This interview is part of a new series introducing our graduate assistants to our online community. These are some of the people you will see when you visit our space, who will greet you with a smile and a willingness to help! Say hello to Billy Tringali!
What is your background education and work experience?
I graduated summa cum laude from Bridgewater State University with dual majors in Anthropology and English and dual minors in Gender Studies and U.S. Ethnic/Indigenous Studies. I was able to gain a lot of great research experience during my undergrad, completing over a half-dozen funded research projects and speaking at nearly a dozen regional, national, and international conferences, which really made me fall in love with research.
After I graduated, I started working for Ventress Memorial Library and the Osterville Village Library Reference and Children’s Departments.
What led you to your field?
I’ve been volunteering in libraries since I was in the 5th grade, starting with my hometown library back in my home state of Massachusetts. I actually co-founded my library’s first Teen Advisory Board.
As a Reference Assistant I was happy to serve the diverse populations of these different towns, and as a Children’s Assistant I was able to aid in managing and developing collections that met the needs of children from 1 to 17! They were amazing experiences, and why I moved out here to pursue my Master’s in Library and Information Science.
What are your research interests?
I adore instruction, especially working with undergrads! Teaching students from a wide variety of backgrounds and getting students engaged with library resources has been so rewarding. I love looking into how information is presented and taught. I’ve been lucky enough to teach in our Savvy Researcher Series, so I’ve been able to get a lot of great experience there.
I’m also very interested in scholarly communication and publishing, which I think ties in well with my interest in engagement! From open-access to copyright, libraries are on the front of line of getting students connected with research and making sure information is available to them. We have the opportunity to present information and make it accessible, which is such a powerful thing.
What are your favorite projects you’ve worked on?
Working with undergraduate research. Teaching classes on presentation and assisting with finding/pairing resources felt so rewarding. Part of my work includes helping undergraduates create and manage their own academic journals, which was such an incredible combination of working with undergraduates and publishing!
Libraries can and should be engaged spaces of connection across departments, and entire universities.
What are some of your favorite underutilized resources that you would recommend?
My work in the Scholarly Commons has also extended into collection development – so I’d say our reference collection! We keep a well-updated library of works about everything from qualitative research techniques to the digital humanities.
Stop by and check it out!
When you graduate, what would your ideal job position look like?
I’d like to continue to work in an academic library. Working for both the Main Library’s reference and instruction service and the Scholarly Commons as a specialized library has taught me that I’m most interested in positions that allow for teaching and engagement.
What is the one thing you would want people to know about your field?
Libraries are for everyone. Libraries are doing so many things that there really is something here for everyone!