One of our greatest joys at WiLS is hearing our members tell the stories of the big and important work they are doing – interesting new projects or initiatives, or even interesting and new approaches to old projects. And, in addition to hearing about it, it makes us even happier when we can share those stories with other members. Each month, WiLS is proud to feature an interview with one of our library members. This month, we interview Kelly Kroes, WISPALS Consortium Coordinator at Gateway Technical College and current WiLS Chair.
These interviews are part of a series of interviews with both WiLS library and vendor partners. Your feedback is appreciated. If you have any to offer on this article, or suggestions for upcoming interviews, contact Andrea Coffin at acoffin@wils.org.
Why did you, personally, choose to work in libraries?
When I started college, I originally was interested in studying law. But, when I started college, I was hired to start working in the Circulation department of the UW-Parkside Library. And it was true love! The librarians went out of their way there to make the student employees feel like an important part of the library, and that’s when I decided that, as soon as I was done with my bachelor’s degree, that I would continue on to pursue my master’s degree.
It was more than just my love of reading that attracted me to the field. I liked feeling that I would be part of students’ success in pursuing their higher education. I realize that it’s a small part, but if my librarians had that effect on me, I was sure that I could do that in my career as a librarian.
What is unique about the culture of your library? How do you influence it?
As more and more people are being laid off from their jobs, and want to further their education, they are trending towards technical and community college. We serve such a wide variety of students, and learning what their library-related needs are can be tricky! Luckily, I work for a great bunch of bosses who participate in WISPALS that can recommend things that work and don’t work in their institutions, and are happy to share their ideas with one another.
The part that I play is one that helps connect those who need opinions with others who have had experiences in those areas. I’ve had the opportunity to work for several library types, and am able to bring my own experiences to the table to help out my member libraries.
What do you think is important to know about the patrons or community you work with? What helps you understand those needs?
As I eluded to above, we serve such a wide array of students, that it can be difficult to understand their needs. There are those dedicated students, who have done lots of library research, and those who are newer users, who are unsure of what their libraries can do for them. It is important for the librarians working in these technical colleges to understand that you’re not likely to have two similar patrons in one day, and you must be patient with these patrons, as not all of them are as educated as others.
What big ideas are being worked on at your library? What problems are being solved?
We are currently working on migrating to a new ILS. We are hoping to achieve a smoother process for doing staff work (many of us have tedious workarounds in our current system), as many of us are losing staff and/or staff hours. Our system has an ERM included, which will make the electronic resources aspect of my position a bit easier to maintain!
Once we’re on this new system, I will be revamping the WISPALS website to be more user-friendly, to encourage more of the staff within the WISPALS system to use our website for the resources that we can provide to them.