Library Front Lines and Behind the Scenes

September 10, 2021

Kaitlyn Ritacca: Kaitlyn is the senior reference services specialist at the Health Sciences Library. Kaitlyn is from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, moved to Memphis this past November, and began working at UTHSC just this year. Kaitlyn shares that depending on the time of day, she may be one of the first people you meet walking into the library. Her primary role is to help run the information desk and assist students in finding materials as well as answering any questions that they have about the resources available at the library. Like a tried and true AFSA team member, she wears many hats such as weeding out a collection of books to make room for new ones, attending student orientation to advertise the library and  be available to offer a helping hand whenever, however, and wherever.  Kaitlyn is passionate about the transformative power of education. As a first generation college student, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of MN and is currently in process of applying to a master’s program for Library and Information Science.  Kaitlyn realized she wanted to work in a library during undergrad while she was juggling school, an internship at a literary arts center, and working as the assistant manager at a local tea shop. One day while she was fretting about what she was going to do with her life, her manager looked at her and said, “What about a librarian?”, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it herself. Fast forward to moving to Memphis, she knew she wanted to transition into the library field, and so when a position opened at the UTHSC library, she applied. As they say, the rest is history!  Kaitlyn’s favorite poem is “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, and her current favorite book is The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Sarah Thompson: Sarah is the communications coordinator for the library. She is originally from Greenbrier, AR, and started work at UTHSC in February 2020. Sarah has a bachelor’s in Strategic Communications and has started a master’s in Information Science. While she studied communications in college, her prior employment was writing infrastructure grants for rural Arkansas. Sarah shares that her current role has her communicating to the campus about everything the library has to offer to assist everyone with their endeavors. Sarah also said she makes lots of really pretty signs…! Much of her work is seen on the library’s social media accounts, but you may also see her work in the Daily Digest and in your inbox. Sarah is delighted to be working on a higher education campus and is passionate about making information more accessible to people so that all of us can live in a more educated society. She finds that students, staff, and faculty are driven and invested in their own work and, consequently, she is appreciative and motivated to do same! When Sarah is not doing all things communications for the library, she enjoys photography – so much so she has a photography Instagram account.  Check out her work at https://www.instagram.com/sarahlillianphotography/. Sarah also shares that she is always down to go on an adventure but only if her camera can tag along.

Thanks to Sarah & Kaitlyn for being good deed doers all the way around!