Member Interview: Eric Schwarz

Eric Schwarz joined SLA shortly after beginning his MLIS studies at Rutgers University in February 2005. At the same time he joined the GLBT issues caucus, and in 2007 and 2008 volunteered to be a co-convener working with Chris Mulready and Chris Vestal in running the caucus and planning events. In 2009 he was selected as one of five winners of the Diversity Leadership Development Program Award for "up and coming information professionals." 

His first library job was as a student assistant at the Kilmer Area Library at Rutgers (from 1989-92). He recalls that twenty years ago most research that he and other students did involved books and indexes. There were a few CD-ROMs available with full text and images from periodicals creeping into the university at that time. Now he imagines there are many students who either never need to consult printed materials for their research - or try very hard not to do so. In fact, one of his library school colleagues confessed that she had never had to borrow a book during her studies.  

Eric currently works full-time job is as a Customer Service Executive for Dow Jones, helping customers with research and account questions for Factiva and Newswires databases. He also works part-time on alternate weekends (except in the summer) as a reference librarian at Clarence Dillon Public Library in Bedminster, NJ. 

Where are you from and where are you currently located? 

I grew up at the Jersey Shore, in the small city of Brigantine. (You'll love that island for life, but you might need to leave for excitement.) I've lived in Somerville, a county seat north of New Brunswick and Princeton, for 10 years.

Tell us about your Partner/Family?

I've been with my wonderful boyfriend, Seth Bookey, for seven years. Seth has a great sense of adventure, has brought me closer to my family and his, and supports me in everything I do. Seth is also a librarian and active with the GLBT Issues Caucus.

What has SLA meant to you/how has it helped in your career?

I've met a lot of smart, caring people through SLA, and I've had the opportunity to plan, lead and facilitate connections within the information professional community. The connections and confidence I've gained from SLA have given me insight into how and why people seek and use information.

What do you consider the biggest issues facing librarians/libraries today, and if applicable, their impact on GLBT communities?

The biggest issue we face is proving and reproving our value. If people think of libraries and information centers as expendable, eventually they become expendable. In the world of business and specialized information centers, the term library is thought of as positive but antiquated. That's why it's important that SLA members seriously consider the results of the association's Alignment Project, which is meant to position ourselves and our profession in terms and actions that are meaningful to our clients and partners. That just might mean jettisoning the term "libraries" in our name. The impact of this issue cuts across all demographics. However we and the rest of the world envision the information profession, it's always important to remain sensitive to diverse populations including GLBT communities. One of SLA's strengths is our global constituency, and that's why Stephen Abram cringes when people refer to the association as "national" and why Gloria Zamora traveled to the Arabian Gulf Chapter. SLA of course was founded as a U.S. organization but is much stronger because it's global -- with the irony that the term "special libraries" is understood even less outside the United States.

What do you consider the biggest issues facing the GLBT community today (challenges and/or victories)?

The biggest challenges and victories in gay and lesbian America lately have involved relationship equality (of course, this is almost a non-issue in Canada and much of Europe). Three states in the United States now fully recognize same-sex marriages, three other states are imminent, and there are protections in some other states. (HRC.org has a succinct summary.) All of these state victories have happened in the past few years. But the biggest challenge is the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The act is very important because many benefits of marriage are federal, not state. However, gay-rights advocates are forced to attack the issue state by state because Congress and President Obama are unwilling to expend their political capital on the issue.

Any other interesting facts you’d like to share about yourself?

As a teenager, I would hang out at the Atlantic County Library in Brigantine, shelving and stamping books and watching the library staff cataloguing and searching for materials, and probably one of the few kids on the island who knew that a zebra code was a bar code, and that APATIDs were codes for patrons or items. For example, Rebecca Flanders' The Key would have an APATID of FLAKEY* (first three letters of the creator's last name followed by the first letter of the first four words in the title, or if fewer than four words in the title, then filled out up to four in the final word of the title). There was also a number after the APATID to disambiguate duplicates. "FLAKEY*" was featured as a humorous item in the library staff newsletter.