Highly Textured Librarian: Jason

high•ly tex•tured li•brar•i•an: A person who is a specialist in library work and has curly or kinky hair.

Welcome Jason to Librarian Dreams

1. What is your signature hairstyle and how do you achieve it? 

My cut is the classic taper fade. I keep it brushed and faded close with a low beard. I use Natural Oil by Inflúance and of course a du-rag to keep it fresh. I try to keep it trimmed weekly.

2. Which books could give insight on you as a person? Why?

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Diaz comes to mind. Like Oscar, I was the shy and nerdy kid. I can relate to the characters in John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Despite his cynicism and self-destructive behavior, he tries hard to protect his partners. Liz Gold is an awesome character. She believes in freedom and she works in a library. 🙂

3. What is your role at the library?

I am the Reference and Instructional Services Librarian at a small private HBCU. I do a lot of bibliographic instruction and I assist faculty with their research needs. I design professional development sessions and programs around research tools and technology. Right now, we are in the middle of a huge weeding project. We want to create more floor space for study rooms and creative space.

4. What did you enjoy about library school?

Graduate school overall was awesome! I studied at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. I was graduate assistant and up until that point I never worked in a library. The high point of grad school was studying abroad in Copenhagen. Denmark is a cool country with strong advocacy for libraries. I came back with a greater appreciation for librarianship and community service.

Want to know more about Jason? Check out his blog and follow him on Twitter.