Where were you born?
I was born in Rahway, New Jersey.
Where else have you lived?
I was raised and lived in Central New Jersey, including Woodbridge Township and New Brunswick. Currently, I live in Woodside, New York.
What languages do you speak?
English, although I’ve studied Italian and still am conversational (need much more practice).
What fields have you studied and/or degrees have you earned?
Master of Information (Library and Information Science), BA in History. I’m interested in social history, history from below, and history of the book.
What is the part of your job that you enjoy the most?
I enjoy promoting open access; to research, to education, to textbooks and other materials. Library instruction is also very rewarding in that I can see an immediate tangible impact of my work.
What do you think will be the most challenging part of your job?
The perception that open access material is inherently lower quality than traditionally published material. It’s natural to be suspicious of something that is free. However, despite some bad actors (e.g. predatory journals), open-access materials have an immensely positive impact, allowing for greater readership and more citations.
I’m inspired by the work of libraries and non-profits to make knowledge freely and universally available; Wikipedia, Internet Archive, Directory of Open Access Journals, and HathiTrust are some of my favorites.
Your ideal vacation?
Cabin, lake, canoe, fishing rod.
Any hobbies?
I love to cook and also play the drums.
Favorite food?
Soup. Chicken to lentil to Tom Yum and everything in between.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most of us probably don’t know.
For a time I wanted to become a chef. Perhaps that will still happen in the future.
