Today is May 24th, 2023. I'm Sarah Wilson with
the UNT Oral History Program, interviewing
Emily Akers for the UNT Library's ARL
Celebration Oral History Project.
Welcome, Emily. Thank you for coming today.
Thank you.
All right, well, we're going to start a little
bit just about your background. Tell us about
how you began your library career.
um so there's different different points I
think you could say it started but I think it started
in uh the 12th grade in high school when um I
started volunteering at my local public library
um I started there just to get some hours I
ended up really liking it um I you know started
out like
shelving books and cutting crafts and stuff.
And then, um, I joined up with the teen
advisory board
and then I became the president of the teen
advisory board. So I got really involved with
a lot of their, um, programming and events and,
and stuff like that. Um, and that's kind of where
my love of the library started. Um, also my, my
mom was a page in a library when I was a child.
So she was the one who kind of talked me into
the volunteering in the first place. So it's all
kind of wrapped up in that um my first paid
library job was um at the should I say where
yeah at the Fruitville Public Library it's all
people all government uh at the Fruitville Public
Library in Sarasota Florida I started as a
part-time um circulation assistant um that's
my hometown Sarasota Florida and then I got to
be full-time at that same role and then after that
it came to UNT. Cool that's neat I've been to
Sarasota it's beautiful it's nice right yes it
was great it was great so I enjoyed it. So what
interest again in pursuing your librarianship
you have the librarianship I assume all
librarians have that as a career so so it
sounds like you've
already kind of given that background that just
segued into where you are now so anything else
in addition of thinking no this this does fit
for me or how did that you know become where
you want
to be today yeah um so that's kind of a fun
story because even all that time I was volunteering
in the library I loved working in the library I
did not think I was going to be a librarian
It was like a side interest for me. I was in
music school pursuing classical voice. And at a
certain point when I decided that, you know,
classical voice was not for me professionally,
I kind of just started thinking back and
examining my other interests and like what
could turn into a career for me.
I also had a kind of like mentor figure in my
life around that time who had been a librarian.
So it all kind of just kind of ruminated in
that manner.
And I started looking into how do you become a librarian?
How what kind of education do you need?
OK, that seems like something I can do.
And then I ended up pursuing a bachelor's in
literature because I found out you don't
have to have an undergrad in library studies so
I just got an undergrad in something I like
and then went to library school well cool
that's a good good point I think from everyone I've
interviewed so far they've all mentioned about
having a mentor and having someone that kind of
that role model and I was like oh yeah you know
this is something that I felt comfortable with
and then I can continue to do and need to know
then that you did pursue you know what does that
mean on your undergraduate to your to your
becoming a librarian um so when and in what
capacity do you work at the libraries when did
you start here at UNT kind of give us the year
and then exactly your exact role okay so I
started here in 2019 um so and that was the
same year um
that I started graduate school at the
University of North Texas uh for library
science um which is
how I ended up here. I was looking at the
program first, and then once I decided I wanted
to come
here and attend the program, I needed
employment. So I started looking at library
jobs, and I got a
job as the reserves and evening manager in the
access services department. So I was running the
course reserves textbook offering program, as
well as managing the evening operations of the
access services department at Willis Library. I
did that for about two and a half years,
And then in 2021, I became the service desk
manager at the access services department.
And then and that kind of oversees the course
reserves and then also finds an account and
like customer service library service at the
service desk.
So I was doing that. And that was kind of a
promotion move for me from library services
associate to library services manager.
and that was all still while I was pursuing my
MLS degree and then at the end of my
in the last semester of my MLS degree I applied
to be the librarian at Frisco Landing Library
which I interviewed for around the end of my
graduate degree and was accepted as the
a successful candidate for that um just
following my graduation so uh the Frisco is it
in the new
Frisco building in the library is it just kind
of phenomenal it's beautiful everything is so
gorgeous um and the energy there is great
because everyone is so excited about
kind of starting a new thing um in such a an
awesome space um I will say everything is glass
From the pictures, I can tell it's kind of
bright and wide open.
So it's really cool out there.
All right, well, you talked a little bit about
changing over time. Yeah.
So now where you are now, they're at the Frisco Center.
What about some memorable experiences you've
had working in the library here at the Willis
on the UNT campus
or even starting, I guess that starting in a
new campus in a new position would be? Yeah.
I would definitely count um starting opening
the Frisco Landing Library as one of my most
memorable experiences um you know even when I
got this job um people you know colleagues and
mentors were were telling me you have to take
advantage of this not everyone gets the chance
to open a library in their career um so you
know remember this write down everything you're doing
like put it on your resume forever. And, and it
really was memorable. And I learned a lot of
things about about opening a library. That is
that is quite a accomplishment at such a young age.
Yeah. To be there to start it to open it to see
it blossom and bloom. And then to be around where
you see how it's going to merge and grow and
mature into where where it needs to be to serve
the students and staff and faculty there as
well how cool is that that is impressive thank
you um
how about what parts do you feel were most
personally rewarding so I think in my library
career especially at UNT the most personally
rewarding part is getting to do mentorship
um especially for student assistants I love
student assistants um and a lot of the student
assistants that that come through the library
um it's like their their first job ever in their
lives um and so you're teaching them how to
work at the library but you're also in a way teaching
them how to work like how to be employed yeah
cool yeah and I really love that um and especially
because a lot of the students we get through
the library are not library students they're just
students in in a variety of majors um so I
think that's really interesting too and they
all bring
such a fresh perspective from whatever you know
area of study that they are interested in um and
I just really love getting to know them and
mentor them and help them build their
professional skills
well I can tell you got a passion for that your
face just kind of brightened up like
oh let me tell you about my you know this to be
a student a mentor for them and having a mentor of
your own and being able to pass that down I
mean what a role model to to be able to keep
that that
going because I think every student needs some
type of mentor in their lives going and showing
them the path showing them the way showing them
that okay you're here no matter what your goal is
you know beyond this you know let me help you
with any kind of steps that might help you get
where you need to go that's really cool and
very uh an honorable thing I think to do to
take on
being a mentor to students and especially
nowadays with so much going else going on to
distract them from their goals I guess I agree
yeah so um what is unique about our UNT library
systems uh and what sets us apart why do you
think they received that association of research
libraries membership so yeah so you know
obviously we received the the ARL status
because of the
high really quality level of work that we do
but I think the thing that kind of sets it
apart for
me and allows us to do that work is the amazing
people that work at the UNT libraries with me
um I I do a lot of hiring and a really common
question that people will ask the interviewer
at the end of um their interview is like why do
you like working here like what what is good about
this place of work um and I always tell them
it's my co-workers um my colleagues um it's
just a
really supportive environment um and just
everyone is just trying to see you grow um and
and I always
think back to all the the opportunities that
I've been able to have um through through Unt libraries
and how it's kind of helped me get to to where
I am today well that's that's special thanks for
for sharing that and then there's just the last
question she asked about you know advice that you
do give to those students and recent graduates
seeking the careers maybe specific to academic
libraries? Yeah, so I won't lie to these
students, these jobs are competitive, and I
think my advice
to library students, and I do, I mentor some
library students through the Library
and Information Science Student Association,
and this is what I tell them too, but
get that work experience. I know a lot of
people just generally kind of put a pressure on
a student
to get through their degree as quickly as
possible. And, you know, there is merit to that.
And if you're getting some kind of scholarship
for going full-time or other opportunities for
going full-time absolutely you know take
advantage of that but if you're not um it's I
think it's
more valuable to go a little slower and get
some experience while you're going instead of
trying to
rush and then you're at the end with no no job
experience um like I said it's it's become a very
very competitive job market in academic
libraries um and just um in addition to that to
just like
take opportunities, you know, even if it's
sometimes hard to see like how an opportunity
might, might benefit you, um, you know,
initially, um, I think that was part, part of
my success was
accepting opportunities that, that were around
me that were offered to me, um, to do, you know,
grants, projects, uh, conferences, other stuff
like that, um, to really build up your skills
and you never know where it might take you.
That is great advice, especially with those
that can not just have to be on this fast
track, so to speak,
but because you do graduate and then it's like,
I've got all the education and that knowledge there,
but employers now are wanting, well, what else
can you bring to the table?
What experience do you have?
What else kind of work ethics have you built?
or you know so what a great advice to to let
them know that's valuable because I think a lot
of times
they do get the pressure or you've got to
finish you got to finish without realizing how valuable
again the that work experience is for young you
know people going through whatever degree they're
trying to find and that you know the
competition's out there so you do have to have
something else
to add to that resume like you you know adding
to yours and that every opportunity is a growth
like where you are now and how that's you know
building your own you know
portfolio of where you came from and now look
at where you are so great and one
one last question just about the unity Frisco
library on hours I know that
Willis here is open like 24 7 you know depends
on this the time of the year and
of course what's going on in our the rest of
the environment so it's Frisco
open to just Frisco students is it open to all
UNT students and then what are
what do your hours look like there if anybody
wanted to come by and tour it yeah um so it is
open to um UNT students and UNT at Frisco
students um and also you know staff faculty
anyone um can
come in the building it's also um kind of like
here it's an open campus anyone can can visit
they might not be able to utilize all of the
services that are designed for students um but
they can visit and check out the space it's
very beautiful um and so uh we have some
reduced hours
over the summer um but during the spring
semester we were open uh Monday through
Thursday 8 a.m to
9:30 p.m um fridays 8 a.m to 5 p.m and Saturday
8 a.m to noon um which match pretty closely with
the hours of the Frisco landing building um so
we want to be at least for that first semester
We were trying to be open all of the times that
we could be open to just find out when the
students are coming so that we can make
informed decisions for the future about when we
need to be open.
That's a perfect system to put in place, kind
of do your survey by observation.
Well, great.
What do you think else you'd like to add?
No, I don't think so.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
It's very exciting to celebrate our Association
of Research Libraries status.
Well, we are very glad that you were able to
come and add your part to that as well.
Thanks for coming.