May 31, 20007

Ellen Broidy, PhD, is the new Librarian at Santa Barbara Graduate Institute.  Dr. Broidy comes to this position from UCLA where she was Head, of the Collections, Research and Instructional Department for 7 years.  Prior to that position she was a subject-specialist librarian and Library Publications Coordinator at UC Irvine for 19 years.   She holds a Master’s in Library Science from UC Berkeley, a Master’s in History from UCLA and a PhD in U.S. History from UC Irvine.  Dr. Broidy is also the recipient of the Association of College and Research Libraries Women's Studies Section Award for Career Achievement in Women's Studies Librarianship.

EG:  What brought you here to Santa Barbara and ultimately to Santa Barbara Graduate Institute?

Dr. Broidy:  I retired from UCLA on Sept. 1, 2006.  I failed colossally at retirement, lasting approximately one month as a retiree.  Although I was done with a 4-day a week commute, I was not ready to stop working.  Fortunately, the UCLA Library recalled me in October on a 46% time appointment.  When the possibility of working at SBGI came to my attention I thought this could be a great opportunity for transition to working closer to home.

EG: What brought you to the area of research?

Dr. Broidy:  I love research and very much enjoy guiding others as they navigate the complexities of the library.  My passion for research arose out of wanting to discover answers to nagging questions.  I have spent most of my career honing my skills as a research and teacher of research methods and strategies.  I had the great opportunity at 50 years of age while working full-time as a librarian at UC Irvine to complete my doctoral dissertation, Enforcing the ABC’s of loyalty: gender, subversion & the politics of education in the New York City public schools, 1948-1954.    

EG: What is unique about your contribution to research development?

Dr. Broidy: My training and expertise is as an information specialist with a background in women’s studies.  Information is almost never neutral.  Information almost always is political, gendered and racialized in some way and has to be interrogated in order to be understood, refined, and ultimately usable. I view the research process as a combination of information seeking in conjunction with the goal of brcoming a lifelong learner.  When one has entered into both of these realms, then one has joined the universal community of learners allowing for more wholesome conversations with colleagues and students.  I would like to continue to build on the foundations that already exist here at SBGI by bringing the skills that I have as a librarian, teacher and researcher to the conversation.

EG: What is most meaningful to you now? 

Dr. Broidy:  I love what I do.  It is important to me to maximize my expertise by serving an integral role in being a part of the community at SBGI and helping to build the community in whatever ways that I can.  Secondly, I have a sense of what students and faculty need in terms of research skills and becoming lifelong learners.  I feel my edges and wish to grow and learn as well.  I know about a thimbleful of Prenatal and Perinatal and Somatics so I am eager to learn from the members of the SBGI community. Thirdly, I look forward helping to nurture a culture of research. 

EG: What is your vision for the SBGI library?

Dr. Broidy: I anticipate redesigning the library’s web presence, developing strategies for acquiring more on-line resources to support distance learning programs and continuing to build a vital virtual library for SBGI.  I want to be as accessible as possible to meet student’s needs even when I am not on campus.  I am committed to working with both the faculty and students in order to build a culture of research.

There are 3 ways that I anticipate offering my services to the student’s, faculty and staff.  First, is through learning about and then refining the Systems in place at SBGI.  This involves identifying relevant materials, acquiring those materials, and ensuring that the SBGI community has access to them through the web page and the catalog.

The second way I will be of service is through Collections, both in print and electronically (physical and virtual).  This is done by working closely with faculty and students to identify their research and teaching needs and requires asking how we as a community set priorities, particularly as our resources are limited (both financially and spatially for housing the materials).

The third way is Services, for research, reference and information literacy.  This is done by working to help everyone in the organization to become lifelong learners; by working with people to become more confident about identifying research needs and honing their abilities to fulfill those needs.

EG: How will you do this?

Dr. Broidy:  One way that I will do this is by differentiating the kinds of skills that the library can teach alongside the kind of skills that the faculty will teach so that we will be working hand in hand.

I also want to be a research resource for faculty and staff.  For instance, if one of the faculty wants to investigate grants to further SBGI’s research mission, the librarian can serve as resource for that particular faculty.  I can help refine the search and by identifying relevant resources, hopefully freeing the faculty member to do other things.  It is a holistic way of looking at the assets and abilities of the organization.

EG:  How can the faculty and the staff help you be more effective?

Dr. Broidy:  It would help enormously if faculty, students and staff are willing to share their resources, their expertise and their interests.  I have a lot to learn about SBGI’s mission, goals, objectives and programs.  I would hope that as part of my learning process, all members of the SBGI community feel free to share their information needs and interests with me.

My initial step is to identify the needs on the ground.  What does this organization need to support curriculum and research and secondly, what is the SBGI community’s understanding of how best to prioritize those needs?

EG:  How will you interface with students?

Dr. Broidy:  Since I am currently 25% time, the best way to reach me is by e-mail.  I will also try to  arrange my schedule to be here part of the time that on-campus classes are in session.  And, of course, students can make an appointment.  In the future I will have Research Skills Workshops and possibly “Stump the Library Hour” where students and faculty can challenge me with their toughest research questions. My main goals are to gain as much knowledge as I can and pass that knowledge on so that members of the SBGI community can gain the skills and confidence to be independent lifelong learners, no matter how much the information horizon shifts and changes.

Interviewer: Ellen Goldstein received her MA at Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in Clinical Psychology with a specialty in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology.