Can you share a bit about your role at Alkek Library?
I’m the Open Educational Resources Librarian, which means I help faculty and program staff find peer-reviewed, open, and free-to-access materials. These resources, ranging from textbooks to videos and interactive content that support teaching and help reduce costs for students.
What does a typical day look like for you?
No two days look the same. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved in adopting and promoting open resources. On any given day, I’m helping faculty or staff locate materials. These requests usually come through email, the AskUs! contact form, or Teams messages. I may also be meeting with them one-on-one or in a group consultation about integrating OER into their courses.
I also handle administrative tasks like building dashboards that track our time, the types of questions we receive, and the materials people are using. We work with the bookstore to export course material declarations so we can create charts and visualizations for the campus community.
In addition, I collaborate on task forces and subcommittees such as the Open Education Committee's Adoption and Awareness Subcommittee which helps faculty evaluate the quality of materials, and the Benchmarking, Data Solutions, and Assessment Subcommittee focusing on the implementation of course labels that highlight the use of OER in courses. This would allow students to make more informed financial decisions when they register or pay for courses at TXST.
What exciting project or initiative are you currently working on that you’d love the campus to know about?
Right now, I’m partnering with the Institute for Knowledge Management to create our own Texas State hub on OERTX, aiming for a launch in 2026. This hub will offer a central, permanent space for OER content and pedagogy that faculty can access regardless of where they work.
It will also provide a more intuitive, front-facing platform for discovering OER that features both core and department-specific materials that are vetted, relevant, and easy to navigate. Overall, the hub will give faculty and staff more flexibility and make it easier to find the resources they need.
What’s your favorite part about being part of the Alkek Library team?
Definitely the people. There are so many different roles here, and everyone brings passion and enthusiasm to their work. I ask a lot of questions, and people are always willing to share their expertise. We have colleagues with deep experience, professionally and personally, and they make this a great place to learn and grow.
How did your journey into working in libraries begin?
I chose my undergraduate degree through the process of elimination. STEM and math were out, and while I loved humanities, I didn’t see many long-term career paths. That left education and business. At the time, my very Type A personality felt more aligned with business, so I started with accounting, and eventually found my way into management where I discovered a range of interests that resonated with me.
After graduating, I wanted to work before committing to graduate school. While working at the business school I graduated from, I explored library science and museum studies for masters. I set up interviews with librarians across different specialties, and their generosity helped me understand the field better. I found myself drawn to archival processing and material-focused work.
During that time, I worked with the Classics Department on the Battle Cast Collection project, creating learning materials and developing website content. That hands-on experience cemented my passion for library science and open resources. So, when I saw the job posting at Alkek and since I was already working part-time at Texas State, I applied. I already liked the culture here.
What’s your “library superpower” (real or imagined)?
I like to think I’m good at finding things, but I think that’s true of all librarians. I really enjoy connecting people with the resources they need. It’s rewarding to track down niche information and see how everything comes together.
If your job had a tagline or slogan, what would it be?
"Open Education makes education more attainable"
If Alkek Library were a person, how would you describe its personality?
Welcoming, non-judgmental, open, evolving, and helpful.
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