UNLV welcomes sustainability librarian

February 4, 2010 by Victoria Gonzalez 

Lied Library’s new staff member helps bookshelves and databases get a little bit greener

Meet Marianne Buehler, the new urban sustainability librarian at UNLV’s Lied Library. She is excited to be a part of the university and is looking for suggestions as to what materials to add to the sustainability collection at the library.\

The Rebel Yell: Why did you take this position?

Marianne Buehler: I was excited to see an urban sustainability librarian position available in the job market for educational and personal reasons. It encompasses my professional interests in scholarly communication, collection development, populating an institutional repository, research assistance and working with administrators, faculty, staff and students in the Urban Sustainability Initiative. UNLV amazes me in its overall level of commitment and collaboration.

On a personal level, I have a passion for sustainable practices, as they are essential to the well being of our world and peoples.

RY: What do you do as the sustainability librarian?

MB: One of my focuses is sustainability collection development, which is increasingly interdisciplinary, as is archiving local, state and federal government documents.

Also important is building content in the IR to showcase UNLV’s research and publications, open-access journals, conferences, graduate student scholarship and USI’s endeavors. Educating students and faculty on retaining author rights, open access publishing, creative commons licensing and other copyright topics is another scholarly communication opportunity to collaborate in all disciplines.

RY: What is sustainability print?

MB: Sustainability encompasses managing our planet’s resources with good stewardship practices now and for future generations. It can be applied to most any facet of life activity. The scope is huge.

RY: What kind of materials are you looking to order with the budget you were given?

MB: To satisfy sustainability research needs, I can order e-books that would be available via the UNLV Libraries’ licensed databases or print books. All liaison librarians also purchase books in this wide-ranging subject area.

RY: How should people go about suggesting material of what they want to see?

MB: First, check the libraries’ catalog, library.unlv.edu, to see if we already own the book. If not, please e-mail marianne.buehler@unlv.edu, call (702) 895-2248 or stop by my office in the Lied Library.

RY: What is the deadline for students to contact you with ideas?

MB: There are no deadlines. Just keep suggesting books. It is a burgeoning field of interest.

RY: What do you think about your position in general?

MB: It is fabulous to be part of a university where people are committed to sustainability in all of its manifestations. I am enjoying the interdisciplinary breadth of faculty and students that I am working with.