Five Questions with Brenda Linares
Brenda Linares loved growing up in Los Angeles.
Brenda strikes a pose at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, during her honeymoon. (Contributed photo)
Name: Brenda Linares
Position: Librarian, outreach liaison and coordinator of user services graduate assistants, Health Sciences Library
Time at UNC: Four years
What I do at the Gillings School (and why I love it): I offer a range of services to support folks at the Gillings School. That could include anything from helping with literature reviews and answering students’ general questions to gathering information that promotes faculty research.
Together with my colleague, Mary White, I support global work as well. For example, we help researchers identify which digital resources they can access remotely from field sites around the world. I’m also involved with grant applications, community outreach and consumer health. If anyone is interested in finding funding or grants for research, I can help them with that. Also, Mary and I have a “Keep Calm And Ask A Librarian” booth in Armfield Atrium every Thursday from noon until 1 p.m. during the academic year. We always are available to provide our services to the Gilling School community!
My favorite thing about my job is that I can make a difference through the people I work with. I meet a diverse group, and they’re all trying to make a positive impact in their community and the world. By supporting their work and research, I feel like I help achieve those goals.
When I’m not at work, I like to: go to movies. I’m a big film buff! My wife and I also attend concerts by the N.C. Symphony – especially their outdoor series at Koka Booth Amphitheatre – and we take in shows at the Durham Performing Arts Center. We enjoy spending time with our friends and playing board games, too.
Something interesting in my office: would have to be the sheer amount of Star Wars and Disney paraphernalia. I’m a devoted fan of both. For Disney, it comes from growing up in Los Angeles and visiting Disneyland a lot with my family. For Star Wars, I like those kinds of fantasy worlds that celebrate the kid inside the grown-up. Plus, Yoda gave good advice! I have a sign on my door that says, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
The first job I ever had: was in high school, when I worked at Six Flags Magic Mountain making funnel cakes. I really never ate them, just because I had to spend all day making them and was kind of over it. We were located near the park entrance, so everyone wanted to stop and get a funnel cake on their way out at the end of the day. The park closed at 11 p.m., but by midnight you could usually see me still frying batter.
Something my colleagues might not know about me: is that, when I was in high school, I was one of four students picked to work with the security team at the 1998 Academy Awards. I got to see Céline Dion perform live and watch many actors walk the red carpet. That experience was pretty unique to growing up in California, and I still have my badge and program to remember it by.
Brenda was nominated by Lisa Warren, administrative support specialist in the Dean’s Office, and Mary White, global public health librarian in the Health Sciences Library.
