This post was first published to @TAMUCCLibrary on Facebook and Instagram on October 11, 2024.
“I chose this field because I have a passion for education and a love for books and information. When I was a senior in high school, I spent a lot of time reading at my school library and the librarian invited me to apply to become her assistant. I did that for a whole year, and I loved the environment. Then once in college, I worked as a catalog assistant and discovered all the different departments that a library has. I saw the librarians helping students at the reference desk but also going to classes and I realized that was what I wanted to do.
I received my Master’s in library science from Texas Woman’s University and have been working in academic libraries for over 16 years now, and I can honestly say that being a librarian is a very fulfilling job. You get to help students and see your impact on their lives. Most of the time, students are too shy to ask for help to their instructors or classmates, but they open up to librarians. It can be as simple as helping a student signing into a computer to do more in-depth research, but whatever it is, students are very thankful for your help.
I love going to concerts and meeting my favorite artists. I also really enjoy spending time at home with my husband and our fur babies: Echo, a 19-year-old bulldog mix and Saddie, an 8-year-old beagle.
One of the most interesting things that has happened at my job as a reference services librarian was when we received a chat from a Nueces County Police Investigator. He needed help searching for news media and articles to assist in solving a murder case. It was definitely an unexpected and fascinating request!”
– Aída Almanza-Ferro, Reference Services Librarian
