Description
- Abstract:
- Anne Nolan begins by describing her first job in the Brown library as Assistant Head of Reference and Head of Interlibrary Loan. The most important part of her job then was to bring electronic resources to the library. During the library reorganization, she began doing assessment and then took over as full time Electronic Resources Coordinator, moving from Public Services to Technical Services. Because of the changes in her job, she feels very excited to have been working during this period. Her first impression of the Rock was that it was so "1960s looking" and the card catalog was all you saw on the first floor. She was surprised to learn she wouldn't have her own computer. She was nervous about being at an Ivy League institution and the kinds of materials the library owned. Anne discusses in detail the reference room renovation of 1994 and moving the card catalog down to the smoker's lounge on A-level and how worried they were about what patrons would think. She also discusses the training program she ran for staff and students who were new to working at the reference desk. She then goes on to discuss in detail the creation of the Hecker Center and continues with later renovations. Regarding technology, Anne talks about being in a partnership with SilverPlatter to test its software and how the library had a CD tower that was networked. She also discusses the old online catalog. Anne discusses the dress code and how she felt there was a double standard in that male librarians could dress more casually than the females. She finishes with a heartfelt declaration of how happy she is to have been a librarian during this time of tremendous change, how exciting it has been, how new kinds of people are coming into the profession, and how important librarians are in bringing all the new resources to the public.
Access Conditions
- Rights
- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
"Interview with Anne Nolan"
(2014).
Rock50 Oral History Collection.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:697440/
Relations
Has Parts:
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Interview with Anne Nolan
- Type: Stream
- Order: 1
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Interview with Anne Nolan
- Type: Pdf
- Order: 2
Collection:
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Rock50 Oral History Collection
This collection contains oral history interviews with longtime members of the Brown University Library staff, in celebration of the Rockefeller’s Library’s fiftieth anniversary in 2014. The interviews were conducted by Brown librarians Carina Cournoyer and Karen Bouchard. Staff members represent …...