[Tune in every 2 weeks for Library Staff Highlights!]
Name: Sarah New
Hometown: Bel Air, MD, USA
Alma Mater: University of Virginia
1. Where do you work in the library and how long have you worked there?
I’m part of the Reference department on the first floor, and I can usually be found in my office working on our website and digital services. I just got hired at the end of 2013, so I’ve been here for less than a year!
2. What would you like the campus community to know about your job?
The Library website is incredibly important for students and faculty doing research, and I’m thinking about that every day. We’re in the process of a site redesign, so all my focus right now is going into making the next iteration of our website usable and beautiful for you guys.
3. What’s your favorite aspect of working at UMBC?
I love working in a place where people are learning every day. It keeps me in that mindset, so I’m always thinking big and trying new things.
4. Do you have a favorite project, event, or memory from your time working in the library?
Hmm, I’m not sure I’ve worked here long enough to answer this one!! Oh, but actually - I really enjoyed the Library Book Sale earlier this month. I found an old book that my mom had told me she read as a teenager – it’s been out of print for years, but there it was on the shelf! It made her day when I showed up with it that weekend!
5. If you were a UMBC student, what library services would you use/appreciate the most?
Consultations with the reference librarians, definitely – I had no idea that was even an option when I was in school! You can email or sit down with any of the Subject Librarians to get help with your research; they are experts in where and how to search for information on your topic.
6. If you had to survive on a desert island with only one book, movie, or TV show, what would it be and why?
Oh geez, that’s tough. I think I’d have to go for something escapist, so I wouldn’t have to think about gutting fish and weaving clothes and whatnot. So I’m gonna say the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. It’s about a princess who goes off to have adventures with dragons and wizards, and no matter what happens she’s always brave and practical and funny – which are probably qualities I should learn to emulate if I’m gonna survive on that island!
7. A wizard has turned you into your favorite animal. What are you?
Baby hedgehog!
