Meet Lewis Savarese, HSL's New Electronic Resources Librarian

Electronic Resources Librarian Lewis Savarese

(This interview was conducted by Kimberley Barker.)

What originally drew you to your field?

Libraries and librarians have played a significant role in my life since childhood. I spent enough time in my hometown library and learned so much from librarians that a career in libraries should have been a no-brainer for me. Instead I took a circuitous path to librarianship. After a decade of customer service jobs at movie theaters, museums, and most recently the Contact Center at UVA Health, I had my eureka moment in 2019 (I was probably at a library when the lightbulb went off in my head). I applied to grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and four years later here I am!
 

How does your work relate to the Library’s mission/guiding principles?

 Our mission statement reads: “We are committed to supporting the education, research, patient care, and community service missions of the University of Virginia Health System.” As Claude Moore’s Electronic Resource Librarian, I will be an attentive steward of our electronic resources (journals, databases, etc.), making sure researchers and clinician care teams have the informational tools they need to care for our community.

What most excites you about your work here?

 I am most excited about the opportunity to familiarize myself with emerging trends/technologies in library and information sciences and how we can benefit from them here at Claude Moore.

What classes/workshops will you lead in the coming year?

Eventually, I would love to lead a 101 workshop on troubleshooting e-resource access. For now, I think I’ll be the one attending the classes/workshops to learn from my peers!

What is something you have on your "bucket list?”

 I studied film production for my undergrad, so I still have the urge to make an independent feature film that could be shown on the festival circuit.   

What is the best thing you've read/watched/listened to recently?

The Comedians by Graham Greene, Certain Women by Kelly Reichardt, Blondshell by Blondshell