Also, never mind that I had to write my own write-up; what was important was that although I meet people from the Friends of the Library and the library district branches, in most cases my contact with them is fleeting and in very specific, project-focused meetings that leave little time for getting to know one another more fully. The Spotlight provided a small opportunity for those who might be interested to get a better sense of my past credentials and interests both in and out of the library. It offered an additional "peek" into both professional and personal sides of my life that could be appreciated and a potential source for connecting further with whomever I may come in contact with as I help the library reach out to others.
This FOL newsletter is the last print issue to automatically be sent to recipients without special request; all others can receive electronic copies by emailing a request to folmembership@yahoo.com. Whew! I made it just in the nick of time. I'm in real print.
For the digital divide, however, here's the text as it appeared in the print edition:
Spotlight on Library Staff
Scot Sterling
Position: Graphic Designer, Headquarters Administration
Background: Joined the ACLD staff in July 2010 after volunteering part-time for 18 months at the Headquarters Library.
I've had both typical and atypical connections to libraries: joining summer reading programs as a youth, attending community performances and events as an adult, logging long hours of study and writing research papers for a bachelor degree in visual communications, then later for a professional certificate and continued medical education credits in diagnostic medical ultrasound. As a college student I worked two summers as a book binder at the University of Kansas library; years later I provided professional design services to the national library system of Singapore. Lastly--believe it or not-- my mother even works as a library communications specialist.
My career as a designer has focused on providing visual solutions for promotional marketing and editorial publishing needs. I’ve worked in many creative environments including advertising agencies, branding consultancies, public relations firms, in-house corporate communications departments, consumer and trade newspaper and magazine publishers, and as an independent freelancer.
The diversity of my work has taken me to equally diverse locations, including Kansas, Texas, New York, Florida, Singapore, and Bangkok, Thailand. While in Singapore, I served as creative director of a branding consultancy that provided design services for the National Library Board--the corporate entity that governs Singapore's entire library system. While there, I helped to define NLB's corporate and retail branding strategies, develop internal and external communications vehicles, and implement display and directional signage for the then 22-branch system which included one national library, three regional libraries, and 18 community libraries.
In my time away from the library, I share down-time with my wife, Sirima. In May 2011, we returned from Thailand where we act as stewards of the family estate. There, we renovated and expanded the family house, and prepared to plant an orchard of 420 rubber trees for future investment. Later, an additional 5,180 trees may be planted, pending acquisition of another property near our home. In time I suspect I’ll be visiting the village school library too; I just donated my old college English dictionary to it.
Well, I finally have your entire life on one page! Great information. I feel ACL is fortunate to have you on their staff. It's always nice to have someone write you up for a newsletter (even if it is you!). Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and thank god it didn't have to be any longer; I was just about to the point where I'd have to dip into "the messy stuff." =P
ReplyDelete