NSCC Librarian leads by example: Meet Pam Eakin
NSCC Foundation's Seasons of Giving: Food for All Fall Campaign
A beacon of support
NSCC's librarians are a beacon of support for students at the College, and Akerley Campus Librarian, Pam Eakin, leads by example. She is dedicated to supporting students, whether it is helping them access information, providing a safe and welcoming space, as a volunteer for food security initiatives or as an employee donor to NSCC's Rapid Response Fund.
Learn more about her NSCC journey and how she is supporting students from Pam herself by reading her story below.
Pam's NSCC Story
“From my first part-time shift in a small-town library, I knew I wanted to work in a field that honours access to information while also offering a safe and welcoming space. The connection between libraries and equity initiatives made my heart happy. With this decision made, I enrolled in NSCC’s Library and Information Technology (LIT) program and graduated in 2011. Taking the LIT program helped me develop my library career in a wide variety of roles with increasing responsibilities. When our oldest boy started university, I decided to go back myself and graduated with my Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from the University of Alberta in 2017.
A few months after I started working at the Akerley library, I learned about Crunch Time, a program I inherited from Bruce Ross, the previous librarian. Crunch Time is a food security initiative that offers healthy grab-and-go snacks in the library during the last few weeks of the semester, when students often feel crunched for time and energy.
This is not the only food security initiative run by NSCC libraries. Others have been involved in meals-to-go, morning snacks, and snack stations. It’s a natural fit. Libraries, by design, are the space everyone can come to for any reason. Taking an inclusive approach to making resources available to everyone is part of ensuring we meet students at their place of need.
Both the Student Association and donors through the NSCC Foundation have contributed to our Crunch Time program, which simply wouldn’t happen without their support. I signed on as a payroll donor to the Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund when I first came to NSCC. I felt fortunate to have such a wonderful job, and I wanted to give back. It was made extra appealing by having the donation come straight off my pay cheque.
The number of students who are trying to learn while managing difficult life circumstances is staggering. It felt important to do this one small thing when I realized how many students identify as food insecure. Sometimes all someone needs is a little extra boost to do their best work. I wanted to help with that.”
- Pam Eakin, MLIS (LIT ’11), Akerley Campus Librarian and Rapid Response Donor, NSCC
Supporting NSCC students
Join Pam in supporting NSCC students by donating to Rapid Response today, or learn how you can get involved with NSCC food security initiatives.