Q and A with Chief Librarian of Victoria University

Amy Furness became Chief Librarian of Victoria University in September. We spoke to her about the role of libraries and librarians and what drew her to an academic community.

Q. What inspired you to become a librarian?

A. It was the opportunity to work with rare collections and archival material. I think the really compelling aspect of the work of librarianship is in facilitating human connection and exchange across time. Books and documents are ways of encapsulating information, ideas and creative expression, and then the library’s job is to steward them and ensure they are discoverable by readers, now and into the future. So, these amazing, mediated conversations can happen on a timescale that would be impossible if not for libraries and librarians.

Q. What drew you to the role of chief librarian at Vic?

A. Vic U is an amazing academic community right in the heart of a city that I love, and its libraries clearly play a well-established, central role in teaching, academic exchange and knowledge creation. When I read the job posting I was excited by the clear vision of the librarian’s role in the university community and the prominence of words like collegial and collaborative. The fact that the role has responsibility for special collections, archives and the art collection feels like a great fit as well.

Q. What excites you about joining the Vic community and the academic world?

A. I’m excited about the students specifically, getting to know a student community in relation to their library. I’ve always had academic leanings and I’ve maintained a relationship for many years with the University of Toronto as an alumna of the Faculty of Information, including as a guest lecturer and practicum supervisor. I never want to stop learning.

Q. What are your immediate priorities?

A. I’m looking forward to getting to know the team. I want to understand what they’re excited about and what challenges they might be facing. I also want to observe and understand how students and faculty are engaging with the libraries as collections and as campus spaces, and how the library buildings are meeting current needs.

Q. You have a PhD in archival studies— what was your thesis topic?

A. Having worked with artists and their archives at the Art Gallery of Ontario for a number of years, I wanted to understand the nature of these collections better. I did a close study of the archives of Toronto artist Vera Frenkel, looking at how they functioned in her studio in relation to her artistic practice, and then how they were transformed by an archival institution’s processes of selection, arrangement and description.

Q. Who is your favourite author?

A. I have a hard time picking favourites, but I have read a lot of André Alexis. I love his humour, his blending of myth and realism, and the slight surreality he uses in his depictions of Toronto and southwestern Ontario.

Photo: Neil Gaikwad