Roxane Pickens
Community Engagement Librarian and Head of External Engagement, Division of Libraries
Current research focus
The practices inside library and archival work can be powerfully inspirational for community building, and “practice” is the operative word here. I am interested in the iterative, sustaining ways that libraries and archives, along with the people who create and maintain them, build meaningful relationships and create space for transformative experiences that lead to new knowledge and insights. I’m particularly interested in the intersections of this work with social justice and efforts of equity and inclusion, as well as expressions of contemplation and creativity.
One collaborative project with colleagues at NYU Libraries links our library and information science (LIS) mentorship program with the Manifold open source publishing platform to help us learn: (1) how to bring LIS graduate students into conversations bridging the information landscape and the humanities, and (2) how novel open source technologies can be incorporated in library outreach and engagement. These projects and others help us discover how libraries can be in meaningful relationships with their communities in the service of increasing knowledge and understanding, as well as cultural creation, preservation, and exchange.
On being part of the ‘Centering Underrepresented Voices’ faculty cluster
It has been gratifying to be part of the “Centering Underrepresented Voices: Anti-Racist Practices in Libraries and Archives” cohort at the Division of Libraries. I’m not sure there’s any other academic library where there’s been such intentional and deep commitment to collecting and sharing information that is so open to all, especially those who have been marginalized or historically excluded from these contexts. And to do this work in community with colleagues from related cohorts like the “Transformative Humanities for All” and “Building STEM for the Public Good” has been a particularly rich experience. With the Libraries support and encouragement, I am growing as a scholarly librarian with peers who excel at balancing strong and complex research with a praxis of care for the common good.
Roxane at University of Wisconsin–Madison’s July 2024 “Play Make Learn” conference, facilitating the workshop “How to Craft Witness: Participatory Art Projects for Learning and Social Impact.”
On making the library and the classroom experience more interconnected
For me, encouraging interconnections in library exhibitions, special events, and other outreach activities is a grounded practice that involves giving participants time and space for listening and sharing. I also work to help provide resources for faculty, students, and communities to expand their understanding, spark their creativity, and engage in dialogue with themselves and others whenever possible. My goal is always to help create spaces of community-based learning at NYU Libraries so that everyone feels that they belong, are heard, and can share their creativity with encouragement and support.
A living or historical person I’d like to meet
I am in awe of author Toni Morrison, an artist whose writing transformed how I see the world and myself. I wish I could have been part of some group responsible for assisting or honoring her, in humble gratitude for how simultaneously grounding and uplifting her life’s work has been to me. Offering service in community to lighten her load, helping bring one of her visions to reality, or working to pay her sparkling tribute—that would be the ultimate gift.
What I’d do for work if I couldn’t work in academics
Education, teaching, and learning are such a deep part of me that if I couldn’t do that work in an academic library, I’m sure I would take those skills anywhere I would be welcomed and could share! But if I knew I could be supported in any other endeavor, I think I’d turn to a career of crafting and artwork. I think it would be lovely to have an opportunity to express myself through material culture without such a reliance on the written word. And I’d love to immerse myself in repetitive, meditative, creative practices, to make something that would help others think and feel differently.
My goal is to create spaces of community-based learning at NYU Libraries so everyone feels they belong