Tammy Ivins
Rogers Library, Francis Marion University
Head of Reference
A little about Tammy’s job:
As Head of the Reference department, I coordinate a team of myself and three other reference librarians to provide reference and instruction services to our small (<4,000 students) university community. Our department members manage government documents, archives & special collections, and the library’s website, along with other responsibilities such as collection development.
1) What are some things you like about your job or about working in libraries in general?
I love my job because I get to work closely with students every day. Additionally, I am also enjoying my new role as department head, in which I get facilitate the resources that my team needs to succeed and to lend my voice in the administration of the library.
At my library we are setting up a virtual display board in the lobby. I am excited about this because we are not only doing this on a zero budget (funding is tight everywhere), but also because the project is a great collaboration between departments. Systems donated an old computer monitor & an ancient laptop (on which we  have been able to get a light-weight slideshow software to run), Tech Services provided a spare computer desk & tablecloth, Circulation helped to set up the display area, and the Reference Department’s web presence librarian will be updating the display weekly. This is a completely new idea at our library, and I am excited that not only was there no hesitation from anyone in the library, but in fact everyone worked together to make it a reality.
3)Â What got you interested in libraries?
4) What is one of your favorite things about NMRT?
5) Do you have any advice for other new librarians?
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