LibraryBuzz

Sara Sarmiento(she/her) is an Adjunct Reference & Instruction Librarian who joined the City Tech Library in the spring of 2025.

In a nutshell, what do you do at the City Tech Library?
Students can often find me at the reference desk, where I’m available to help with anything from short simple queries about finding a book, to a full blown research consultation. This is the most visible part of my work, and the part which most aligns with what people’s stereotypical idea of a librarian looks like.

In addition to the instruction I do at the reference desk, I lead instructional sessions with classes to orient students with the library and its resources, and how to approach research. I’ll also be helping to update and create library resources.

What is your academic and library background?
I have a BA in Latin American studies and visual arts, an MFA in cartooning, and a MS of Library and Information Science. I’m a recent graduate from library school, so this is my first position officially as a librarian, but my first job as a teenager was shelving books at my public library. I have a professional background working in nonprofits and design and am very proud of the work I’ve done to support other artists. If you look up City Artist Corps, you can even find an exhibition catalog I designed for a large public art project serving NYCHA communities in the CUNY Libraries catalog! That’s something I’ve carried forward into my library studies. I’ve done a number of projects about supporting artists and helping them understand and preserve their digital artwork, and I’m interested in visual resources and visual literacy. It’s also important to me to have an inclusive definition of “artists” that includes the so called “applied arts”, like illustration or design, as well as people who did not go through a traditional art school program.

What made you want to become a librarian? Was there any event or person that influenced you?
It’s difficult to work just as an illustrator, financially, but for me also, I like to get out and do different things and work with people, and making books is a lot of time spent intensely focused on a single project with very little company. I also have a hard time being creative when the rest of my life isn’t taken care of, so I needed a day job that was fulfilling in its own right and balanced my different professional needs. My mom is a children’s librarian, which gave me insight into the field. What I studied and what I’m interested in as a librarian are very different from her work, but through her I got to know a lot of librarians and knew that I liked the community. I’m also a very curious person, which I think is an important trait in a profession that’s all about information.

What were your first impressions of life at City Tech? Were there any surprises?
As I’ve done a lot of work supporting New York City through my work at nonprofits, I love that I’m continuing to support the city through my work at City Tech. NYC is the biggest city in the country, but it can still feel like a tight-knit community, especially when you’re working in a place like CUNY.

A surprise was learning that the library building was built without any plumbing! I completely understand why it was done, it’s very practical, but I think it’s hilarious.

What are some of your favorite City Tech library resources?
The fact that students have access to the entire CUNY and SUNY library network. There’s always interlibrary loan, but the CLICS book delivery service is far less intimidating. City Tech has finite library space, so students should know that they aren’t limited by what we have on the shelves. The Opposing Viewpoints in Context database is also a really great entry point for research. And, this may sound silly, but the librarians themselves are such a good resource! When I’m sitting at the reference desk, I WANT students to come ask me questions, that’s what we’re there for.

What books, tv, films, and/or music are you currently listening to?
I’m currently on book two of “The Hild Sequence” series (“Hild”, “Menewood”) by Nicola Griffith. It’s a historical fiction about the early life of Saint Hilda in early medieval England. It has a lot of background detail about the constant ongoing work of creating textiles, which I especially enjoy as I recently learned how to spin wool into yarn. I’d stopped listening to podcasts early in the pandemic when I needed a break from the news cycle—everything at the time was about Covid—but spinning has helped me finally get back into podcasts as I can listen to them while I spin, so that’s been a lot of the media I’ve been consuming lately. I’ve been enjoying “What The Duck?!”, a lighthearted podcast about animals by an enthusiastic Australian science journalist. “Stolen” or “Throughline” are great when I have the tolerance for more serious investigative journalism. For more fun investigative journalism, I always recommend “Wild Thing” to people—the first season honestly asks the question “could Bigfoot exist”, and the result is really charming. “Snap Judgement”, “Spooked” and “This American Life” are all great for storytelling. “99% Invisible” is an amazing design podcast, I even recommended an episode to a student the other day that was about a typeface she was researching.

What else would you like City Tech students and faculty to know about you?
Come to me with any of your questions about images. I love the technical/practical side of art, so bring me any of your questions about file types, color theory, or how to find and properly cite images in your papers. Or just come show me your doodles and I’ll tell you how awesome they are!

Taylor (he/him) joined the City Tech Library as an Adjunct Reference & Instruction Librarian in the spring of 2025.

What is your academic and library background?

I have a BA in English Language and Literature and a Masters of Library and Information Science. I actually didn’t start working in libraries until after I started library school. I’ve been a librarian for about 3 years now, and I’ve worked at a number of different institutions, including the Pratt Institute, the Kristine Mann Library, Westchester Community College, and The Morgan Library & Museum.

What made you want to become a librarian? Was there any event or person that influenced you?

I have yet to meet anyone who knew from childhood that they wanted to be a librarian and plotted their course accordingly, and my situation is no different. I have three librarians in my family, so it had always been on my radar as a possible career path, and I was always intrigued by the occupation, but I didn’t come to librarianship until later in life.

I was working for an educational services company (managing tutors, creating study guides, and compiling other educational materials) when the pandemic hit, which resulted in the company going out of business. This coincided with my wife getting a job offer in New York—we’re originally from Canada. Canadians aren’t allowed to work just any job in the US, but, as it happens, librarian is one of the approved occupations. So my incipient interest combined with practical considerations and I decided to become a librarian. And it has been a great experience so far!

What will you be doing at City Tech Library?

I’m an adjunct librarian, which means that you’ll often find me at the reference desk, where I can help you locate books and journal articles, assist you with developing your research topic, or show you how to formulate citations. I’ll also be teaching information literacy classes and creating various resources to support your academic success. 

What were your first impressions of life at City Tech? Were there any surprises?

I can’t say there were any surprises. This library is pretty similar to other academic libraries I’ve worked in. But I’ll say that I’m very pleased with how friendly and supportive the staff has been, and how driven and intellectually curious the students are. 

What are your goals for the next few years as a librarian?

I’m still in the early stages of my career, so I’m mainly looking to gain experience and improve my skills. I think I’d eventually like to manage a small special collections library—somewhere small enough that I’d be able to do some reference, some collection development, some cataloging, some public outreach—all the things that get hived off as separate positions when an institution grows to a certain size. 

Do you have a favorite subject of study or a favorite author (or both)?

My reading generally skews toward the humanities—literature, history, philosophy, etc. Favorite writers include Nabokov, Larkin, Joyce, Poe, and Wilde. But recently, given the current political climate, I find myself reading a lot more intellectual history and political philosophy, in particular, Isaiah Berlin and Hannah Arendt.  

What book (or other source) would you recommend to others from City Tech Library’s collection, and why?

I want to make sure people know that, as a City Tech student or faculty member, you get free access to The New York Times (follow these instructions in order to register). That’s probably the library resource I use the most to stay informed about current events. 

For anyone who is new to academic research, I like to recommend Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints database. This database provides a curated selection of journal articles and other resources that offer contrasting perspectives on controversial and current issues. It’s a great place to get started when you are trying to familiarize yourself with a subject or choose a topic.

If you visited the library in recent months, you may have noticed that we removed our periodicals shelving, leaving us with an empty space on the first floor. We are happy to announce that this area has been transformed into an additional study space equipped with new tables and chairs. Thank you to everyone who offered us their suggestions on this project, and we look forward to seeing you in the library soon!