Kristin Hronek Acquires the Resources You Need for Teaching, Learning, and Research
Meet this month’s featured staff member, library acquisitions supervisor Kristin Hronek. Kristin joined the Pepperdine Libraries team at the end of the 2022 spring term, coming from her alma mater CSU Channel Islands where she worked in the Registrar's Office for more than a decade as an academic records evaluation specialist. At CSUCI, she helped students navigate graduation requirements, evaluated transfer coursework, and advised military-connected students on their federal education benefits. Kristin also holds an MLIS degree from San Jose State University, and when we chatted for this interview, she explained she chose Pepperdine to both continue her work in higher education but also pivot to a career in librarianship.
Jeff Bowen: What are your responsibilities here at Pepperdine Libraries?
Kristin Hronek: As the library acquisitions supervisor, I purchase Pepperdine Libraries resources for our community to use in their teaching, learning, and research. This includes a variety of items like print books, ebooks, videos, periodicals, databases, and journals. To do this, I work closely with our subject liaison librarians to identify important resources that support our learning community. My work also includes a lot of the necessary aspects that come along with purchasing, on the accounting side, which might seem less glamorous, but my organizational brain thrives. I also supervise a small and mighty team of technical services student employees that are essential in our work. They process and shelve 99% of the books you see in Payson as part of their job responsibilities.
JB: What's the best part about working at Pepperdine?
KH: My favorite part about working at Pepperdine is the students. It still surprises me how everyone seems to know each other, especially when I'm walking around Payson. The environment and community bring positivity into my day-to-day work.
JB: What's something you do in your job that at the beginning you didn't anticipate doing?
KH: In collaboration with our Special Collections team, I have been able to purchase some really interesting pieces. Oftentimes, they come to me first before I hand the objects off to our special collections librarians, and it's always fun to chat with them about the significance of the pieces. I am particularly drawn to our collection of miniature books, currently on display in the Boone Special Collections wing at Payson.
JB: How would you describe the entire tech services team?
KH: This question reminds me of a site that was recently shared with me titled “Unseen Labor.” It really spoke to my artist and librarianship heart. We perform essential work to make sure resources are easily accessible and discoverable by the University community. And if we're doing our work well, an everyday user might not know about us.
JB: What’s the most interesting thing that's happened to you while working?
KH: Off the top of my head, the recent eclipse was fun! It was cool to see everyone come together to experience a unique event. We shared glasses and had a nice moment of pause, togetherness, and science.
JB: Thanks for sitting down and chatting with me today.
KH: My pleasure.