Getting to Know TS Librarians: Becky Bearden

1. Introduce yourself (name & position). 
My name is Becky Bearden, and I am the Senior Serials & Metadata Librarian at the Fineman and Pappas Law Libraries at Boston University School of Law.

2. Does your job title actually describe what you do? Why/why not?
Overall, yes, but I think if any of us tried to squeeze most of our overarching duties into our title, they would be too long! I am responsible for all things serial-related, in both physical and electronic formats, but many of those responsibilities intersect or rely on collaboration with my colleagues, so we work closely to manage them as a team. The metadata aspect covers many things that are serial related, but this also includes a lot of monographic metadata. The term e-resource management may not be included in the title, but it is a large part of the role as well. 

3. What are you reading right now?
I have a fairly long commute, so I’ve taken up listening to lots of audiobooks on Overdrive. I have pretty eclectic tastes, so currently I have Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything by Aly Raisman with Blythe Lawrence, as well as A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. I am also in the middle of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling at home with my older son, and enjoy a variety of Mo Willems, Bernstein Bears, and Little Critter books with my younger son!

4. If you could work in any library (either a type of library or a specific one), what would it be? Why?
I truly believe I am right where I should be. In general, serials are what I enjoy most about working in a library, and law libraries have a ton of them! Also, this position and institution are still new to me, as I joined BU this past July, and I am really enjoying learning new things, stretching my skills, and using my past experiences in my current role. 

5. You suddenly have a free day at work, what project would you work on?
I’m itching to set up prediction patterns here, since that is something I have been cheerleading since the implementation of ExLIbris’ Alma at my previous institution. This functionality was not available when BU went live in 2012, so they’ve been using the normal receiving functionality for serials receipt.