By Katie Hirv ’22

Many people have a stereotype of what a librarian’s job entails. However, Heidi Parker, the new information literacy and technology librarian at Vogel Library, takes those oversimplified ideas apart.

“The information literacy portion is teaching, of course, information literacy — going into classes, collaborating with faculty members on teaching, foundational searching and evaluation skills using library resources,” Parker said. “And then as a technology librarian, I am the supervisor for our ELITE (Emerging Leaders in Technology Education) team here at the library. So, if you come into the library with a tech question, one of our ELITE students will likely be at the front desk and can help you with that. I also manage all of the equipment and technology that the library has available for checkout and work with our technical services and acquisition library to make sure that all of our backend systems are running properly.”

Parker graduated from the University of Iowa with her Bachelor of Arts in English in 2017. Her undergrad experience directed her to then pursue her Master of Library and Information Science from Iowa in 2019.

“One of my Shakespeare professors took us to the library frequently. We would go up into the library’s special collections, as well as work with some of the reference librarians there. After working with librarians at the university several times, I wanted to know how I could help people navigate library resources and find information that they need. Being in contact with the library during my undergraduate years really drove me toward this profession,” Parker said.

Before joining the Vogel Library staff in August, Parker had an impressive resume with extensive experience.

“Prior to Wartburg, I worked with Coe College in Cedar Rapids as the head of their reference department. I have taught English at an international school in Japan, just outside Tokyo in Yokohama. I also worked with the Iowa Women’s Archives at the University of Iowa as their graduate research assistant,” said Parker. “Teaching in Japan was definitely interesting, as it was during the COVID period. We were teaching in masks and had barriers up, as well. But the entire mask culture in Japan, it’s just not as controversial as it is here, it is so much more commonplace. That definitely made it different in an aspect of teaching there. I really enjoyed working in that position.” As Parker looks ahead to the upcoming academic year, she is excited to collaborate and share her knowledge of technology with students and faculty alike.

“We’ve been working on several projects, like increasing the knowledge and awareness of our 3D printer in the library. We’ve also been working to make the microfilm reader down on the first floor more accessible and educating people about what it is and what it’s used for. We’re also really focusing on diving into utilizing library resources with all the different technology we have,” Parker said.

During her spare time, Parker also enjoys reading a variety of books.

“One book series that I always like to recommend is ‘The Stormlight Archives’ by Brandon Sanderson. If you enjoy high fantasy, that is one that is excellent.‘Emma’ by Jane Austen is a bit of a classic, but it’s really fun. Once you understand the character drama, it can be quite interesting.”