We’ve all heard of the Peace Corps, but have you heard of the Peace Corps librarian? And what exactly does a Peace Corps librarian do?

Recently, we were fortunate to speak with Kelly Grogg, a recent graduate of the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science. In this episode, Kelly provides us with a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to be the Peace Corps Librarian.

“Since I am the only librarian and I have so many different roles, I get to do a little bit of all those things. There’s a little bit of the public librarian aspect where I get to answer questions from the public, I am managing a small library, I am sort of the default historian and archivist for the Peace Corps, and I get to do a lot of in depth research for people here at headquarters like an academic librarian would do, and I get to do a lot of international calls and talk to people all around the world.” -Kelly Grogg, 2017

As the Peace Corps Librarian, Kelly is busy serving, supporting, and communicating with four different audiences: library staff at all Peace Corps offices around the world, Peace Corps volunteers in the field, staff at Headquarters at Washington D.C., and the general public. Kelly describes what it’s like to work as a solo librarian for a federal entity and she speaks about some of the projects she hopes to work on during her term as the Peace Corps librarian.

Although she will only hold this position temporarily (for five years), as a former Peace Corps volunteer, Kelly is grateful for this opportunity to educate others about the PeaceCorps and to share her library expertise with current Peace Corps volunteers in the field. As for the future…

“I know that I would be happy anywhere, as long as a got to work in a library and do work that I believe in, which is why I decided to become a librarian in the first place.” -Kelly Grogg, 2017

**This podcast was prepared or accomplished by Kelly Grogg in her personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are her own and do not reflect the view of the United States Peace Corps or the United States government.**

Tags » Small Libraries

Working as the Peace Corps Librarian