Librarian Shamika (she, her, hers)

Hello! I am Associate Professor Shamika J. Simpson. My pronouns are she, her and hers. I wear many hats at the Library at LBCC.

I have worked in libraries in different capacities for over 18 years. Librarianship was not a career I ever fathomed. I loved libraries growing up but I never saw a librarian who looked like me. My library career started at a public library as a library aide working at the circulation desk. I also worked at an elementary school and high school library as a library media technician and at the Fox Studios Research Library as a cataloging technician. I began my career at the LBCC library in 2007 as a cataloging technician. I worked my way up to library media technician and now I am tenured faculty collection development and outreach librarian.

I am passionate about library topics/issues, such as: social justice, leadership, EDI, cultural inclusiveness, cultural competence, anti-bias, anti-racism, leadership, providing better resources for disabled patrons and the Black and librarians of color BIPOC librarian experience.

I earned my MLIS from San Jose State.

I hold certificates of completion in:
Collection Development, ALA ALCTS (Association for Library Collections & Technical Services)
Acquisitions, ALA ALCTS (Association for Library Collections & Technical Services)
Diversity and Inclusion Skills, Library Juice Academy
Social Media Content and Marketing, CSU Dominguez Hills
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace , University of South Florida Muma College of Business
Dare to Lead trained, Brene Brown Immersive Series

Past Library Associations/Committees/Workgroups:
SCTPG (Southern California Technical Processes Group), Secretary.
NCAAL (National Conference for African American Librarians), Fundraising Committee member
ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), Mentor

Current Library Associations/Committees/Workgroups:
BCALA (Black Caucus of the American Library Association), Executive Board member
ALA (American Library Association) Booklist, Board member
JCLC (Joint Conference of Librarians of Color), Fundraising Committee member
CARL (California Academic and Research Libraries), Director-at-Large and Interest Group Coordinator
CLA (California Library Association) DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Interest Group, Co-Chair

I have a well-rounded view of libraries. It is with this view that I create content LIB 220, Introduction to Acquisitions and a host of library resource guides. Please feel free to reach out to me regarding all aspects of libraries and library careers. I love a good library conversation. I hope to hear from you.