Meet Emily Gilbert, the 2024 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year
September 26, 2024
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Interviewed by Kaitlyn Weger, Olney Central College
Emily Gilbert from University of Illinois Chicago’s Library of Health Sciences was recently named the 2024 ILA Academic Librarian of the Year. Enjoy this interview with Emily!
Hi! I’m incredibly honored to be this year’s Illinois Academic Librarian of the year. I’m an assistant professor and liaison librarian at University of Illinois Chicago’s Library of the Health Sciences. My liaison area is the College of Medicine, where I work with students, faculty, and trainees to meet their information needs. I am also a trustee at the Schaumburg Township District Library, and I am lucky to be able to impact the library in my own community. I live in Hoffman Estates with my husband, 7-year-old daughter, and a very anxious senior dog.
Q: What does your typical day look like in your current position?
A: My library is on UIC’s west campus which is in the Illinois Medical District on the near west side of Chicago. It is a bustling area with two universities, four hospitals, and many clinics and outpatient centers. I might be running around campus, going to meetings or teaching in the College of Medicine or in the hospital. I usually teach something like advanced search mechanics or the steps of conducting a literature review. My favorite days are when I get to work individually with students, who can book appointments with me in person or on Zoom. Consults might be for something simple, like finding some full text articles, or something more complex like starting a systematic review.
Before I came to UIC, I worked entirely in digital libraries, so the thrill of working in person on a big campus is still there for me. I love getting to attend events like our annual pride picnic where I can connect with other queer faculty and staff. It’s also wonderful to be a short walk away from Little Italy and its plethora of fantastic lunch options (my favorites include Stax Cafe and Chilango).
Q: What made you decide to be a librarian?
A: I was a library kid growing up, attending frequent programs and checking out piles of books. I got to know one of the teen librarians pretty well when I was in high school, but it wasn’t until after I had already finished my Bachelor’s (in French) that library school even occurred to me. I had ended up working in admissions at a for-profit university, which was a very bad fit for me, and in looking through internal positions I noticed one that required an MLIS. Once I started researching the degree, everything clicked into place and I realized I wanted to be a librarian. At the time I had envisioned working with teens like my favorite librarian growing up, but I never ended up working at a public library! The work I do now is not at all what I expected, but it’s a great match for my strengths and I find it very fulfilling.
Q: What do you think are going to be the greatest challenges facing academic libraries in the next few years?
A: Are there ever years where we aren’t struggling with funding? Maybe not, but this feels especially urgent given that one of our state universities laid off all of their library faculty recently (and they have my solidarity). Libraries are constantly struggling to demonstrate their value. It costs a lot of money to license or purchase resources, but we also don’t generate revenue like the academic programs do. We know that we bring so much to our communities, but administrators may not, and that’s stressful.
Q: What was the last book you read or listened to?
A: I just finished Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow for my book club. It was great but very emotional! I’m also a big podcast person, and some of my recent favorites are Maintenance Phase, Culture Study, Factually!, and Sixteenth Minute (of Fame).
Q: If you could have a year off with pay, what would you do?
A: I destress by engaging in various forms of art, and having all that extra capacity to be creative would be amazing. My current art media of choice are knitting, watercolor painting, and needle felting. With the Halloween season approaching, I have been felting a small army of tiny ghosts.
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