ACC Staff Spotlight: Courtney Johnston
It's time to get to know another member of our amazing puma community! Courtney Johnston is the Director of the Library & Learning Commons at ACC and Moves Mountains to help our students achieve their goals. She also helps ACC keep moving toward the future while remembering our past. Let's learn a little more about Courtney!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
This is always a hard question!
I was born and raised in Littleton and for the longest time I wanted to be an archeologist. As I grew up, I ended up settling on wanting to be a pediatrician, and for years I thought that was my path. That changed pretty quickly once I got to college. Within the first month I switched back to History and Archeology, ending up right where my 6-year-old self wanted to be!
I graduated with a BA in History with a minor in Classical Studies, specializing in the Ancient Near East. I was one credit away from an archeology degree but didn't want to stay a full extra year for that one credit. Then I immediately went for my MLIS with a concentration in Archives - which I tell myself is a little like archeology, but with very old documents instead of clay pots and artifacts.
I really love what I do but outside of work I read a lot, love to do crafty things, love working on my house (most of the time), buy a lot of art, play tennis and golf, and spend a ridiculous amount of time cuddling with my cat and my dog.
What is your job at ACC?
Director of the Library & Learning Commons
What do you do at ACC (explain your role)?
My role changes from day to day! The best part of my days are when I get to help with research questions. Students are often so passionate about the topics they are researching for class or just because they are interested and I usually learn a lot alongside them.
I also teach information literacy sessions, collaborate with faculty on different projects, try and keep the archives in order, attend committee meetings, work with CCCS to manage our online database collection and do collection development, manage the library and tutoring teams, and so much more!
The Director role is new to me and I am excited to see how each day will change for me in the future.
How long have you been at ACC?
8 years
Are you a part of any clubs / organizations / committees at ACC or outside of ACC? What are they and why did you choose them?
Outside of ACC I am also a part of:
- the Western Interior Paleontological Society,
- the Colorado Archaeological Society,
- the Denver Egyptian Study Society,
- the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association,
- as well as a few other library and archives associations (ALA, ACRL, SRMA, SAA).
I just love being part of the history/humanities associations. Plus I am always astounded by citizen science and the passion people have for their interests. I learn something new every meeting I am able to attend.
Why did you choose ACC?
I was working for Jefferson County Public Library while I was getting my Masters in Library & Information Science. Pretty quickly I knew that I wanted to transition to academic libraries and archive work.
A graduate assistant posting at ACC popped up a month after I started my degree. I was lucky enough to be hired and lucky enough that a full-time position opened up just as I completed my degree. I loved working for ACC, especially since this is the community I grew up in, and was so excited for the opportunity to stay.
What is your mountain (ultimate goal)?
My ultimate goal is to ensure the library stays a place where students, faculty and staff at ACC feel welcomed and at-ease. I truly believe in the mission of a library to be a community centered space where everyone who enters our doors is greeted with a smile, everything is free, no question goes unanswered and where our patrons have access to all the information they need.
What's your favorite ACC memory so far?
There is always one core memory that starts at the end of my first semester at ACC when I was a graduate student and still learning how to be a librarian. My boss, Lisa (the previous Associate Dean) and Lisa Blake (one of the librarians at the time), were standing at the front desk and both turned to look at me as I turned the corner. Lisa (my boss) said "Courtney!" in a tone of voice I had never heard and I was certain I did something wrong and I was in trouble.
Instead she told me that a student had come into her office crying and telling her how grateful she was because I had been helping her all semester and she got a B in her history class. She was an adult student who had a really tough life and upbringing. She had never thought she would make to college, let alone succeed in her classes.
I was stunned and so proud of her. That was the moment I truly conceptualized that what we do here at ACC matters - and that sometimes, the smallest interactions that we have on a day to day basis in the library can mean a world of difference to someone.
I cherish that memory and think of that student often.
Tell us a fun fact about you / Something people may be surprised to find out about you.
I LOVE paleontology. Jurassic Park had a profound effect on me as it did many children. But as I grew up I really fell in love with it because I believe it is the perfect "gateway" discipline. Studying paleontology means you have to study and have a working knowledge of:
- geology
- evolution
- biology
- morphology
- chemistry
- physics and biomechanics
- archaeological practices
- history (look up the Bone Wars!)
- linguistics and entomology
- art (paleoart is AMAZING)
I love interdisciplinary work and think it is so so important. Paleontology is a prime example of that.
Plus dinosaurs are just cool.
Top 5 Fiction Books (this was very very hard for me!)
- The Ninth House
- House in the Cerulean Sea
- Lord of the Rings
- Shadow of the Wind
- Gideon the Ninth
What is your advice to future and current students at ACC?
Ask for help! It can be hard and scary but that is the one skill that I hope students leave ACC with. There is a whole team dedicated to student success - Advisors, the Dean of Students, Tutoring, the Library (of course!) and so many more of us on campus. We all care. Education is a journey - it's not one you have to undertake alone.
Do you know a student, staff member, faculty member, instructor, or alumni that you would like to nominate for an ACC Spotlight? jessica [dot] horning [at] arapahoe [dot] edu (Let us know!) Or if you would like to be spotlighted on the ACC blog, complete our Spotlight form.