Leaders of Tomorrow is a series of short interviews with new librarians and library school students. These are the people I’m watching and I am sure we’ll see great things from them.
Meet Brian Leaf
Brian is a triple threat who is intelligent, charming, and fun! Brian is currently an Instructional Assistant at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he is also completing a MSLS.
I met Brain through our mutual participation in ARL’s Diversity Programs and can’t wait to see what he does next!
1. How did you first become interested in librarianship?
I’ve always been interested in contributing to society in some way, and many problems seem to revolve around information. Regardless of our field, we make decisions based on the information we have or are able to get. Those decisions can have both positive and negative consequences. In a hospital, for example, accurate and timely information can mean the difference between life and death. Librarianship–which I perceived as inherently interdisciplinary–seemed to address those issues, or at least have the potential to.
2. How would you describe yourself in 5 words or less?
Tireless lifelong learner.
3. What do you see as some of the major challenges facing librarians in the coming years?
They seem to be the same challenges that the library world has appeared to face the past several years: Deciding how to be who we want to be, and then consistently selling it so we can do our jobs–even in an economic downturn.
4. What would you like to accomplish or work towards as a librarian?
My continuing overall goal is to improve how people receive, seek, and use information–whether it’s in the form of a quality education, personal consumption, everyday decisions, or even policy-making.
5. When you aren’t on the clock how do you like to relax?
Running helps me clear my mind, and the dance floor is where I have my fun. I also enjoy traveling, exploring new places, and trying new things when I can. On the toughest days, sleeping proves to be fairly effective.