Sebastian Hierl, the American Academy in Rome’s newly appointed Drue Heinz Librarian of the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library, will begin his term at the end of August. Hierl comes to the American Academy in Rome from Harvard University, where he held responsibility for and developed Widener Library’s Western European collections. We asked Hierl to answer a few questions for us in order to learn more about his experience in library science and his ideas on the Academy, and to find out what he’s been reading this summer.
Can you tell us how you became interested in library science?
It was during my graduate studies in the US. At the time, and sadly that is still the case for many European libraries, the depth of the collections and services provided by American research libraries was vastly superior to the academic libraries I had visited in Europe. My realization that research libraries provide rewarding career opportunities occurred gradually. I vividly recall the first graduate course I took upon arrival in the US, by Matthew J. Bruccoli, on the profession of authorship in America, and which led me to spent countless hours until late at night at the Thomas Cooper Library of the University of South Carolina and to make use of all of its resources, including its Special Collections. But I didn’t start to consider a career in library science seriously until my relocation to Austin and regular visits to the Perry-Castañeda Library and the Harry Ransom Research Center, as well as discussions with librarians, including the director of the library and the head of collection development of the UT system. I was comparing career opportunities in libraries with those in publishing, the profession I originally intended to pursue, and I learned that libraries offer rich and varied career paths for academics, in particular in the building and curation of collections. From the onset, I was able to orient my career toward collection development and was fortunate to work in that capacity at exceptional institutions.
Have you made any discoveries, had any experiences, etc. that have changed how you work today?
It is hard to overstate the impact of technology upon the dissemination and preservation of information in general and the work in libraries and archives in particular. Librarians are constantly asked to do more with generally stagnant budgets. Fields of inquiry have expanded, the formats we collect have proliferated, and users’ expectations have increased, but our available resources have not kept pace. That calls for creative solutions that can only be tackled through greater cooperation and with the support of technology. Upon my arrival at Harvard, Western European book orders were mostly selected from paper and placed manually with our vendors. As a result, orders were often placed months after I had selected them. Through the implementation of an online ordering system, we were able to rationalize procedures across departments and absorb backlogs while maintaining and even increasing our level of acquisitions. This is just one small example, but through openness to new solutions, cooperation, the careful management of resources and targeted implementation of technology, practical solutions that will make a difference can be found. The experience further confirmed that the emphasis of any project must be placed on working with colleagues rather than on technology alone.
You visited the Academy in Rome for the first time recently. How did that experience help you form your understanding of the institution?
Our recent house hunting trip and a week spent at the Academy allowed me to more fully participate, albeit still relatively briefly, in the life of the Academy. I had this privilege during my interview, of course, but it was short and within a different context. My wife and our young son were able to join me this time. We stayed at Villa Chiaraviglio, and I was able to participate in several lunches and dinner and to reconnect with library staff and to interact with Visiting Scholars and Fellows. This experience permitted me to round off my earlier stay and gave me an impression of the regular life and atmosphere at the Academy. It also provided me with a glimpse of the experience that our Fellows with families encounter. In between both stays, I was also fortunate to have been able to visit the Academy’s New York office and to meet with Janet A. Ross and to thank her for her and her late husband’s committed and extraordinary support of the Academy and the Library in particular. These visits and meetings provided me with an excellent introduction to the different actors and functioning of the Academy, though I still have much to learn. I take away a sense of deep commitment to the essential mission of the Academy by everyone I have met and an understanding of the opportunities and work that awaits me and that needs to be accomplished.
What’s on your reading list this summer?
After years of always keeping an eye out for the latest Camilleri, I finally read my first Montalbano, “La gita a Tindari.” There was just always so much to read that I never got to it. Minus my constant questions about the Sicilian dialect, I’ve found it perfect beach reading during our recent stay on the Adriatic and it made me daydream and look forward to an eventual visit to Tindari and Sicily in general. Otherwise, I received a special edition of “The Library of Babel” by Borges as a parting gift from a friend at Harvard. I had read the story before, but I have found it sheer pleasure to reread it and to reawaken my admiration and interest in Borges. It was an unplanned, but welcome diversion. I generally try to read authors I haven’t read before, but the last time I delved into Borges I was in graduate school and I have found it a very different, more leisurely reading experience which was simply fun. Like the experience of any great writer or of art in general, it keeps one “grounded.” Ideally, I would read a poem or short story every morning at the start of the day. For the rest of the summer, I will want to read up on the literature in areas such as access services and digital library projects to prepare for a busy fall.
What is your favorite Roman monument and why?
That is a difficult question; there are so many! Where to start? Beyond the most obvious ones, such as the Forum itself or the Coliseum, one of my favorites is the Arch of Constantine. There are many reasons why it strikes a chord. One of the strongest is from my childhood. I grew up in the Western suburbs of Paris and for a long time, the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l’Etoile represented the entry into the city for me. Coupled with my eager reading of stories of Roman legions battling Germanic tribes on the fringes of the empire, it made an impression upon me that lasted until today. And then there is its imposing location and its powerful representations of Roman life and warfare. I also find the builders’ use of spolia remarkable. While I don’t find it admirable, it does seems to aptly represent the unscrupulousness of its time.
What are you looking forward to the most about your tenure as Drue Heinz Librarian?
Working with an outstanding and committed team of colleagues and getting to meet with the new Fellows, Residents, visitors, and all that make the Academy such a unique environment and being stimulated by their personalities, thoughts, and work. This is a very general statement, but that is what makes the Academy so special and attractive and why I applied for the position—in addition to its excellent lunches and dinners, of course!
What is the first thing you will do when you move to Rome?
Take a long walk through the city to get reacquainted, in the hope that temperatures have cooled down a little, and enjoy wonderful pizza and gelato for sustenance. Then, I’ll want to ensure that our fast speed internet connection is working at home.