(via ACRL)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amy Odwarka, Assistant Professor and First Year Experience\/Student Success Librarian\u200b at Eastern Illinois University, is the ACRL Member of the Week for August 18-24. Below, she shares her thoughts on how she has benefited from membership in ACRL and what her most significant contributions to the Eastern Illinois University community have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do you value about ACRL?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Academic library work is my second career! After 25 years as a middle school librarian, I made the shift to focus on college students and can\u2019t say enough about how ACRL has helped me form a new community and network. I have learned so much from other members, whether it be committee work through the Instruction Section and External Liaison Committee or exploring how the Framework for Information Literacy has deepened my pedagogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues all over campus as we collectively work to support students. Having these connections allows me to share the services and initiatives of the library with so many groups, both inside the academic arm and outside with student life. It\u2019s rewarding to help others see how the work myself and my colleagues are engaging in allow students to become critical users of information for the rest of their lives. My contributions to campus help students and faculty reach their goals and assist the University with innovative and strategic teaching pedagogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n