeavor to be all things, to all people. My Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts emphasize connecting audiences to the library as place, people, as well as content.

In your own words

I believe that much of academic library outreach is an investment in the long game. Beyond engagement to fulfill the requirements of our existing users, there is the need to anticipate the demands of the future. This underscores to me the importance and utility of strategic planning. It is up to us to determine if we wish as a profession to be proactive or reactive. As Gandhi once said, 鈥淲e need not wait to see what others do.鈥 Let us plan to be proactive.

Credentials:MLIS

Title:Scholarly Communication Librarian

Workplace:UCLA Library

Location:Los Angeles, CA