Spotlight: Rich Jutkiewicz

Tell us about you and your role at your library.

I am a second-career librarian. I spent my first 30 years out of college working in various business development roles for companies such as Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, and UPS back when companies spent enormous amounts of money training sales professionals.

While I was enjoying my final sales role in International Supply Chain and Logistics with UPS, I made a decision that I would fulfill my life goal of becoming an educator, but to do so, I would need to return to school. My wife planted the seed by telling me she thought I’d make a good college librarian because I had matching traits of inquisition, curiosity, and a love of teaching that she has seen in some of the academic librarians at The College of NJ where she had been employed for 10+ years. I began the MLIS-Digital Library program at Rutgers, while working full-time in logistics and keeping the MLIS a secret, so they wouldn’t hold it against me if I failed to meet my quota objectives.

As I neared completion of the MLIS, I had the opportunity to become the oldest intern in the history of interns, when The University of Pennsylvania hired me as a Business Reference intern at the Lippincott Library for the Wharton School. From there, I found a full-time opportunity as an Outreach librarian for a public library in Trenton, NJ. I worked there almost three years when I had the opportunity to interview for the head librarian at Manor College in July of 2019.

My current role as director is multi-faceted, exciting, and challenging due to the many hats I am required to wear. I joke with our staff that most libraries have different librarians for electronic resources, collections, instruction, reference, archives, etc…yet I get to do it all.

I really love challenging our students to learn how to find, evaluate, and process information they need to use in their daily lives as students, family members, and ultimately 21st century workers.

What is an upcoming or recent accomplishment or project that you’re excited about?

We are very excited by a recent donation of material to our library. A Ukrainian family just donated 400 boxes of archival materials, along with 20 filing cabinets of material related to the diaspora of 20th century Ukrainian immigrants who left their homeland to start a new life in the US. Our challenge will be trying to figure out how to make the best use of this information by digitizing, displaying, or partnering with other Ukrainian museums or institutions.

What important news or projects are happening in your library? + What is a favorite activity or place to spend time when not at work?

Another project that I started at Manor can also answer the questions of one thing I can’t live without along with my favorite activity: homesteading and chickens. President Peri was kind enough to allow me and several other faculty and staff members to break ground this summer by starting a garden at Manor College. This will allow us to educate the students and Manor community about sustainability, food security, and ecology while also paying homage to the Ukrainian people who enjoyed independence and farming prior to the Holodomor. Combine that knowledge with some of the great urban farms throughout Philadelphia (including Bryn Athyn and Holy Redeemer) and I know this type of education is essential to all our students but particularly, the many first-generation college students at Manor College.