RPS Libraries

Book display at the Teter Residence Hall library

“The great value of working in the RPS Libraries is that I had the opportunity to truly run a library for a full year in the context of a fully supportive mentor and institution. I was responsible for every aspect of the fully functioning library, from hiring a staff, developing a collection, and planning programing each month. No other university has a residential library program that is as respected and embedded, so knowing that the system is designed to help librarians succeed and grow was empowering.” – Mallory Nygard (MLS ’19)

Study space at Teter Residence Hall library

RPS Libraries and Alumna Mentor ILS Students in Management

By Katie Novak Outside of the classroom, in addition to time spent completing internships, projects, and other coursework, the majority of master’s students in the Department of Information and Library Science (ILS) at IU Bloomington work anywhere from about 10 to 29 hours per week in many of the extensive libraries, museums, programs, and collections on campus. These campus partners and the range of positions they offer to students are essential in supplementing student learning and assisting in further exploration of career possibilities. While these jobs vary greatly in duties, skills required and level of responsibility, as a Center Supervisor with the Residential Programs & Services (RPS) Libraries, students have the singular experience of managing a library in its entirety. Current Master of Library Science (MLS) students Emily Ollis (’21) and Shannon Grimme (’21) met with RPS Libraries Manager and IU alumna Alex Lawless (MLS ’18) in early February, just as she kicked off the search for her next year’s supervisors, to find out more about the Libraries, Lawless, and this unique opportunity for ILS students.

According to Lawless, the RPS Libraries system, which now consists of fourteen libraries in fourteen different housing units on campus, was started in the 1940’s by Herman B. Wells. Originally operating within IUB Libraries, it transitioned to RPS management around the beginning of this century. As the largest of Sorting and its cataloging area for RPS Libraries kind and one of only two in the nation, the RPS Libraries serve the student population with programming and materials similar to a public library. Each location is distinct, often based on the population of the housing unit, although non-resident students can also utilize the resources and spaces. The Campus View library, for example, is the only one with a children’s collection, the Collins Library specializes more on graphic novels, and the Foster Library has a poetry focus. While meeting with Lawless, Grimme and Ollis toured the Teter Residence Hall Library, which also happens to house Lawless’ office and the administrative center for all of the RPS Libraries. On display within Teter were special exhibits created by Destiny (Velencia) Posso, dual Master of Information Science and Master of Public Affairs student (’22), the 2019-20 Center Supervisor for Teter. “I love the proximity to the library that the students have for when they need a change of scenery to study, to find materials for leisure and study, or to meet with a friend,” says Posso. “I enjoy speaking with the students living in the residence hall, and they always express excitement concerning the library programs and materials. They like having that place to go that is close to where their rooms are located.” Even the hours are set to be convenient for students, open 7 days a week during the late afternoon and evening.

Lawless herself worked on campus in the Optometry Library, the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center Library, and the Mauer School Jerome Hall Law Library while pursuing her degrees at IU; she was employed full-time in the Law Library as an MLS student. In her role as Manager for the RPS Libraries, she finds the most enjoyment in working

with and mentoring the Center Supervisors that she hires, in providing them with professional opportunities, and in helping them build management experience and confidence. Running the 14 library system does bring its own set of challenges, however, including constant residence hall renovations that close down certain locations and working with somewhat limited resources in a department that is not familiar with library operations, which usually means that Lawless has and continues to learn as she goes along, forging her own path and vision for the system. Beyond the extensive summer staff training and day-to-day operations throughout the school year that fill her time, Lawless has no shortage of plans for the future of her position and the system as a whole. She would like to see all the library spaces renovated, all collections weeded and updated, greater team cohesion (particularly a strong communications process), manuals created for full-time positions, and proper documentation across the board. Long term, she hopes for better integration both between her unit and IU Libraries to build in more opportunities for professional peer to peer collaboration, and between her unit and the ILS department.

Lawless attended the ILS new student orientation last Fall to advertise the Center Supervisor positions and has been in working with ILS to publicize this opportunity for students. She does prefer to hire MLS students for the position, and details other qualifications in the position description such as prior library experience, ability to exercise initiative and independent judgment, ability to organize job duties and work independently, ability to motivate, establish, and maintain effective working relationships, and creativity to develop and implement library programs and services. Tasks for Center Supervisors include preparing budgets, managing collection development, interviewing, hiring, supervising and evaluating student staff, marketing and outreach, and coordinating monthly programming, to name a few.

For Posso, the position has taken her one step closer to achieving her career goals after gradu ation. “My dream job is to be a director at a public library one Alex Lawless day, and I feel strongly that my position at RPS Libraries is preparing me for that role,” she said. “I get to have hands-on experience working with marketing, outreach, programming, collection development, and management. It has been a fantastic learning experience for me, especially coming from a library system where those duties were split into separate departments. It has helped me realize different facets of librarianship in a more direct way, which I appreciate because I do believe that having experience in multiple departments can prove to be useful in a management perspective when making decisions.” Lawless thinks that MLS students benefit from the mentoring relationship she has with them and for how the position seems to have catapulted several alumni into library directors immediately after graduation, an accomplishment that would normally require post-graduation experience.

For former Center Supervisor and recent alumna, Mallory Nygard (MLS ’19), this was most definitely the case. Right after graduation, she landed her current job as the Director of Library and Information Services for St. John Neumann Catholic School in Knoxville, TN. “The great value of working in the RPS Libraries is that I had the opportunity to truly run a library for a full year in the context of a fully supportive mentor and institution. I was responsible for every aspect of the fully functioning library, from hiring a staff, developing a collection, and planning programing each month. No other university has a residential library program that is as respected and embedded, so knowing that the system is designed to help librarians succeed and grow was empowering. Not only was I able to immediately implement the ideas and approaches I learned in my classes, but I was able to do so knowing that I was fully supported by Alex Lawless, Tina Walsh, and the RPS Libraries team. I knew I could be bold in my choices because Alex was there to talk me through the options and help me see why programs or approaches weren’t successful. There was a freedom to fail and learn from that failure which is so important, especially for an early-career librarian.”

This past semester ended for RPS and students on campus unlike any other due to COVID-19 with students predominantly remaining off-campus and all instruction moved online after spring break. According to IU President McRobbie’s announcement on May 27, 2020, the current plan is for students to return to residence halls this fall, albeit with restrictions on occupancy and measures for public safety. At the time of publication, Lawless and RPS Libraries were still trying to figure out plans for the fall semester and which services might operate during an ongoing pandemic. While their near future might be uncertain, for the sake of current and future ILS students and the student population at-large, ILS hopes that the RPS Libraries will continue, as Lawless says they have in the past, “surviving [throughout] downsizing and dislocation; resilient.”