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Lion VoicesMarch 31, 2025

Cataloging Resources: How Andrea Parton Became the Librarian She Was Meant to Be

Written By: Ian Silvester

For Andrea Parton, libraries have always been part of her life. Raised by a library director, she spent her childhood entranced by the words filling the pages of books. In becoming the Discovery and Access Librarian for the Boreham Library at the University of 香蕉视频APP 鈥� Fort Smith, she embraced the calling she was meant for, even if she took a winding path to get there.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of typical for librarians,鈥� she said with a laugh before diving into her story.

Parton grew up in Russellville, 香蕉视频APP, where her dad was the Library Director for the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center at 香蕉视频APP Tech University. She recalled many family trips visiting libraries across the country, which she credited to feeling comfortable in the quiet amongst the books.

鈥淚 feel at home in libraries. Every library I go into feels safe and familiar, even if it鈥檚 new,鈥� she said.

Despite this sense of security and familiarity, Parton initially resisted following in her dad's footsteps.

She graduated from ATU in 2007 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in French and a minor in parks and recreation. On the suggestion of a professor鈥檚 wife from France, Parton was intrigued by the thought of traveling internationally to teach English as a second language.

After becoming certified to teach English in foreign countries, she landed in Japan. She spent five months teaching students before returning home to start her new family. Parton鈥檚 love for teaching overseas fueled her efforts to earn a master鈥檚 degree in English, emphasizing teaching English to speakers of other languages from ATU in 2012.

But her plans changed.

Shortly before completing her degree, the head of the English department approached Parton with an opportunity at home.

鈥淗e told me they needed adjuncts teaching English composition,鈥� she said.

Shortly after starting as an adjunct, another opportunity emerged, which put Parton squarely on the path to her current position at UAFS.

鈥淸Her dad] retired not long after I started teaching English Comp classes, and a part-time position opened up at the library to manage it on the weekends,鈥� Parton recalled. 鈥淚 loved it so much, I started my [second] master鈥檚 degree in library science almost immediately at Texas Woman鈥檚 University [completed in 2023].鈥�

She would take on more responsibilities at the library, eventually phasing herself out of her near decade of teaching. As the library started a system migration, the technical services librarian approached Parton to become her assistant.

Parton learned about cataloging, processing materials, and best practices for technical services. Her supervisor encouraged her to apply at UAFS when the Discovery and Access Librarian role was posted.

鈥淚t just seemed too good to be true,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was really nervous, and [former Boreham Library Director Jason Byrd] could tell. He didn鈥檛 want me to be, so during my interview, he said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e the catalogs and metadata expert in the room; we鈥檙e all specialized in other areas.鈥欌��

It was the boost of confidence Parton needed. On April 4, 2022, she began working at UAFS.

Parton ensures new acquisitions are 鈥減roperly cataloged, labeled, and going to the right place.鈥� She is also the library system administrator and oversaw Boreham Library鈥檚 system migration to Worldshare Management Services.

鈥淚t was like stepping from the 90s into modern day,鈥� she laughed. 鈥淭he work I do behind the scenes is so much more streamlined, like it鈥檚 maybe a hundred or even a thousand times faster to catalog items in the system now.鈥�

In addition to cataloging, Parton teaches the Student Academic Success course, 鈥淏ridge to Success Seminar,鈥� or SAS 0201.

Whether she鈥檚 helping get materials on the shelves or into the hands of students, faculty, or staff, keeping track of a vast catalog, or teaching, Parton is most certainly doing the job she was always meant to do.

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