Please join the UW Tacoma Library in welcoming Amanda Pirog!

We are very excited for Amanda Pirog to join us as our Business and User Experience Librarian. Amanda comes to us from the UW Seattle campus having spent almost a decade there in numerous roles: Business Research and Instruction Librarian, Libraries Advancement Outreach Officer, Interim Communications Officer, and Libraries Advancement Coordinator. Amanda will coordinate user experience projects aimed at improving our student-centered services and will serve as a subject liaison to the Milgard School of Business.

What drew you to the UW Tacoma Library?

The collaborative and creative staff and the opportunity to work in a smaller library connected to an urban campus.

How will you work with faculty, students and the larger Tacoma community in your current role?

As a business librarian, I’m here to support the research needs of the students, faculty, and staff of the Milgard school, as well as anyone at UWT with a business research question! In my user experience role, I hope to partner with individuals from across the Tacoma community, but especially UWT students, to foster accessible, usable, and desirable library services and spaces.

What aspects of your job are you most excited about?

Getting to know my coworkers, students, faculty, and staff at UWT. Also, exploring Tacoma!

Could you share some thoughts on how you see libraries shifting in the coming years? What do you hope for the libraries of the future?

I see libraries becoming more collaborative in how they design and develop programs and services – collaborating with both library users and with community partners (nonprofits, businesses, other libraries) in the very early stages of any planning process. I hope that libraries of the future will be abundantly funded.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Hiking, backpacking, camping – I love to be outside and to move my body!

Have you read or watched anything lately that you highly recommend?

I read and watch a lot of things that would be classified as “horror.” Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez is my favorite novel this year. Enriquez is also one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend her short stories about hauntings, the supernatural, and the occult.

Advice or words of wisdom for UW Tacoma students?

I can’t say I’m great at giving advice…although I’d love advice from UW Tacoma students on what places I should check out in Tacoma!

Thank you Amanda and welcome to the UWT Community!