After years of serving college campuses through academic librarianship, it remains evident there is immense power in unseen contributions, one Women’s History Month street banner recipient said.
Monica Garcia Brooks, Marshall University’s dean of libraries, was one of 90 women honored with a banner in downtown Huntington due to her contributions to the city.
“This honors not just my contribution, but it embodies the contribution that this library system has on the campus and Huntington community,” Brooks said.
Brooks said her work in the collegiate environment is much larger than herself; rather, it represents her love for working in higher education and with students—something that stemmed from her early career.
“There’s always something new to learn, and you are always watching the profession change,” Brooks said. “I’ve watched librarianship change from where we first started, to the point where everything is almost all digitized.”
Currently, Brooks said her work focuses on the administration side of the library—something she enjoys, but wishes she took her time reaching.
“I didn’t get to be a librarian long enough,” Brooks said. “It’s a true pursuit, and getting people excited about projects is great, but giving them tools to succeed is everything.”
In addition to providing academic resources, Brooks said librarians have the power to provide a plethora of content, no matter the political landscape.
“Academic libraries do not censor, it’s just not a thing,” Brooks said. “We are in solidarity with our public and school library counterparts, but there is value in having access to information.”
Meanwhile, Brooks said her inspiration to pursue librarianship originated from not just women who came before her, but women who work alongside her.
“Monserrat Miller, director of the Drinko Academy is a dear colleague and friend who initiated that,” Brooks said. “I’m super grateful to her and her support.”
Along with Miller, Brooks said Sarah Tucker, chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission, emboldened her to continue to work with statewide libraries to benefit West Virginia.
Likewise, Brooks said her male counterparts have brought not only diversity to a female-dominated field but interesting perspectives on library evolution throughout the pandemic as well.
“We were on the cutting edge of how online education evolved,” Brooks said. “It was fun to be a part of that period of COVID to see how we made things happen.”
Above all, Brooks said intellectually stimulating those not just on campus but also in the Huntington area has always been her main objective.
“I would encourage any young person to pursue a career that absolutely aligns with their desires and interests,” Brooks said. “Don’t do what everybody wants you to be—I’m so happy I chose something that, to me, was exciting.”
Kaitlyn Fleming can be contacted at [email protected].
