Nov. 21 — Over the summer, two longtime librarians—Rachel Beckwith and Suzanne Karanakis—departed Hampshire College. Beckwith, who had worked at Hampshire for 17 years, and Karanakis, who had been with the college for 21 years, were honored on May 15 during a send-off gathering in the library. Beckwith has joined Harvard and Karanakis is continuing her career at UMass Amherst.
By the start of the fall semester, Hampshire welcomed two new librarians: Samantha Quiñon Snair and Andy Neuman. Leapfrog sat down with the new additions to the library team.
On August 11, Snair began her role as the director of the Harold F Johnson Library. She brought with her a wealth of experience in research, instruction and management at collegiate institutions like Lesley College and the Harvard Kennedy School.
She expressed excitement about her new role and referenced Hampshire’s emphasis on creative experimentation, accessibility and combatting oppressive power structures as reasons for her enthusiasm. After approximately two months as director, Snair specifically pointed to the students as the salient reason she sees Hampshire as a special place. She remarked, “The students here are… so passionate, so driven; the questions that they ask are so amazing. And it’s just really a privilege to be able to engage in that kind of thinking with them.” Snair was also eager to develop plans for the future of the library, but emphasized the necessity of gauging the needs of the campus first.
In late July, Andy Neuman joined the library staff as the Access Services Coordinator. Previously, she served as a User Services Associate within a larger department at Smith College. Because of the smaller staff at Hampshire she appreciates her newfound ability to seek input from student workers and the larger community in order to pursue creative ways to enhance the library.
In addition to hiring Snair and Neuman, Hampshire also welcomed Carrie Evans, an Outreach and Research Instruction Librarian, to its library staff. Prior to joining the library team in early November, Evans engaged in a diverse array of experiences including working at Hampshire in a different capacity several years ago. She told Leapfrog that “I love Hampshire, so I’m really, really happy to be back.” Evans expects her role in the library to be concentrated around helping Division III students navigate the research process and making the library’s resources as accessible as possible.
Leapfrog also spoke with Lorenzo Conte—Hampshire’s Gallery Director—about the recent change of staff. He commented, “turnover is not easy. But this…library is a team that’s incredibly…close and is incredibly collaborative. And that spirit is continuing strong.”
REVIEWED BY: Blaise Paine, Alexis Espinoza, Phe O’Leary
