Why did I do this?

Fair warning: this is one of my longer messages, if not the longest.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what final insights I can provide before my tenure as dean comes to an end. A question I recently asked myself was, “Why did I devote my career to research libraries?” That raised some other questions.

Why do many of us devote our careers to research library leadership and practice?

What makes research libraries so compelling?

I decided to attempt to answer these questions for you (and myself).

In the broadest sense, research libraries are inextricably linked to the mission of the university. This relationship requires that they be dynamic, strategic, diverse, and ever-changing. They represent a sort of interdisciplinary crossroads, where people are connected to information, each other, larger communities, and a global network of scholarship. 

Drilling down deeper, research libraries manage some of the most complex enterprise systems at a university. Their work runs the academic gamut, which includes front-line information service and the preservation of scholarly resources. They build huge corpora of digital and printed collections that are shared across disciplines and institutions. They are also gateways to oceans of knowledge. The University community has access to approximately three million materials that we hold. On top of that, we provide access to an additional 30 million items through partnerships and memberships.

To examine this topic any closer, we have to look at the people, the research librarians.

Research librarians, like me, often find it difficult to succinctly explain what they do because they’re doing so much in so many different academic corners of the institution they support. We add unique value to the research enterprise through services such as bibliometrics and data analysis, metadata, and sharing our understanding of the organization of information.  We assist faculty members and students in managing and curating research data, and we contribute to scholarly communities. And we are collaborators by nature. For decades, libraries have shared cataloguing information. An intricate system of interlibrary cooperation has created a global network of libraries that make it possible for most materials to be found and delivered to patrons in a matter of hours. (I know at Rochester, we fight mightily to retain this right to share library materials when large publishing conglomerates try to erode this service.)

Someone once suggested that research librarians are like fine wines, in that they get better with time. There’s probably some truth to that. What’s harder to debate, from my perspective, is the passion. I have seen many colleagues reach 30-, 40-, and even 50-plus years in the profession with their love for their work never waning. If these people are anything like me, it’s because their days are spent working around and collaborating with highly intelligent, creative, and innovative people. What’s not to like? 

Research libraries have other qualities that attract and keep many of us in this profession for decades. They are charged with the collection, organization, description (for discovery), storage, and preservation of myriad information resources in multiple formats. This order of operations is one of the more basic that occurs within any research library, but it is essential to all current and future scholarly work. At a slightly less-basic level, research libraries are often adopting new technologies, which support and facilitate the use of services and programs and enhance physical environments.  

One last aspect of research libraries is that they value diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this area, I can’t speak for all libraries, but at Rochester, we champion open educational resources to ensure the cost of scholarly resources is not a barrier to access. We care about the truth. We fervently defend free-speech. We encourage different points of view and healthy debate. And above all, we work to gather and maintain the materials and spaces that allow all to feel welcome and safe.

To say more about Rochester in particular, it has been the people with whom I work that inspire me every single day—students, faculty, staff, and library colleagues. It has been a humbling experience and an honor to contribute to an institution whose mission cures disease, addresses systemic issues, and teaches the next generation of researchers, leaders, business people, healthcare providers, musicians, and teachers. One knows the world is in good hands when students rarely sleep because they are so curious and passionate about what they do and how they can apply it outside the classroom.

Hopefully, you’ve been able to take something from this outward (and admittedly, somewhat cathartic) introspection of my time at Rochester and my career in the world of research libraries. I will meditate on it further in my final months at Rochester. It is already warming my spirit to know my Rochester colleagues, and research libraries writ large, will continue to contribute to the alchemy that makes the world ever better.

Mary Ann Mavrinac
Vice Provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean
University of Rochester Libraries