• Library Human Resources

• Services
• Job Openings
• Prospective Employees
• Prospective Volunteers
• Careers in Libraries

• Related Resources
• Library Administration
• Library Payroll & Personnel Services
• Diversity
• UO Human Resources

What's it Like to Work in the University of Oregon Libraries or ... Why Would I Want to Become a Duck?

Testimonials from UO Library System Staff Members

• "This is a great community for families. The Eugene school district offers many choices of alternative schools and special programs in addition to excellent neighborhood schools. In the community, kids have incredible resources for pursuing other interests: music, drama, art, sports, you name it. There are a lot of talented and creative people in town who love to work with kids! Add to that a whole range of fun stuff to do in general -- hiking, biking, Saturday Market, festivals celebrating just about anything you can imagine: mushrooms! filberts! Asian culture! kites! wildflowers! art! wine! --well, OK, that one's for me, not for the kids :-)." (--Lori Robare, Assistant Catalog Dept. Head, Catalog Librarian, 10/31/01).

• "Hi, my name is Maxim. My human moved to Eugene a few months ago to work for the UO Library. I was really upset by all this moving stuff at first, but, boy am I ever glad I'm here now. Eugene is a dog paradise! They have these great parks just for dogs that are fenced so nobody accidentally runs out into the street or anything. I meet some of my buddies at one of them several times a week and we run and run, and play and play, and get all dirty and muddy--it's great. My human really likes it (except the muddy part), because it tires me out and keeps me from being too antsy at home. And then on the weekends, sometimes my human takes me for hikes at these cool places that are just a few minutes away, like Spencer Butte and Mount Pisgah. The humans seem to think these places are really pretty or something, but they're missing out on all the fascinating smells. When I'm home, I can watch the squirrels running around in the trees in my backyard. I give Eugene 4 out of 4 woofs and a major tail wag." (--Maxim, 10/12/01).

• "The area has lots and lots of bike lanes and trails, which are great for commuting as well as entertainment and exercise on your free time. We also have quite a few good restaurants, coffee houses and brew pubs. When you need some different scenery, you can get to the coast, the mountains or Portland within a couple of hours." (--Lisa Sieracki, Information Technology Consultant, Systems Department, 10/12/01).

• "I love Eugene because of the alternative lifestyles in the hippie sense of the word. In addition, I can ride my bike to work, live in a neighborhood where streets are lined with huge maple trees, people have vegetable gardens in their front yards (including myself) and gardens are overgrown and half wild, but beautiful, all those alternative grocery stores, and all the creative people of Saturday Market. We are close to the mountains, the coast, and the high desert. The University is a hub of academia where smart people think critically about the world and listen to NPR. Many full-time Eugene residents don't care about what kind of car they drive if they even have a car at all and they don't care if their lawns are full of weeds if they have a lawn at all. Bunnies run wild in West Eugene and find their way into our backyard and nibble on our dandylion lawn." (--Liesl Vorderstrasse, Library Technician 2, Access Services, 10/11/01).

• "I love the way our staff is so full of creative minds. When there is a problem, such as a service desk complaint, a new service people want that we don't have, or a budget concern, our staff individually and collectively find ways to solve the problem. It's not that we are fraught with disaster all the time and have learned to punt out of sheer necessity; it's that we are a bunch of creative, innovative, willing people who like each other and thrive on each other's energy. I never feel like there is unhealthy competition; on the contrary, collaboration abounds. Even during hard times, like times there have been unexpected staffing shortages, people pull together in ways that people who don't work here would never have believed." (--Lara Nesselroad, Science Library Manager, 10/11/01).