We're a generous profession. Librarians want to help others succeed.

Rachael Clark is a collections strategy and assessment librarian at Wayne State University and an adjunct instructor and liaison for its School of Information Sciences.  

Clark grew up with artist parents, surrounded by antiques and an interest in design, and after earning an undergraduate degree in English literature, she considered her next steps. A self-proclaimed “lifelong student,” Clark went back to school for a second bachelor’s in art history while working for Materials Unlimited, an antiques, restoration and salvaging business.

“Architectural design made a lot of sense to me. It combines expression, function, feeling and aesthetics,” Clark said. “I’m very artistic, but also have a more scientific approach to the mechanics of how things work. I’m lucky to have a balance of both in my brain.”

After more than two decades of a successful career as an architectural design consultant and general manager, Clark, once again, headed back to school. “I’ve always liked school and I started to think about why I liked school. It came down to the fact that I love research and information,” she said.

A transition from interior design and management to librarianship may seem unexpected to some, but to Clark the shift made perfect sense.

“I didn’t understand at the time what it meant to be a librarian, but there are some fundamental traits that librarians tend to have regardless of the area of librarianship they work in. In my interior design work, I helped people find solutions for their homes and what resources we had that fit their needs,” she said. “Finding solutions is at the core of what librarians do. And the work I did as general manager – hiring, scheduling, advertising, product ordering, business analytics, acquiring resources –are also skills librarians use on a daily basis.”

Clark received a master of library and information science (MLIS) in 2009 and began her new career as a reference and archives librarian at Eastern Michigan University before joining Wayne State as a special projects librarian in 2011.

In her current role as a collections strategy and assessment librarian for the WSU Library System, Clark puts the analytical part of her brain to work, considering circulation data and usage reports to help the university make good investments when it comes to acquiring books and e-resources for the campus community. “I’m not a mathematician or statistician, but I’ve learned to appreciate the creativity I bring to the numbers,” said Clark. “I get a more three-dimensional idea of what the data represents, what the needs are and how we’re meeting them. It’s a process of continuous improvement.”

As the librarian liaison to the School of Information Sciences, Clark keeps a close eye on rapidly changing trends to be sure the school has the resources needed to serve students. The project for which she is perhaps most proud is the School of Information Sciences’ Textbook Initiative. By leveraging funding from the Rose Carp Endowment and the Betty Champoux Borgman and Henry P. Borgman Memorial Book Fund, Clark carefully curates and purchases required readings for courses, providing students with free access to digital resources. This initiative not only eases the financial strain on students but also highlights the impact libraries can have in making information accessible. The project has saved students approximately $137,000 in less than two years.

“Libraries have an important role to play in making information available to people at no cost,” said Wayne State University Library System Interim Dean Tom Walker. “Initiatives like these can make a major difference in the lives of our students and we’re incredibly grateful for Rachael’s hard work.”  

As an MLIS student, Clark completed an internship at the Ringling Museum of Art in Florida and a practicum experience at Eastern Michigan University’s Halle Library. Early in her degree, Clark imagined that she would pursue a career as an art librarian in a museum, but it was during her practicum that she realized that academic librarianship was where she was meant to be. “It opened my eyes that the job was the culmination of all my interests and allowed me to give back in a way that was meaningful,” she said.

Clark said that one of her favorite parts of the job is having the opportunity to work with students, empowering them to develop their professional identities and build their skills and experience. “We’re a generous profession. Librarians want to help others succeed,” Clark said. “That’s something I learned from my practicum experience – that helping others is what it means to be a librarian.”