Five Questions: Ashley Cuffia, Librarian for Medicine and Life Science

1. What is your background?

I am a native Marylander, born and raised south of Baltimore. I have two bachelor’s degrees: one in history, with a minor in political science, and a second in cyber security policy, followed by a master’s in library science. I started working in libraries in my sophomore year of college, as a circulation desk student worker. Once I graduated, I got a job at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Health Science Library, where I worked as a reference tech. After that job, I worked at the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, which is part of the National Library of Medicine. I was a library associate for them for almost 5 years before becoming their Consumer Health Librarian.

 2. Why did you want to work at the Library of Congress?

I have wanted to be a librarian since I was a teenager and working at the Library of Congress was always the dream job. What could be better than working with the largest, most fascinating collection, going on mini treasure hunts in the book stacks, and learning something new every day?

3. How would you describe your job at the Library of Congress?

I would describe myself as a Book Wizard or Question Magician, as a lot of times LOC reference librarians are the last stop for someone trying to locate unknown information that no one else has been able to find. It takes a bit of detective work to find the little clues that lead to the right information.  I also get to use my creative side in creating research products, writing blog posts and working on special displays for events.

4. Do you have a favorite Library program or service?

The National Book Festival Presents author talk series. I’ve had the opportunity to put displays together for a few of the talks and been fortunate to meet the authors themselves. It is always fun to dig into our collections and find the most interesting representations of their discussion topics.

5. If you weren’t a librarian, what would you want to be? 

If I was not a librarian, my younger unencumbered self would have wanted to be an archeologist who worked on excavation sites all over Egypt and the Mediterranean. My less dusty, realistic adult self would have probably opened a small craft/florist shop; selling flower arrangements, designing flowers for weddings, and selling handmade crafts from local artisans or myself.

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