Hi, everyone,
I'm sharing this in case it's of interest! It's a set of interviews I did with UC Berkeley librarians, about changes they've seen over the past 40 years at Berkeley, and it includes many stories about workplace challenges and shifts, tech changes, and more. The announcement is below. Thanks!
*Please excuse cross-posting*
I'm thrilled to announce the release of "Librarians Navigating Change", an oral history project which has just gone live on the University of California's eScholarship platform. The 15 oral history interview transcripts focus on changes in libraries, and particularly librarianship, over the past 40 years, as related by long-time UC Berkeley librarians. The collection comprises about 400 pages of transcripts, with narrators from a range of roles and services in this complex academic library setting, who were interviewed in April-May 2025. In this collection you'll find content related to:
· Careers in librarianship
· Changes in library service provision (especially the impact of COVID)
· Technological change and adaptations
· Changes in collection processes, publishing, and purchasing
· Budgets, budgets, budgets
· Organizational changes and their impact on collaboration and morale
· Reflections on the rewards and difficulties of being an academic librarian
· Advice for future generations of librarians, as the landscape changes dramatically
There are also some great stories! Check out the one about how there was a black market for purchasing UC Berkeley Library passwords on Telegraph Avenue back in the day!
More information about the project is available at the UC Berkeley Library's piece here. I hope you'll take a look, and I welcome your comments and feedback-please contact me at glusker@berkeley.edu . All the best!
------------------------------
Ann Glusker
Librarian for Sociology, Demography, Psychology, Social Welfare, & Research Methods
University of California, Berkeley
glusker@berkeley.edu (she/her)
------------------------------