At AALL’s 2021 Virtual Conference in July, PLI raffled off a one-year membership to MasterClass. This year’s winner is Annie Mellott, acquisitions librarian at William M. Rains Library at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Annie graciously agreed to be interviewed about her career in law librarianship for this blog.

Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you become a librarian?
I’ve always been drawn to learning and education throughout my own studies. While getting my MA in Religious Studies, I started working in the library. I realized it was a perfect fit for me career wise because it allowed me to be in an educational environment while helping the community of students, faculty, and staff during their own research projects.

What do you like most about your job as acquisitions librarian at Loyola Law School?
I love working in the background of the library to provide everyone with what they need. It feels really useful to be able to make information accessible to our patrons so that they have the smoothest experience possible while at Loyola Law School.

Which PLI publication do you most frequently recommend to students and/or faculty?
Honestly, I don’t do much recommending as an acquisitions librarian! We have the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic here and make sure to keep Fragomen on Immigration Fundamentals on standing order so it’s always available for their reference.

What did you think of this year’s conference? What was the highlight for you?
I thought this year’s conference went really well. I’m impressed with the online format working pretty seamlessly and loved the pre-recorded sessions and transcripts that I could revisit. It was also fun visiting the vendors in a safe way this year. I do miss the social and networking opportunities an in person conference allows us, but I’m glad we could convene safely.