This interview is with Carlos Olave, section head of the Law Section of Library Services’ Acquisitions & Bibliographic Access Directorate, U.S. Programs, Law & Literature Division. Carlos is a veteran at the Library, but is new to the Law Library; he runs the section responsible for cataloging all new law titles. Carlos and his staff make access to our collection possible.
Describe your background.
I was born in Colombia, South America. My father was a medical doctor and we immigrated to the United States when I was an infant, so I grew up speaking both English and Spanish fluently.
I spent my formative years in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where my father began his medical practice as a primary care/family practice physician. My parents exposed my siblings and me very early to a lot of culture—classical music, museums, concerts, books, libraries, foreign cuisine, and travel. As a result, I developed a strong interest in foreign languages. In high school, I took AP Spanish and three years of French. When I began college, I was encouraged by a professor who taught Spanish civilization to pursue a major in Spanish. Therefore, I took the professor’s advice and studied Spanish, and also Portuguese, French, and Italian.
What is your academic/professional history?
I have a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese and a certificate in Latin American area studies from the University of Pittsburgh, a masters in Spanish (Hispanic American literature) and Portuguese (Brazilian literature) from New York University. At NYU, I was a graduate teaching assistant and taught elementary, intermediate, and conversational Spanish as well as introduction to Latin American literature classes. I later returned to the University of Pittsburgh to obtain my Master of Library Science degree. While studying for my master’s degree, I received a graduate student assistantship, where I was required to work ten hours per week in the library of the School of Library and Information Science, and I provided reference services to professors and graduate students.
I began my library career in 1986 as a Romance languages cataloger at Princeton University. Two years later, in 1988, I joined the Library of Congress as a French language cataloger in the former Shared Cataloging Division. From 1989 to 2001 I was a cataloger in the Whole Book Cataloging Division, Social Sciences Cataloging Division, and the History and Literature Cataloging Division, where I cataloged Iberian and Latin American monographs in the social sciences and humanities. In June 2001, I was selected to work as a reference librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room as a reference specialist in Luso-Hispanic culture. I have worked and trained staff members in the Library of Congress Rio de Janeiro Office and have taught several library-related workshops for the Library of Congress in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Puerto Rico.
In 2005-2006, I was selected as a Leadership Development Fellow and subsequently was first appointed to a supervisory position in 2008 as Head of the Hispanic Team in the former History and Literature Cataloging Division. As a result of the ABA reorganization of 2008, I was made Head of the South America Section of ALAWE (Africa, Latin America, and Western Europe Division), where I managed both cataloging and acquisitions workflows. In this position, I worked extensively with recommending officers from the Law Library. In 2015, I was appointed the Head of the Hispanic Reading Room, a role that allowed me to collaborate firsthand with researchers and scholars and better understand the needs of our users.
How would you describe your job to other people?
For the layperson, I would tell them I manage inventories, keep correct records of books, and document the inventory of other materials or collections of the Law Library of Congress. For a trained professional librarian, I would say I manage the daily operations of a law cataloging section, where I supervise eight librarians and two technicians and assist them with a highly complex workflow.
Why did you want to work at the Law Library of Congress?
At the Library of Congress, I have experience working in several areas of librarianship in the academic fields of the humanities and social sciences; cataloging, acquisitions, reference, and collection development, as well as serving as a supervisor and manager of these areas. However, I always thought to be a successful law cataloger, I would require extensive knowledge of law as it has always been a very specialized and competitive field of study. Therefore I wanted to challenge myself and learn a new area of knowledge. Also, the Law [Cataloging] Section consists of a multi-lingual talented team of individuals from diverse backgrounds, which I feel fits perfectly with my professional and educational background. It is a privilege to provide support and access to the world’s largest law library, containing 2.9 million items.
What is the most interesting/important fact you have learned about the Law Library of Congress?
Last week I took a tour of the Law Library of Congress Reading Room with an intern I am mentoring. I was amazed to learn that the Law Library reference collection makes up only 1 % of the total 2.9 million items. This fact alone made me aware of the magnitude, breadth, and comprehensiveness of the Law Library’s collection, and how fortunate we are as Library of Congress employees to have a vast array of information at our fingertips.
What’s something most of your co-workers do not know about you?
When I was in high school, I took the National Spanish Exam and won a nationally recognized prize in Spanish literacy called Premio de Oro/Gold Medal. I scored above the 95th percentile.
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Comments
You have outstanding credentials and impressive background!