Research, reference, national recognition

Philip Vukelich | Argonaut Kathleen Monks, reference and instruction librarian, helps a student Monday in the University of Idaho Library. Monks was recently accepted into the American Library Association’s 2013 Emerging Leader’s Program.

She’s not an elderly lady with glasses sitting behind the desk, shushing people and checking out books. Kathleen Monks is a librarian at the University of Idaho and has been nationally recognized through acceptance to the 2013 Emerging Leader’s program. 

Put on by the American Library Association — the oldest and largest library association in the world — the Emerging Leaders program is for librarians who have been in the field for less than five years and are younger than 35. This is the third year in a row a UI librarian has been accepted into the program.

Monks said a large portion of her job involves research and providing service through working at state and national level associations as well as university committees. While she does staff the reference desk in the UI Library six to 10 hours a week, she said that definitely isn’t all she does.

“I’m also in charge of the College of Agriculture acquisitions, so buying their books and also introducing the faculty and teaching classes for them on library instruction,” Monks said.

Through participating

in the Emerging Leaders program, Monks said she hopes to bring back new skills to the students at UI.

After attending the mid-winter EL conference, Monks will work virtually with a team of fellow emerging leaders on a project to develop a kit for recruiting college librarians.

“(The program) helps with additional skills, how to create these tools and helps getting to know people, helps with your prestige in your job.” Monks said. “I’m hoping that in developing this toolkit we will use some new technologies that I haven’t really had time to use that I will be able to apply here in my job to the students.”

UI’s 2012 Emerging Leader, Kristin Henrich, said the experience gave her an opportunity to work with academic librarians from all over the world.

“It’s a huge honor to be selected for the program because it’s really competitive,” Henrich said. “Not a lot of people are accepted, which is why the fact that three people from this library have been accepted is a big deal.”

This opportunity wouldn’t have been possible without the support system at the University of Idaho, Monks said.

“Before working at the University of Idaho, I worked at another institution as a faculty librarian and I know that in that position, getting into this type of program wouldn’t have been an option for me because I didn’t have the support I needed to apply,” Monks said. “Basically I’m just very thankful to be here and to be surrounded by such supportive people who really are helping me excel and in turn helping the students and faculty at the University of Idaho.”

Kaitlin Moroney can be reached at [email protected]

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