Paloma Barraza and Melissa Aslo de la Torre met in 2024 at the annual SALALM conference in New Orleans, LA. They had a brief conversation at the APOYO gathering but truly connected at the International Guadalajara Book Fair in November of 2024. Both Barraza and Aslo de la Torre recently started their positions as subject librarians, and it was their first experience attending a book fair.
 

Professional trajectory

How did you start on the path of Latin American/Caribbean Studies liaison librarianship? 

MA: My first week in the master's program at UT Austin's iSchool, I saw the Benson Latin American Collection was looking for a Reference graduate research assistant (GRA). I hadn't worked in a library since I was an undergraduate student about 8 years prior, so I was nervous to apply, but I really wanted (and knew I needed) library experience. At the time, Janette Nuñez had been a Benson GRA for two years and was starting her last year in the MSIS/MA Latin American Studies dual degree program. Janette and my supervisors at the Benson encouraged me to apply to add the Latin American Studies MA. Though I hadn't considered a dual degree before I began the MSIS program, the experience of assisting researchers in the Benson's reading room and working on projects like processing small archival collections and co-curating a rare books exhibit, really cemented for me the value of subject specialization for my career. I began coursework for the MA Latin American Studies program the following Fall, focusing on Latin American visual studies and gender & sexuality studies, while continuing my iSchool coursework. Being able to learn from Benson librarians and archivists was fundamental to launching me on the path of LACS liaison librarianship. And then the timing aligned when my dream job opened up at NYU, looking for someone with an interdisciplinary background, just as I was finishing my degrees and entering the job market. 

PB: After completing my undergraduate degree, I worked at a public library in Northern Colorado as a bilingual Library Associate. After a year, I decided to pursue a master's degree in Art History with an emphasis in Art of the Americas at the University of New Mexico. Towards the end of my degree, I realized that I did not want to work in museums, and I enjoyed my job at the public library; however, it lacked the academic stimulation that I had experienced in my program. I decided to pursue an additional master's degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Arizona (UA) iSchool while also working as a library technician at the University of Northern Colorado Libraries. During my program, I learned about specialized research librarians and how many of them had additional degrees, expertise in multiple languages, and how they worked directly with booksellers from Latin America and Iberia. I was excited to see other individuals who used all of their humanities degrees in their careers. I dreamt about having a librarian position at an R-1 institution where I specialized in Latin America, history, or art history. When I came across the University of Minnesota position on the ALA job-listserv, I was overjoyed, as the position description aligned with my dream job. 

What do you wish you had known about being a subject librarian?

PB: I wish I had known that graduate school would not prepare me for the unique dynamics of working with non-English materials acquired outside of the United States. I had to heavily rely on my expertise in Latin America to understand how to navigate collection development and working with our established vendors from Latin America and Iberia. I now know that it's practically impossible to teach about collection development because it varies by the institution's budget, research interests, and the library's mission. I was also not prepared for the autonomy I had to make big decisions, especially with collection development. I did not want to purchase the “wrong materials,” but thankfully, I received a lot of reassurance from my supervisor, who told me that it takes years to learn to navigate collection development. Shifting from a position where I have to perform specific tasks, have an hourly schedule, and minimal autonomy, to an academic professional job where I have professional freedom and control of my daily tasks took me a while to familiarize myself with. As a daughter of immigrant parents who work labor-intensive jobs, I felt guilty about the perks of my new position. Thankfully, my institution offers 8 free therapy sessions every academic year!

MA: Moving into subject librarianship was a shift in two big ways for me. The first was going from my student positions in special collections reference and instruction, working primarily with archives and rare materials, to now thinking more broadly about information literacy to support research as a liaison librarian. The second shift was going from a place like UT Austin, which has a specialized library for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx materials as well as several librarians and archivists working in these areas, to being the only librarian focused on these areas at my large research library. This has meant that the research consultation topics that come my way really run the gamut, from areas or methods I was already familiar with like historical methods, humanities, and social sciences research, to areas where I had less familiarity such as business, tourism, and legal research. At first I felt a bit daunted, but with time realized that I could rely on my reference skill set and not be intimidated by topics out of my wheelhouse. So, it's less what I wish I had known but more realizing that the building blocks of what I need in this job were already there, but now I have more and more ways of continuing to develop those skills.

How did you become aware of SALALM?

PB: I first learned about academic associations in graduate school. I primarily joined museum and art history associations, as well as public library-focused associations, such as REFORMA. During my graduate studies at UA, I was also a recipient of the Knowledge River (KR) Scholars Program, a program that cultivates an understanding of library and information challenges and addresses the wide range of information and literacy needs within local communities. My advisor directed me towards SALALM and mentioned how I can incorporate both of my degrees as a subject librarian. I received a scholarship to attend the SALALM conference in 2021, and it opened my world to the specialization of Latin American studies. In my last year of my master's program, I applied to the open position at the University of Minnesota Libraries. The position description directly aligned with my research interests, librarian responsibilities, and the type of institution I wanted to work for. 

MA: This goes back to my experience as a Benson GRA. I worked for Ryan Lynch and Adrian Johnson, both longtime members of SALALM. Ryan advised me to apply for the SALALM conference scholarship fund which I received in 2023, a couple years after Paloma. I was a member of ALA by that point through the Spectrum Scholarship, and had the opportunity to present at the ARLIS/NA conference in Mexico City earlier that year, but I hadn't really made a concerted effort to fully understand how library professional organizations worked or how I might become a contributing member, until I attended the 2023 SALALM conference in DC. On Ryan's advice, I attended committee meetings, business meetings, town hall, as many parties and conference sessions as I could, and stopped to chat with many of the libreros in the exhibit hall. It was incredible (if slightly overwhelming) to meet so many people passionately engaged in this area from both the libraries side and the bookseller side. And attending finance and committee meetings felt like a peek behind the curtain of how the organization runs. The SALALMistas I met were so open and generous, which made me excited to continue in this field and look forward to a career in Latin American and Caribbean Studies librarianship. 

Start-up funds

How did you take advantage of your additional professional development funds?

MA: I've used my professional development funds for conferences, including the annual SALALM Conference, Latin American Studies Association Conference, and this semester, the Lesbian Lives Conference as well as the National Women's Studies Association Conference in San Juan, PR. Last year, I was able to attend the book fair in Guadalajara as well as take an online workshop from WeHere focused on publishing for academic librarians. Funding is tighter this year, due to budgetary cuts, but I was grateful to still be able to attend conferences where I can connect with other librarians and scholars working across similar areas, which has been inspiring. 

PB: I was given an additional $3,500 for professional development funds when I started my position. With these funds, I was able to attend the LOEX annual conference, the last two SALALM conferences, the Guadalajara bookfair, ACRL conference. I am eternally grateful for these additional funds because at the UMN Libraries, I am the only librarian who has a focus on Latin America, so attending these conferences helped me connect with professionals in my field and build great connections with librarians who had similar positions to mine.

How did you navigate unexpected challenges, and how did you address them? 

PB: At the start of my position, I dealt with a lot of imposter phenomenon, where I didn't feel qualified to speak on certain topics and was afraid to ask clarifying questions. I spoke with my long-time mentor, whom I met back in 2017 when we both worked at the public library, and then again at the UNCO Library in 2021, about how I was feeling. In her 15+ years as a librarian, she also dealt with imposter phenomenon and said that it is an unspoken phenomenon that many of us face. We started researching imposter phenomenon and teamed up with another colleague of ours who also worked at the same public library as us and had also shifted to academic libraries. The three of us presented at the annual LOEX conference in 2024. I did not expect to have a big crowd, but we had over 60 people attend our session and received a lot of praise for speaking out on this issue. We also submitted a conference proceeding for this presentation. Fast forward to 2025, we have presented on this topic at the ACRL annual conference, presented a webinar through the Florida Virtual Campus, and even hosted virtual community conversations following our ACRL presentation. Having a safe space to talk to others about uncertainties has helped me embrace failure as an opportunity for growth, thus leading to experimenting with new strategies and ideas in my professional position.

MA: I was not able to get a lot of hands-on experience with collection development as a student, and wasn't able to take the one collection development course that was offered. Even if I had, I've learned that it can look very different for librarians who are doing international collection development and for non-English materials. While I did expect this to be a challenge, it took a while to adjust to the high level of autonomy. I have relied on my experienced colleagues in Collection Development and Acquisitions to learn the processes, and have been able to apply my knowledge of Latin America and nurture new connections I've made with publishers and vendors that I've met through conferences and research travel. I've really had to be open to learning on the go and being okay with the discomfort of not knowing and pivoting as I learn. For example, being able to connect with Paloma and other SALALM librarians at FIL Guadalajara was instructive on how to better prepare for book fairs! I was so new to my job (two months in) and hadn't connected with many of my liaison departments' faculty yet. Once I heard how Paloma had prepped by speaking with faculty, I quickly reached out to the faculty members I had met. They sent me topics and Indigenous languages that they were interested in having more library resources available, and I was able to find materials at FIL that met those needs. 

How are you navigating the tenure/advancement processes?

MA: I'm taking advantage of various resources available to me through NYU, such as the Early Career Faculty Institute, which is a university-wide program that offers a set of seminar-style modules, resources, tools, and community for tenure-track and contract faculty within their first 3 years. I am in a tenure-track library faculty position at the Assistant Curator rank, so I'll submit my 3rd year review dossier in 2027, and then my tenure dossier by 2030 for promotion to Associate Curator. This semester, I was elected to serve on the Advancement, Reappointment, and Promotion Committee (ARP) at NYU Libraries, and while my work on the committee is solely focused on cases for promotion to Assistant Curator, it has provided some insight into how review processes work and what happens after you submit your materials. Because the tenure track process is new to me – and not a path I really imagined until I was on the job market – I have been very proactive in seeking information and talking to my colleagues about their experiences. I have regular conversations and check-ins with my department head, who is very open and supportive in answering my questions and fielding anxieties about the tenure process. Within the library division, the Networking and Professional Activities Committee (NetPAC) also hosts sessions focused on preparing for both the 3rd year review and tenure dossier, which have been helpful as well.

PB: At the UMN Libraries, we are considered staff and not faculty, but we have a tenure-like process called continuous appointment. We use the same guidelines as faculty and have similar probationary periods. In August of 2025, I celebrated my second year in my position, but I had to submit my third-year dossier for peer review in early September. Thankfully, I was part of a cluster higher, so there are 13 librarians submitting their third-year materials. Typically, you have only a couple of librarians going up for continuous appointment. Two research directors created a Research Service Area (RSA) cohort, which includes around 17 research librarians hired between 2021-2025. In the summer of 2025, I joined the planning committee for the RSA retreat, where the first part of the day focused on dossiers, and I had the opportunity to ask specific questions about the materials and expectations. The UMN Libraries also offered opportunities to meet with librarians who completed the probationary period and are now full librarians. I am not sure how other institutions navigate the advancement processes, but I am grateful that I have a large support network.
 

References

1. Barraza, Paloma; Brown, Stacey; and Shawcross, Maggie, "Embracing Failure: A Path to Growth & Learning in Libraries" (2024). LOEX Conference Proceedings 2024. 21. https://commons.emich.edu/loexconf2024/2
2. “Knowledge River Scholars Program | College of Information Science | The University of Arizona.” 2025. College of Information Science. Accessed August 13, 2025. https://infosci.arizona.edu/knowledge-river.
3. “Past Workshops: Fundamentals of Academic Publishing with Charlotte Roh.” WeHere. Accessed December 10, 2025. https://www.wehere.space/past-events.