What led you to MU Libraries?

I was born in Sonora, Mexico in a small border town next to Arizona’s southwest corner. I have lived in desert, arid areas all of my life (Sonora, Arizona and Nevada), and I wanted to experience something different. This idea started after having the opportunity to study abroad in Paris and noticing how great it was to live in a place with green vegetation and rain. 

After receiving my Masters in Library and Information Sciences, my priority was to relocate to an area with four seasons. During my job search, I found that the University of Missouri Libraries were hiring.  Besides having the four seasons, I found out the percentage of international students and population in general, especially Hispanics, was almost not existent compared to the Southwest.  So, it got me more excited to join an institution where I can offer assistance to increase a more diverse university population and probably even to the population in general.

Describe some of the changes that are going on in access services in Ellis Library and at libraries everywhere?

Access Services is a department that is currently reevaluating many of its services to satisfy the current and future needs of all library users.  Some changes that are already taking place include the increase of renewals for faculty, graduate students, and staff from two to five, allowing them to possibly keep traditional checked out MU Library materials for up to four months; and extending our interlibrary loan services to visiting scholars.  We are also working on taking the library check out system from due date stamps to print receipts; self-checkout machines to avoid waiting in line; and searching for the best ways to advertise services and equipment that can be checked out from the library.

I foresee in the future of Access Services the increase of staff base knowledge in the means of cross-training to minimize the number of referrals.  This has been taking place in academic, public and private libraries in the world, which has increased the satisfaction level in all library users. I also envision advances in technology to reach all university affiliates, close and far away.

 What vision do you bring to your position?

My vision is to create a collaborative working environment among the different library departments as well as university departments with the sole purpose of facilitating access to information to all library users. Just like the MU Libraries and University Administration, I am pro-inclusion. I believe that the key to success is to work together to create a stronger institution.  I always welcome faculty, staff and student’s feedback to identify what must get done to satisfy everyone’s needs.