Betsy Fagin (she/they) joined the City Tech Library as an Adjunct Reference & Instruction Librarian in the fall of 2022.
In a nutshell, what do you do at the City Tech Library?
I provide reference services and teach in-person library instruction classes at City Tech.
What is your academic and library background?
Academically, I earned my Masters in Library Science at the University of Maryland and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. I’ve worked in academic and public libraries since my days as an undergraduate at Vassar College as well as in specialized libraries like Poets House and the National Art Library at the V&A Museum in London.
What made you want to become a librarian? Was there any event or person that influenced you?
I was very lucky to have a number of wonderful librarians in my life when I was younger who encouraged my curiosity and creativity. Libraries have always been places of exploration and discovery for me, spaces that can open worlds of possibility not only in the imagination, but in practical, material ways as well. I’ve always loved libraries.
What were your first impressions of life at City Tech? Were there any surprises?
After a few years of pandemic, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see how popular and how heavily used the library is.
What are some of your favorite City Tech library resources?
So far some of my favorite resources are the displays. I’m a big fan of browsing as a means to discovery and the rotating displays are a great way to find new things. The Banned Books Week display that’s up now highlights some of the targets of censorship and offers an opportunity to raise people’s awareness around the ways that open communication and access to information can create common ground and support mutual understanding.
What books, tv, films, and/or music are you currently listening to?
I’ve got a pile of books I’m reading with a few more on hold for me at my local public library. I just got my hands on Simone White’s “or, on being the other woman” and am very excited to dig into it.
What else would you like City Tech students and faculty to know about you?
In addition to my work in libraries, I’m also a poet (find some of my stuff in the library!) and a yoga and meditation practitioner/teacher.
