Hammill, Sarah J

Positions
CV
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Library Research Guides
YouTube Videos

biography

  • Academic librarianship is about engaging students and faculty and building partnerships to transform the library into a vibrant 3rd place for learning and community. My library practice, service, leadership, and scholarship all lead back to these fundamental principles.

    Practice – Cultivating a Welcoming Place while Instilling Critical Thinking Skills
    As a reference librarian, I work closely with students and faculty providing support to help them succeed in their academic pursuits. My primary goal is to empower students to think critically about the information they encounter. My official title is the Business & Online Learning Librarian, but I also serve as the library liaison to psychology, economics, sociology, and anthropology.

    I instruct many of the libraries’ information literacy classes, most are single class sessions. In them, I present the library as a welcoming space and teach students to evaluate sources, which is critical in this era with rampant misinformation. I am also a co-instructor for the Fundamentals of Information Literacy micro-credential, which aims to create lifelong learners who can evaluate information and think critically.
    In addition to teaching information literacy, I answer reference questions via chat, text message, email, phone, and Zoom. Questions vary from guiding a business student through market research to helping a faculty member find journal citation rankings. My goal is always the same, to assist at the point of need.

    My daily practice also includes creating and updating LibGuides (library guides), recording YouTube videos, assisting faculty with library assignments, and selecting materials in my liaison areas. As the Healthcare MBA Write-to-Learn Coach, I teach MBA students how to find and evaluate information, properly cite materials, and be strategic in their search for information.

    I believe the impact of my work is evident not only in statistics but also in qualitative outcomes. For example, I begin every instruction session by welcoming students to "the Best Place on Campus" and introducing myself as having "the Best Job in the World." This often elicits laughter or eye-rolls, but occasionally, students reach out to me. Currently, a library intern has plans to study Library Science at the University of Illinois. My talk in his class is the reason he decided to pursue this track. The impact librarians have on students isn't easily measured by numbers, but often, a single interaction can become a turning point in their academic journey.

    Service: Impactful Community Engagement
    What I tell students is true: I have the best job in the world and that is because I am able to combine my love for librarianship with my passion for community engagement. I am fortunate to blend my role as the Business & Online Learning Librarian with the opportunity to organize, plan, and execute three marquee library events: FIU Language Day, the Library Fair for Students, and the Library Fair for Faculty. These events provide key opportunities to highlight the library as more than just a repository of books and show that it's a vibrant, dynamic hub that encourages learning, collaboration, and community.

    FIU Language Day is a collaborative event with faculty, staff, and students across the university. With 330+ students attending each year, this event provides opportunities for language learners to converse, attend pop-up speaker sessions, and participate in karaoke, all while interacting with various language and culture clubs at FIU. The purpose of this event is to create a space where students, faculty, staff, and community practice their language skills in a non-threatening environment.

    The Library Fairs play an essential role in both student and faculty service. The Student Fair provides an opportunity for students to discover the full range of library services, from research databases to cutting edge technology and unique items such as the Diaz Ayala Music Collection. The Faculty Fair serves as a venue for faculty to explore ways the library can enhance their teaching and research. These events highlight the library’s commitment to service excellence, offering a platform for relationship building and underscoring the library as the 3rd place.

    Leadership – Making a Meaningful Impact
    I have embraced various leadership roles. Most recently they include being elected Treasurer of the Florida Association of College and Research Libraries (FACRL), where I manage the association’s budget and am fiscally accountable to members serving as Chair of the Florida Library Association’s Fundraising Committee, both associations are being hit by membership loss and decreased conference attendance.
    Both of these leadership positions tie directly to my previous service on the ALA Committee on Legislation which centered on building relationships with elected officials in order to increase library funding. In my role as a National Network Advocate, I had regular contact with our representatives. Although most Florida members of Congress were not advocates for library funding, I built a cordial relationship with staffers. During this time, ALA was successful in getting the House and Senate to approve $252 million for the Institute for Museum & Library Services (IMLS), a $10 million increase for an agency originally marked for elimination. This experience continues to inform my advocacy efforts.

    Other leadership roles include serving on the ALA Business Reference and Services Section and at the local level, I serve as the Secretary of the Undergraduate Council of Faculty Senate, ensuring that there are sufficient library resources for all new majors and academic programs as well as maintaining a historical record of the committee’s work. Finally, I served as Chair of the Promotion Committee, possibly the most important committee of the Library Assembly. Prior to serving as chair, I mentored so they could hone and develop leadership skills.

    Through my practice, service, leadership, and scholarship, I aim to promote community, engage students, and empower learning. My work reflects my commitment to creating the library as the 3rd place—a space that is not only a resource but also a vibrant hub for collaboration, learning, and community building. Whether it's through teaching critical thinking, organizing events, advocating for library funding, or conducting research, my goal remains the same: to engage students and faculty in meaningful ways that enrich their academic experience and solidify the library’s role as an essential part of the campus community.

research interests

  • Scholarship – Three Themes
    In the last five years, my scholarship has centered around three themes: wellbeing in the library, building community and partnerships, and creating ways to engage students. Recently, I am focused on AI and information literacy and co-published a chapter, “AI A’ La Carte: Finding ways to incorporate AI Literacy into Instruction with an Information Literacy Micro-credential”.

    With the tumultuous political environment for library workers, the theme of wellbeing is a natural way to combine my outside interests and training to cultivate connections. At FIU, I facilitate stress-relief sessions, including chair yoga, meditation, and laughter yoga, to encourage community and boost well-being. I have presented on this at state, national, and international conferences, discussing topics like integrating science-based practices into library services and library burnout. Two upcoming presentations are “Joyful Environments” and “Overdue for Fun: Mindfulness, Breathing, and Laughter”. Other presentations include: “Navigating the New Normal: Integrating Science-Based Practices into Library Services”; “Is Laughter the Best Medicine?”; and “Zoomed Out? How Burnout was Associated with Affect, Personality, and Job Satisfaction Among Library Employees.”

    Building community and creating partnerships has been central to my work. Partnerships and engaging with students are fundamental to librarianship. Without partnerships, the library is a warehouse of books. If librarians don't connect with students, we risk being seen as unapproachable and aloof. The chapter “Bring Your Campus Together with a Taste of Languages” discusses how language events can foster campus connections. I also focus on engaging students through creative programming. My work in this area is highlighted by various presentations, including "Participant Recruitment in the New Hybrid Era of Library Research"; "Zooming into Breakout Rooms for Library Instruction”; “Student Engagement is FUNdamental to Academic Success”; and “Bringing Together Divergent Voices”.

selected scholarly works & creative activities

full name

  • Sarah Hammill

visualizations

publication subject areas

Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in