Administrator Spotlight: Aparna Frank

Collections Services Administrator, NYU Law Library

Tell us the story of how you came to work at NYU Law? Were you always in your current position?

I started as a part-time student assistant in the Collection Services unit in our Library. At that time, there were about eight to 10 student employees working in that unit. There were French and German loose-leaf titles that needed filing, and I was hired because I had a smattering of German and an intermediate grasp of French. My supervisor at that time, Lepa Molinari, a truly industrious and generous person, introduced me to the daedal world of filing and preparing foreign language legal titles for our permanent collection.

Following that initial appointment, I had intermittent opportunities to work at the Library, even as I was pursuing my graduate studies at Tisch. Last year, I was encouraged to apply for the position of my retiring supervisor, Coleman Ridge—an inspiring figure who steered the Collection Services unit with an admirable sense of pragmatism and empathy during Covid. His position is my current one as collection services administrator.

You could say that the Law Library is my second home, thanks to my incredibly supportive and generous colleagues and supervisors.

What’s a typical day for you like?

The shortest answer is “agile.”

I primarily work onsite, and my day is quite dynamic, as a significant portion of my time is dedicated to managing multiple projects related to the library’s circulation desk, the print collection, and the setting of goals for the upcoming academic year.

A typical day begins with ensuring that my team is well-prepared for the week ahead in terms of assisting our patrons, and it ends with conferring with the library’s senior management team on long-term initiatives, which could range from making changes to a particular library space to ordering books for our Course Reserve or deciding which parts of our library collection require inventorying.

In addition to these tasks, I also handle extemporaneous duties like assisting visiting scholars, making excursions to our archives to retrieve a book, and brainstorming ideas for enhancing our collection services.

What’s the most challenging thing about what you do? And what’s the most rewarding?

I have more of a preoccupation than a challenge. This involves looking into how my unit could adapt and grow in conjunction with the innovations occurring in academic libraries. There is tremendous potential for diversifying the range of services my unit could provide for our community, as we are already a central information source for the library. It will take time, but it is an exciting preoccupation.

There are two aspects that are deeply satisfying. First, I get to collaborate with amazing people from each unit of the library. We are an orchestra singularly committed to our patrons. Second, as an incurable bibliophile, I find the proximity to archival texts and treatises nothing short of wondrous-to have such a tangible relationship with the past is a rare privilege! It is also a testament to our library’s breathtaking collection.

What do you wish you’d known about the Law School on your first day of working here?

I wish I had known about the Law School's incredible munificence towards its community. It would have encouraged me to pursue an MLIS in law librarianship or wed my other interests with law.

What is your favorite spot on campus, and why?

It is our courtyard. I cannot think of any other place on campus more welcoming and more conducive to basking under foliage and reading!