This December, Vassar College Libraries welcomed a new librarian, Heidy Berthoud

Q. What work do you do at Vassar College Libraries?

A. I am the Continuing Commitments Librarian, which means I work with any resource that we purchase on an ongoing basis. This includes our print serials and most of our electronic resources.

Q. You’ve worked at other libraries before coming to Vassar?

A. Yes, I have. I worked in various roles at the University of Chicago Library since 2002. Before coming to Vassar, I had been Supervisor for Continuing Resources Orders and Cataloging for almost five years.

Q. What did you do there and how is it different from your work here?

A. I was working with similar kinds of materials, but my position at Vassar gives me more freedom and independence to do activities that aren’t strictly in my job description. For example, I’m hoping to work more with managing discovery tools than I did at Chicago, and I would also like to learn some computer programming skills.

Q. Why do you like working in libraries? Or not like?

A. I’ve always liked research, solving puzzles, and bringing order to chaos. Every career I’ve ever considered has had some of those elements mixed in, but librarianship fits my temperament the best.

Q. What are your interests outside of work?

A. I like to travel and plan crazy vacations. Since moving to Poughkeepsie, I’ve been trying out the local restaurants and visiting the movie theater—a lot. I also enjoy stereotypical librarian pursuits, such as reading, knitting, and making fun of my cat.

When I’m not doing any of the above, I’m feverishly writing my doctoral dissertation; I am ABD in history at the University of Chicago.