2019 ULS Vice Chair/Chair-Elect: Leslie Sult

Leslie Sult is one of two candidates this year for ULS Vice Chair/Chair-Elect. She is the Research & Learning Librarian at the University of Arizona. Read this interview to learn more about Leslie and what her goals would be if elected as Vice Chair/Chair-Elect.

 Tell us more about yourself and how you became an academic librarian.

I began my career as a high school teacher and high school librarian in Chino Valley, Arizona. I loved being a high school librarian and after a few years applied to go to library school. I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and had a great experience there. After completing graduate school, my husband and I returned to Arizona and wound up in Tucson. The University of Arizona had a position open as the Training Coordinator of the newly opened Information Commons, which was a natural fit for my interest in teaching and technology, so I applied, was hired and have been an academic librarian ever since.

How long have you been involved in ULS and what attracted you to the section?

I have been involved in ULS for close to 10 years. A librarian friend and mentor got me involved and once I was engaged, I came to appreciate all the areas that ULS works in as well as the awesome energy of the people that engage in ULS.

In your opinion, what are some of the most interesting topics or trends we’re seeing in university libraries?

I’m really interested in digital literacy and the ways that libraries can use current and emerging tools to help integrate information and digital literacy in ways that engage and support students.

What goals for the section would you have if elected to this position? How do you envision committees and members helping the section achieve those goals?

I feel like ULS has the benefit of having really engaged and active members, which is a great place to start. ULS also does an excellent job with programming, supporting its members, and supporting the profession. If I was elected, I’d like to keep building up the membership roles as well as look for ways to engage all committee members. I’d like to see the volunteering process through the ALA Website be streamlined and more accessible to librarians new to the field. Along with that, I’d like to work to create a online community of practitioners that can support one another around questions related to being a librarian in a university setting. I’d like to work with committee chairs to examine ways that we can build a digital community that connects and energizes us as we engage in our day to day work.

Where do you see ULS going in the future? How does it need to change and evolve to stay relevant to academic librarians?

I see ULS continuing to remain and vibrant and valuable. As far as changing and evolving, I see opportunities in establishing a digitally distributed community of practitioners that can connect with one another on an ongoing basis to discuss and share ideas related to our ever evolving field.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that not very many people know.

Hmmm – I like to garden although have been in the process of moving and have not had time to get a garden up and running and my family just adopted two kittens that are crazy but a lot of fun.