Renée Bosman, Head of Interlibrary Services, University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1) Tell us about your work in your library…?
Head of Interlibrary Services is a fairly new role for me at the University Libraries. Our department supports the University’s mission of research, teaching, learning, and public service by actively participating in resource sharing, much of it through consortium partnerships such as ASERL. I’m also still serving as our Government Information Librarian (my previous position here) for a while longer and working with Federal depository libraries across North Carolina as the state’s Regional depository librarian.
2) What attracted you to this role?
There is a tangible aspect to the work of resource sharing that I really appreciate; it is easy to get a sense of accomplishment from the work of my team (and our fantastic students!) by seeing the volume of material received, pulled, shipped, scanned, shared. And with the reality of decreasing library budgets, resource sharing will likely be an increasingly important piece of collections strategies, particularly with the ability to leverage ILL data to inform decision making.
3) How have you been involved with ASERL?
I’ve been involved with ASERL’s Collaborative Federal Depository Program (CFDP) as a steering committee member for the last six years and served as its Chair from 2019-2022.
4) What parts of your job/volunteering with ASERL do you find most rewarding?
It has been rewarding to be part of such an innovative program that has served as a model of collaborative collection building and preservation. The Federal Depository Library Program’s new National Collection Service Areas initiative shares many of the same guiding principles as ASERL’s Collaborative Federal Depository Program (CFDP), and those of us in the South service area are fortunate to have a solid foundation from ASERL’s existing work.
5) What’s one great thing that most people don’t know about you?
In March 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, some neighbors and I started a driveway workout and running group, and we’re still going strong! Complete with headlamps during these dark winter mornings. Last Fall we managed to gather a 12-person team to complete the 208-mile Blue Ridge Relay.