Sep 23, 2015 New Resident Diversity Librarian: Meet Twanna!
Recently I had the chance to interview Twanna Hodge, the new Diversity Resident Librarian. She is very excited to be working here and had this to say.
Jordan: Alright, and your job is the…?
Twanna: My job title is Diversity Resident Librarian.
So what essentially my duties are manning and staffing the KC desk and I’ll also be teaching library instruction sessions or any students to the library to the resources available. But then there also the option where I will be rotating through 4 different jobs.
Jordan: Tell me a little about your background.Where did you grow up, go to college…
Twanna:I was born and raised on the island of St. Thomas, which is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The island that I grew up in is the capital. So the capital is on the island that is called Charlotte Amalie. I attended the university of the Virgin Islands, that’s where I got my Bachelor’s Degree in humanities and two minors in psychology and communication. I went to the University of Washington in Seattle to get my Master’s Degree in library and information science. I’ve pretty much always known that I wanted to become a librarian. I wanted to introduce people to the world of books, different cultures and different societies. But that has slowly changed, to make sure that people have access to information. I believe that if people get the right information at the right time they can make informed decisions and influence others for the better.
Jordan: What is your favorite book?
Twanna: So asking a librarian what her favorite book is, that’s a really difficult question. I can’t just pick one book, I’m gonna say that my favorite series is the Harry Potter series. They are children, they are 11-years-old, they are new to this world… and they have these battles that they have to fight, so it gives you the ability to live someone else’s life and to be able to understand what they have to go through. So for me, that’s one of the reasons why I love this book… and, because the library is a central part in it as well. Hermione Granger always goes there.
Jordan: That’s how she solves all the problems. Just goes to the library.
One of the goals you set was to spread information, letting people know what’s available and help them understand how to use it, is there any other goals that you have?
Twanna: One of my other goals is to help advance the University’s mission in terms of making
sure that there are resources available to support them not just their academic life, but also their personal lives as well. Some other goals was just to learn more about the issues and challenges that face libraries and also to change people perception about libraries and what they actually do because we don’t just sit here and read books all day, haha. Libraries are not just sanctuaries for books, it’s a reflection of what society and culture need.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.