SEARCY— Though the Brackett Library at Harding University is no new territory for Jean Waldrop, she’ll be walking through the stacks with a new job title on her name tag at the beginning of 2014.
On Jan. 1, she will become the director of the Brackett Library, where she has held various positions since 2006.
“This is the start of my eighth year here,” Waldrop said.
Waldrop was no stranger to Harding when she started working at the library.
“I got my undergraduate degree here. I graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s in elementary education,” Waldrop said.
Waldrop, formerly from Rockwell, Texas, was a stay-at-home mom for years but went back to school at Texas A&M University-Commerce to earn a master’s degree with an emphasis in library science.
She then made the trek back to Arkansas, where there was a librarian position open at Harding in Searcy.
“I worked with all of the health science departments on campus,” Waldrop said.
She worked with representatives from the college of pharmacy, physical therapy and other health science colleges on campus.
“I do a lot of work with other programs on campus,” she said. In her current role, Waldrop works in circulation and interlibrary loan.
“If we don’t have it in the library, we get it from somebody else,” she said. “We can get anything for you from any [library] in the world, and most libraries are big on sharing.”
From the time that she graduated from Harding until she came back to work there, Waldrop said, a lot had changed.
“When I first got [to Harding], it was just Harding College, and we had to wear dresses to class,” she said. “It’s changed a lot.”
As library director, Waldrop will oversee the librarians and staff who work in the Brackett Library.
“We have about 45 student workers in the library each semester,” she said.
Waldrop is replacing Ann Dixon, who is retiring after 20 years of working for Harding University.
Waldrop looks forward to her new position at Harding.
“I love working with students,” she said. “That’s probably my favorite thing.”
Staff writer Lisa Burnett can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or lburnett@arkansasonline.com.