The Inclusive Excellence Podcast: A Librarian’s Lens on Today’s Library (A Conversation with Elaine Westbrooks, Cornell University Librarian)

From Cornell University:

In this episode of the Inclusive Excellence Podcast, Erin Sember-Chase and Toral Patel sit down with the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell for a conversation about the critical role that libraries play in preserving the past, especially when it comes to censorship, the rise of banned books and this year’s theme – freedom of expression.

Elaine Westbrooks first arrived at Cornell in 2000. Fresh out of library school, she secured a position at Mann Library as a metadata librarian for six and a half years before leaving Ithaca to pursue experiences at other universities. After working at the University of Nebraska, the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Westbrooks found herself back at Cornell, this time as the university librarian and chief academic and administration officer of the library and press.

Cornell University’s Inclusive Excellence Podcast · Episode 74: A Librarian’s Lens on Today’s Library

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“Free expression is a fundamental core belief that is critical to libraries,” Westbrooks said. “The library has a responsibility to collect and show all the complexities of humanity and all the complexities of our historical record. That is something that I think all libraries take seriously, and I certainly take it seriously as the university librarian.”

Westbrooks also shares how the library is committed to the academic success and life-long learning of Cornellians and how she ensures that libraries across campus are accessible and inclusive spaces.

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