Olin Library
Librarian Career Profiles
Librarians come from diverse educational backgrounds and work in a number of different specialties within their field. Read about why some Rollins librarians love their jobs.
Rollins Alumni
Grace Moore, '10
Tween Librarian, Winter Park Public Library
"I became interested in youth services librarianship when I was volunteering at the Winter Park Public Library as a teenager. I loved the atmosphere of the Youth Department – bookish, playful, and welcoming. I was surprised and excited by the variety of events the library held, and now enjoy planning library events myself. My current position has me working with kids in grades 5-7, and the enthusiasm they bring to the programs I put on is a huge thrill for me. I also enjoy keeping current in youth literature, as another significant part of my job is ordering fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels for this age group. I spend a good part of my work day at the youth services desk as well, answering reference questions, locating items for patrons, assisting with technology, and helping readers find their next book. I haven’t stayed at Winter Park Public Library all this time, though. While I was a student at Rollins, I left to study abroad in London, where I interned at the Witt Images Library and the Book Library at the Courtauld Museum of Art. Later, while in library school at UNC-Chapel Hill, I worked in the university library and local public libraries. My first professional job was as a Youth Librarian in downtown Sarasota, and in January 2015 I returned to Winter Park. It is a wonderful feeling to contribute to an organization and a community that have had such a positive influence on my life."
Olin Librarians
Erin Gallagher
E-Resources and Serials Librarian
"I joined the Rollins community in 2014 as the E-Resources and Serials Librarian. I received my MLIS from Florida State University and then tried my hand at the corporate side of librarianship as a Collection Development Consultant for a large book vendor. The corporate life involved a lot of travel to academic libraries in the US and Canada, and even some unexpected experiences like spotting moose in Newfoundland and touring pre-Civil War homes in Charleston. One of my most rewarding challenges was the development of a consortial patron-driven ebook acquisition plan for the twelve schools in Florida’s state university system. Librarians have been managing e-resources for decades, but the position is a relatively new and growing specialization. As we license more content in digital formats, we must examine our current process and evolve with the changes. My work at Rollins allows me to manage the lifecycle of electronic resources (databases, journals, ebooks, etc.). I work with an outstanding team to conduct trials, review licenses, negotiate with vendors, troubleshoot access issues, and evaluate our resources. Though most of this is not “public-facing”, I provide a valuable service to our community and contribute to the success of our students. I also enjoy getting out of my office to help students and faculty with their research and to teach fun and dynamic library instruction sessions."
Nate Hosburgh
Discovery and Systems Librarian
"After interviewing at Rollins in 2013, I was offered a different position than the one I had originally applied for. This was quite unusual and it turned out to be one of the most unexpected turning points in my career, propelling me into a new area of librarianship as Discovery and Systems Librarian at Olin Library. In this role, I am responsible for oversight of our myriad library systems that form an information architecture for managing and surfacing our books, e-books, videos, print and e-journals, articles, digital archival content, scholarship produced at Rollins College and much more. I am leading a system migration project that will have a major impact, consolidating and streamlining many of our internal library processes, while improving the ways in which our campus community discovers and interacts with our resources, services, and library staff. Sometimes, we are inclined to plot out our careers along a certain trajectory, but life often holds surprises that shake things up for us. As a specialist librarian, I enjoy such surprises, venturing into uncharted territory which provides a new set of challenges and opportunities. As an avid surfer, I could draw a parallel to being out in the water: no two waves are ever the same - and having the courage to drop into a heavy wave is the first step to potentially having the ride of your life!"
Emma Oxford
Science Librarian, 2014-2016
"I came to Rollins as the Science Librarian in August 2014, but the path I took to this career was a little roundabout. I went to a small liberal arts college, like Rollins, and majored in physics, but I realized that a career in physics didn’t sound all that appealing to me, even though I love the subject. I eventually figured out that what I really loved about studying physics, even more than the subject itself, was the people I got to work with. The science professors I had in college and the other science majors I graduated with are still some of my favorite people in the world. Even though I didn’t want to be a scientist, I wanted a job where I could still work with researchers, professors, and students. Enter librarianship! I got my master’s in library and information science a year after graduating from college and then took this job at Rollins. I work primarily with the departments of biology, chemistry, environmental studies, and physics, providing instruction and research support. Giving library instruction sessions in science classes is one of my favorite parts of my job; I love working with undergraduate students (that’s why I’m here!), and I know that when I was an undergrad I did not spend nearly as much time working with the library as I should have. Making sure Rollins students, especially science students, know that the library and the librarians are here to support them is important to me. I love being a part of the Rollins community, and I love my job here. Becoming a librarian was absolutely the right career choice for me, and I am so happy I get to work with such dedicated faculty and student researchers every day."
Rachel Walton
Digital Archivist
"As a digital archivist my aim is to acquire, preserve, provide access to, and ensure the security of my community's digital resources. This includes, but is not limited to, digitized materials related to the history of the college, the published and unpublished work of its faculty and students, and any administrative records that merit long term retention. Some of the fields I get to explore in my work include web archiving, digital forensics, and web usability. My background as a historian helps me see the value that our digital lives will have for future generations, and my digital curation training gives me the the skills needed to capture those digital lives in a way that will last. The best thing about my job is that it lets me wear many hats. On any given day you might find me working with a high resolution camera to digitize and provide online access to priceless historical artifacts or spending time on social media portals to capture and preserve the community's dialogue about current events. Or maybe I'm teaching researchers how to archive their data in trusted digital repositories so that it can be reused by others in the future, or working with cutting edge redaction software to prevent the leaking of critical personal identifiers like account numbers and addresses from our online collections."