My Job: Lara Szypszak

Lara Szypszak is a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division.

Tell us about your background.

I was born in Concord, New Hampshire, and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when I was 15. Both locations had a major impact on me, so I have a little bit of an identity crisis when I hear either a Southern drawl or a New England accent.

I completed my undergraduate and first graduate degrees at UNC Chapel Hill, where I studied history and Slavic languages and literatures, specializing in Polish language and literature.

This subject area brought about some really cool opportunities, including working at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Poland, and serving as a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

I didn’t picture myself becoming a librarian, but looking back, I should have seen the signs. My first job was working the circulation desk at the UNC’s Music Library, which was a nice fit since I had trained as a classical violinist from a very young age.

What brought you to the Library, and what do you do?

When I finished graduate school, I took a break and lived in Poland while applying for jobs. That’s when the Library somehow called me for an interview. Well, sort of … I didn’t have international phone access at the time, so I’m grateful the head of the Prints and Photographs Reading Room tracked me down (I clearly remember receiving her email on a night bus to Gdansk).

I started as a reference technician in P&P in 2015. Since then, I have held details in the Music Division’s Concert Office and as an acting supervisor in the Digital Scan Center as a part of the Leadership Development Program.

While working at the Library, I also earned my master’s degree in library and information science remotely from the University of South Carolina.

I’ve been in the Manuscript Division as a reference librarian since 2018, where I wear many hats. But my primary role is to serve patrons in person and remotely. I also serve as the division’s webmaster, lead orientations and tours and carry out many “other duties as assigned.”

It never gets old walking through the stacks and seeing such big names on the shelves. We sometimes joke that the boxes talk to each other at night: “What must Margaret Mead be saying to ole’ Harold Ickes?”

What are some of your standout projects?

I’m approaching 10 years at the Library, so there are many projects I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of.

Lately, I’ve been excited by the work I’ve been doing with reading room webpage migrations. Not only am I soaking up all the new technical skills, but I’m also being challenged to articulate the work we do with collections and the public in a way that enables designers and digital specialists to translate that information into a product that serves our users well.

I find the work particularly engaging when it crosses service unit borders and I get a chance to interface with and learn from folks in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Digital Collections Management and Services Division and other reading rooms.

On a different note, I have had an absolute blast over the years serving as a talent and author escort for the Gershwin Prize concert and the National Book Festival. Not only do I have some wild stories about some of our most beloved celebrities, but I’ve also come away from those experiences with phenomenal friends.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I’ve recently been cultivating my “mountain lady” persona. My partner bought an 1855 cabin on the side of a mountain along the Potomac River, and we get a lot of pleasure in cultivating our garden, tinkering in the workshop/barn and sitting on the back porch with our “Tennessee cattle mutt” (we made that up) named Finn, looking out at the Appalachian Mountains.

What is something your co-workers may not know about you?

That’s a tough one since I’m not exactly known for keeping things to myself. … But I definitely love to travel. I’ve visited 18 countries so far and have no plans of stopping there!

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