Member of the Month

Qinqin Zhang – 11/2019

Qinqin is the Assistant Librarian of Information Literacy and E-Learning & E-Resources at Trinity Western University (FTE: 3,238) in Langley, British Columbia. She has been a member of ACL since 2017.

Describe yourself using a book title: Number the Stars

What’s the best thing about being a librarian? I find joy in helping library users.

What are you currently reading? The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Describe ACL in three words: Great Christian Librarians

How do you (or How have you), as an academic librarian, contribute to your campus? In my role as a reference librarian, I guide students in their research process and instruct them on how to conduct academic research. Students are gaining information and skills to complete their research assignments well. I also enjoy connecting with students on a personal level, to fellowship with them and pray for them. Together with my colleagues, we are building a friendly and caring environment, where students feel comfortable asking for help and can easily get the support they need to succeed in their university life. This will increase the chances for the students to continue their study at my institution. Besides that, I work with faculty members to meet their information needs and work with them to develop information literacy sessions for their students. As the site administrator of our institutional repository, I’ve been working to promote open access publishing on campus to showcase the institution’s scholarship.

I began my career as a librarian…at Western University, a large public university in Ontario, Canada. I worked as a research and instructional librarian supporting some engineering and physical science programs. I was also involved with initiatives related to e-Learning, scholarly communication, and research data management. I started my current job at Trinity Western University in 2016. At my current library, I have been heavily involved with research support and information literacy teaching. I also manage our institutional repository as the site administrator and have been looking into ways to better serve our growing international student body.

What do you value about ACL? I value the great mentoring program, networking opportunities at the ACL Annual Conference, encouraging devotional sharing via email, and more.

How were you introduced to ACL? I just googled it! 🙂

How are you or have you been involved in ACL? I went to the ACL Annual Conference this past June and co-presented a workshop on serving limited English proficient (LEP) users in academic libraries.

Do you have any specific interests in the library world? I am interested in scholarly communication, technology, library outreach, and supporting international students.