Kate Wenger
- Spent the summer of 2013 backpacking across Europe with her husband
- Owns a compound bow and arrow set, promises not to use it on sleepy students
- Is your reference librarian here at JKM Library!
You’ve probably seen this picture of Kate around the library’s website.
What do you do here at The Jennie King Mellon Library?
Perhaps an easier question to answer would be: what don’t I do? I spend a fair bit of time at the reference desk eagerly awaiting questions from Chatham students, faculty, and staff. I also go into classes to teach students how to find the information they need for their assignments. Marketing library resources falls to me as well, so I coordinate our library newsletter, blog, Facebook page, displays, brochures, workshops, and more. I also keep track of student publications and send reminder emails to students to submit their tutorials, theses, dissertations, or capstones to the library.
What made you choose your current profession?
My mom, actually. When I was finishing up my bachelor’s degree in English and psychology, I knew I was not interested in pursuing a career or more schooling in either of those at that time. My mom suggested a degree in library science, and it turned out to be a perfect fit!
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher – guess that sort of worked out since I do go into classes to teach library research.
You probably haven’t seen this picture of Kate yet, but you should. (And now you have!)
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Working with Chatham students, faculty, and staff! I get the most satisfaction out of helping people find the information they need, and I also really enjoy learning about the topics folks are researching.
If you could do one thing to change/improve the JKM Library- with no worries about time or expense, what would you do?
It’s hard to pick just one thing, but a bunch of them fall into one category: building/space improvements. I’d love to add more comfortable seating, more outlets, portable whiteboards around the building, and other useful things to make the library an even better place to hang out, study, and do research.
What do you like to do on your days off?
Read! I suppose that’s not particularly surprising. When the weather is nice, I love spending time outside – walking/hiking, gardening, or even just reading. I’ve also dabbled in making earrings, and I have a lot of house plants.
What book do you think everyone should read? Why?
I honestly don’t think there’s one book that everyone should read. I prefer to help folks find books they will enjoy. If I had to pick something, I do think some of the popular positive psychology works are beneficial reads – Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is particularly good.
What’s one thing you think everyone should do while they live in the city?
Enjoy the restaurants. There are so many good ones. Some of my favorites are Coriander (Indian food in Squirrel Hill), Silk Elephant/Bangkok Balcony (Thai in Squirrel Hill), Point Brugge (Belgian food in Point Breeze – get the mussels in white sauce and some frites!), and the Church Brew Works.