Loving the Library like Laurie Lieggi
Photo by Billie Throm
Article by Lea Olivares Raudes
NEWBERG, Ore. – Laurie Lieggi has been a Murdock Library access service specialist, overseeing Interlibrary Loans (ILL), for the past 15 years. She will announce her retirement in April of this year.
Although most of her work is completed behind the front desk, Lieggi’s dedication to her craft and overwhelming love for students will leave a long lasting impression on George Fox University (GFU) and all who enter the Murdock Library.
Murdock Library offers an array of resources that the typical student may not know
about. Alongside the physical books available in person and articles accessible online, the library has access to Summit, a connection with college libraries across the northwest, as well as sources all over the country provided through Interlibrary Loans (ILL).
Through these sources, patrons are able to access books of all genres, articles, reports
for any study, physical media and kits for extensive research. Lieggi oversees ILL and has a deep passion for finding the perfect text for you.
“I love research. What I realized though is that I preferred doing the research to writing up the research,” said Lieggi. “It was really exciting for me to search out resources to get to handle them, to scan through them and pull information.”
Although Lieggi has spent most of her time at GFU with ILL, she began her career as a research librarian. Lieggi started her academic journey as a history major at Northwest Nazarene University.
Lieggi discovered her love for looking at research rather than creating and applying it. After around eight years of assistant jobs, including a dental assistant for her uncle, Lieggi found herself discovering a realm of work she never considered: the library.
“I saw that you can be anything you want as a librarian. You can take it in all kinds of directions,” said Lieggi. “So I thought I am in the best field I can possibly be in.”
After searching and guidance, GFU seemed like the perfect place for Lieggi. She began her work with ILL in 2013 when the internet was ramping up in speed, creating a shift of demand and interest within libraries.
“[Students’] needs are personal information needs. Their topics are unique to them,” said Lieggi. “We’re still meeting their needs.”
Lieggi’s love for her work and student relationships always remained consistent. As Lieggi meditated on her favorite parts of the job, everything mentioned had something to do with her connection to the peers around her.
From the daily walks with her fellow employees to an ironic story of how she got the perfect materials for a student's research project, it is clear that Lieggi has grown into a key part of the family within Murdock library.
“I’ve been known,” said Lieggi. “I felt like [GFU] was the first place I’ve ever worked where it wasn't just, ‘you have to be working all the time and you have to be proficient.’ They said ‘we support you in taking that time with students’ and they made us know that we could do that.”
As an employee, Lieggi has fastened a long successful direction for the ILL system that will flourish after she leaves. As a person, Lieggi loves others without effort. It is easy to be known when you’ve known Laurie Lieggi.
