The unsung hero behind the stacks, whose passion for literature and commitment to helping students has made Sue Hunter’s contributions vital for the success of the library. 

“Being able to see firsthand when a student shares that, you know, the work we did together benefited them. They handed in a paper, they got it back, and they got a great mark, and now they better understand how to navigate their research assignment for the next thing.”

Third-year Guelph-Humber student Angelina Saleh says much of her success in her academic journey is from the contributions made by Sue Hunter.

“She came into our class and provided such an amazing presentation. Without her help, I would have struggled to access many of the resources the library provides.”

Kicking off her academics in English literature at the University of McMaster, Sue Hunter’s fervent love for literature and her innate passion for scholarly research became evident early on. Sue found herself captivated by the endless possibilities that research offered. While her love for the research process grew, she did not particularly enjoy the actual writing portion.

“I always loved the research process. Not so much writing the research papers, but digging into the research and discovering where and how to find information.”

Following her undergraduate studies, Sue Hunter continued to channel her passion for academic research by joining a public library. Here, she seamlessly transitioned into a role that allowed her to immerse herself in the world of information. Taking a keen interest in everyone at the information desk, Sue dedicated herself to assisting anyone with a myriad of questions.

 “The staff sitting at that information desk all had master’s degrees in library studies. And I thought, okay, that’s the thing I think I want to do, because when the job, a part-time job I had at the public library was checking out books, and I wanted to do a lot more than that. So I went to DAL in Halifax and did my Master’s of Library and Information Studies and I focused on what we call reference service and that is helping people navigate information.”

There’s a stereotype that being a librarian is a dull and unexciting job. In reality, librarians like Sue Hunter play a crucial role in providing access to information and empowering community engagement.

“The library gets represented on these various committees across departments. We also develop the collections for the libraries…It’s a lot to cover.”

With the innovation and advancement of technology, academic and public libraries have faced many challenges because of the shift in budgetary priorities including cuts in funding and staff.

According to the official website of the University of Guelph, with the reduction in funds available, the library is undertaking an operational review to implement and manage a 9.5 percent budget reduction, to be achieved by fiscal year 2024-25.

Guelph-Humber University students have access to both the physical and digital collection of both the University of Guelph’s library, additionally access to the Humber library. With the recent budget cuts, Guelph-Humber students won’t have access to the canceled subscriptions of the Guelph library, along with the potential of reduced staff at the University of Guelph-Humber.

When asking Guelph University professor Dan Gillis what the impact would be, he said

“I can’t help but feel that these cuts are going to do irreparable harm to the university and its students.” 

The looming threat of digitization raised concerns about the relevance of traditional library services. Although traditional library services may not be as relevant anymore, librarians have adjusted to the technology and now play a more important role when helping people find truthful and relevant sources of information.

“I started to get a little worried because, with so much information available online and the power of Google, students will not see us as relevant or never come to us, help from us. But I think it’s proven quite the opposite. You still have to know how to navigate to what’s the right source of information.”

Sue is diversely equipped to manage the many hurdles and challenges that come with being a librarian. She’s unquestionably qualified to venture into other fields, but is unsure if she will get the chance to do so.

“I’m always fascinated with the world of detection and uncovering cold cases that some of the students work on because I think being a librarian, you have to be a bit of a detective too…I think it would be kind of fun to try and use my skills in that realm. Don’t know if it’ll ever happen.”

Her work today has proven that the evolving landscape has not yet fully diminished the relevance of librarians, merely has created a vital and bigger role in the academic world. 

“It’s just been an endlessly fun and fascinating journey because I learn something new every day.”