Meet David Arredondo.
David is a graduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia studying Information Science and Learning Technologies. He is doing his practicum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln University Libraries and has been planning iPad training sessions with me.
1. How did you first become interested in librarianship?
As a kid, my mom always took me, my brother, and my sister to the library, and we would take our time roaming the shelves finding whatever we found interesting. I remember reading a series on Native American tribes. By the time I entered college, I still had this habit. As I was finishing my English Literature major and my Sociology minor, the idea to become a librarian just kind of hit me in the face. I love my time spent in libraries, why not share that with others?
2. How would you describe yourself in 5 words or less?
Enthusiastic, goofy, curious, introspective, extroverted.
3. What do you see as some of the major challenges facing librarians in the coming years?
I think identity is a huge challenge for librarians. With the frantically changing information environment, and the huge changes in the ways people seek information, librarians are being challenged to prove their value. This means looking to the very definition of what it means to be a librarian and deciding what aspects can be kept, what needs to be discarded, and what roles need to be added.
4. What would you like to accomplish or work towards as a librarian?
I want to be involved in creating libraries that are hub points in people interacting with information, collaborating with one another, and spreading their own original creations to the world.
5. When you aren’t on the clock how do you like to relax?
I love hanging out with my son and my wife, listening to records, playing pool, bartending, and playing shows with my band.
