Nancy Fawley is an accidental librarian. After a first career in the fashion industry she discovered librarianship while working in Europe. Today, she is head of the library liaison program and leads UNLV's team of subject librarians.Fawley is also redefining what it means to be a librarian in the information age. As multimedia information specialists, UNLV's librarians play a great role in providing and promoting information literacy skills among learners. They also manage knowledge and make it accessible to all.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Doylestown, Penn., in the southeastern part of the state. It is also where the author James Michener is from.
Why UNLV?
The community of academic librarians is small, and I have long been aware of the great work being done at UNLV Libraries. For me, this is an opportunity to work with a talented group of colleagues to support students, faculty and staff with their research and education needs.
What do you do?
I lead a department of liaison librarians who provide research assistance, instruction, and collection development services to faculty, students and staff in specific disciplines and colleges. We are focusing on developing library and information literacy instruction and support for the new general education core and capstone courses.
What inspired you to get into your field?
Librarianship was not a planned career path. I was living in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, writing part-time for a U.S. military newspaper and spending my free time traveling through Europe, when a colleague suggested I needed a career goal. Another colleague suggested I become a librarian; her advice was based solely on the reason that I liked to read! I did a little research on the profession and applied to graduate school. Once I started the program, I knew I made the right decision, but it was, admittedly, not a well-thought-out career move.
What's the biggest misconception about your field?
People still link librarians to a physical space and physical items. Certainly, we still staff reference desks and purchase books, but the profession is so much more than that. Librarians are partners in the education of our students. We teach classes, assist in the development of assignments, do outreach to campus partners and the community, in addition to the traditional roles of reference help and collection development.
What's the biggest challenge in your field?
There are many challenges libraries are facing that are not unique to our field such as budgetary constraints, rising costs of resources, and evolving technologies. For academic libraries today, one challenge is to link the use of library resources and services to student success and retention. We know in our hearts there is a positive correlation; the challenge is to support it with research and documentation.
Proudest moment in your life?
I ran with the torch as part of the torch relay leading up to the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. I was proud to be a part of such an important event for the country I was calling home at the time.
One tip for success?
Don't be afraid to take a new or different approach to solving a problem. If it doesn't work out as planned, learn from the experience and move on. And, sometimes the unplanned outcome turns out to be far better than what you had initially expected.
If you could fix one thing in the world, what would it be?
Living in a desert climate again reminded me of what an important resource water is. Thus, if I could fix one thing in the world, it would be that everyone had access to potable water.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I spent six months bicycling through Southeast Asia before I returned to the U.S. to attend graduate school. Also, my first career was working in the fashion industry in New York City.
What is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. It is part personal narrative and part running guide. His prose meanders the same way a runner's thoughts do when he runs long distances.
What can't you work without?
I am relying more and more on the "cloud," and the products, such as Dropbox and Evernote, that allow me to access my documents across all my devices.
Who is your hero?
Kathrine Switzer. In 1967 she attempted to run the all-male Boston Marathon as an official participant. She finished the race, but not before an official tried to physically remove her from the competition. It was not until 1972 that women were allowed to compete in the race.
Pastime or hobbies?
I like to run long distances and compete in marathons. I have run the Boston Marathon twice.
-- Compiled by Georgina Corbalan, external relations manager for University Libraries
