Jessica Dai

ABOUT

Jessica Dai,she/her

Equity and Open Education Librarian

West Virginia University

Morgantown,West Virginia

Meet ACRL Member:

Jessica Dai

Describe yourself in three words

Collaborative,open-minded,community-driven.

What are you reading(or listening to on your mobile device)?

I just startedThe Chosen and the Beautifulby Nghi Vo,one of the books from the Autumn 2021 we reads collection:https://yz-jsjc-gov-cn-1416.res.gxlib.org.cn:443/rwt/1416/https/P75YPLUYMWVGK6UFF33YAZLDMF/current-collection.I'm also readingKnowledge Justiceedited by Sofia Y.Leung and Jorge R.López-McKnight,Complaintby Sara Ahmed,andDismantling Deficit Thinking in Academic Librariesby Chelsea Heinbach,Rosan Mitola,and Erin Rinto.

Describe ACRL in three words

Participatory,community,learning.

What do you value about ACRL?

My primary engagement with ACRL has been through participating in the Residency Interest Group(RIG)as a member,team lead,and convener.In my experience,RIG has been a space for creativity,peer mentorship,empathetic leadership,collaboration,problem solving,and equity-informed work.I'm continuously inspired by my RIG colleagues who lead from where they are to collaboratively address the changing needs of library residents.In the last few years,residents have run privacy-informed mentorship discussions,published an open letter to administrators and program coordinators to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents,created a Diversity Residency Toolkit,and developed more transparent processes for leadership recruitment.All of these initiatives center the resident and honor the complex realities of what it means to be an employee in a term-limited position,especially for those with marginalized identities.This work is hard and it's better because we do it together.

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus?

I work to strengthen and develop our instruction program through the lenses of equity and open education.I started this newly-created position at the end of July 2021,so I still feel like I'm figuring it out as I go.I believe that education can be liberatory,informed by critical and feminist pedagogies,so I strive to create inclusive learning environments for diverse learners who feel supported to challenge and critique our information systems as they exist.

In your own words

As an early career and resident librarian,I felt a lot of pressure to be a good librarian to prove my worth and land a permanent job.As I transition towards being a midcareer librarian,I'm actively trying to be abad librarianas Fobazi Ettarh conceptualizes it;one that avoids vocational awe,job creep,and burnout.I want to be an academic librarian during my work hours,so I can figure out how to be a better person on my own time.