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Archived: Meet the Librarians of the Oviatt

Posted in Meet the Librarians

Meet Anna Fidgeon, a Digital Learning Initiatives Librarian and interim Theatre Librarian. Read more about where she’s from, why she loves working with CSUN students so much, and some of her favorites.

Anna Fidgeon
Anna Fidgeon, Digital Learning Initiatives Librarian

Where are you originally from?

The Great Pacific Northwest, I grew up in a town called Poulsbo, WA and quickly got out of there at 18. I lived in Seattle for 6 years & my family is still there.

What do you like/admire most about CSUN students?

How quickly they catch on. In many of my classes, from 100-level to graduate classes, students are able to grasp the concepts I’m instructing. It’s so important to me that students leave college understanding how information is created and how to evaluate it so they begin their career as a critical consumer of information. The students here catch on so quickly, which is amazing considering what a complicated concept it is.

What’s your favorite book or your top 5?

In no particular order…..

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Me Talk Pretty One Day by
David Sedaris

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Blind Assassin by
Margaret Atwood

What songs would you include on the soundtrack of your life?

Icona Pop’s I Don’t Care is my theme song

Why did you become a  librarian?

Basically, I just really like helping people. I worked at one of
the libraries at the University of Washington while I was a student and enjoyed
helping people navigate the library system because I knew all the great things
that were there. After college, I volunteered for a literacy organization
tutoring an adult student preparing for the US Citizenship exam. I noticed the similarities
in my volunteer work and what I imagined working as a librarian would be
like—helping people navigate seemingly endless information in order to achieve
their goals and realized how much I loved that work (I still do!).

What do you wish every student knew about the library or librarians?

That my colleagues and I work really hard to keep the library
running & useful. A lot of people have the misconception that we read books
(I wish!) or put books away all day. In reality, we teach, purchase materials,
negotiate with vendors, write budgets, advise faculty on research &
assignments, publish research, organize outreach events, put together exhibits,
create webpages & online tutorials, volunteer on campus & professional
committees, answer questions from e-mail, text, the desk, and chat and all
kinds of other things. I’m not pointing this out in order to get sympathy, but
I think that people would be more likely to look to librarians for any kind of
research help if they better understand what our expertise is.

Is there a specific class that you really enjoy doing library instruction for?

Any class that laughs at my dumb jokes.

If you could learn any skill what would it be?

Woodworking. It’s difficult to learn when you live in an
apartment, though.

If you could witness any event in history what would it be?

Any event involving early humans, as long as time travel comes with an invisibility cloak.

What are some of your current projects/tutorials that you are working on?

I’m working on a research project where I’m having CSUN students
make avatars (shameless plug: if you’re a CSUN student, please participate by
e-mailing me!). I also share responsibility for the Research Therapy series, and am a juror for the American Library Association’s Over the Rainbow Book
List.

– Laurie Borchard