Parham is making a difference one library at a time
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
When Sandra Parham walks into a library she sees more than row after row of books lining shelves. She sees potential.
Not just potential for a place that serves as a hub of facts and knowledge and research. But as a place that has the potential to make a difference in lives of its patrons and to ignite their passions.
“A library is much more than a library,” said Parham. “It’s the part of education that builds on what happens in the classroom. In a library, you ask students what their passions are, and you build on those.”
Parham sees a lot of potential for Lipscomb’s Beaman Library to be a “temple of learning.”
“Libraries are partners with faculty in a student’s education,” said Parham, who began her appointment as Lipscomb’s new director of library services on July 1. “With the age of technology in which we live, it’s not just what lies within the four walls of a library that impacts these students. Libraries open the world to students. Libraries are places of collaboration and the sharing of ideas. It’s a place of culture and art. It’s a place of community.”
It’s a place Parham has devoted her passion and career to for nearly four decades and that has taken her on a journey to libraries in Tennessee, Michigan, Texas and California.
A native of Nashville, Parham is now coming home to share her passion—and her vision for potential—with the Lipscomb community.
“I am anxious to be at a faith-based institution like Lipscomb. From the moment I first set foot on campus, I could feel the difference here. I could see a difference in the faculty, students and administration,” said Parham, who succeeds Carolyn Wilson, who retired this spring after serving 34 years in Lipscomb’s library program.
Parham said she is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead for Lipscomb University and the Beaman Library.
“I want to reach out to our students and see what they want in their library,” she said. “I want this to be a place that hosts events, that is welcoming.”
Adding more art and infusing culture into the library through special collections, exhibits, events and other activities is also a priority for Parham as she begins a new chapter of her career at Beaman Library.
“Sandra is a seasoned and successful educator and administrator who is dedicated to the advancement of the effective use of the library and associated technology components to enhance the student, instructional, research and administrative missions of the university,” said Randy Bouldin, associate provost for academic development and graduate studies.
Parham comes to Lipscomb after having spent the last 15 years as dean of the library at California State University, Dominquez Hills, a university of nearly 15,000 students located near Los Angeles. There she spearheaded the institution’s $50 million building project that doubled the size of the university library, including more than 140 new computers and “smart” classrooms with cutting-edge technology.
In addition to leading the daily operations and strategy of that library, Parham also added a multicultural art gallery and an events gallery—two of the many “extra” learning opportunities that libraries can offer.
Her love for libraries began when she was an English major at Nashville’s Fisk University. She spent many hours in the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library studying, reading and realizing that a library can be a vital part of a community. Around her were numerous special collections containing university archives as well as papers and works of scholarly and literary figures of national acclaim. She also noticed many works of art and other cultural artifacts throughout the facility that expanded the learning opportunities outside the books on shelves and into every corner of the building.
“Even though I spent a lot of time in the library as a student, I had not considered pursuing a career as a librarian,” said Parham. “But a librarian at Fisk encouraged me to consider that field and to explore graduate studies in library science. I did. And, I found my niche with academic libraries. I love the field of librarianship.”
After graduating from Fisk with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Parham headed to the University of Michigan to pursue a Master of Library and Information Science degree and also became a certified medical librarian while there. She began her career as a children’s librarian at the Detroit Public Library.
In 1979, Parham returned home to Nashville to serve as a reference librarian at Tennessee State University. She was soon appointed business, science and technology librarian for the Houston (Texas) Public Library System, serving one of the largest areas in the country and comprised of 44 units including 31 neighborhood libraries.
For the next 14 years, Parham honed her passion for the blending of an academic library and art as the archivist and coordinator of special collections at Texas Southern University. She oversaw the institution’s Barbara Jordan Archives, the traditional African art gallery, the Heartman Collection of African-American Life and Culture, the jazz archives and the university archives. In addition, she served as interim library dean from 1998-1999.
Her passion next led her to California to take on the challenge of the acting dean of the California State University, Dominguez Hills, library, a position she held for two years and during which time she successfully led the library through the Western Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools reaccreditation process. She was named permanent dean in 2001.
In addition to guiding the library’s expansion project, Parham guided the program through numerous changes as the field evolved dramatically during her tenure, such as implementing a fully automated online public access catalog, creating an Internet café in the facility and an online scholarly directory. She also launched the first international librarian exchange program.
“Technology has dramatically changed libraries. It allows us to serve our students in even more significant ways and helps us bring knowledge and information to them in ways we could not have imagined a few short years ago,” said Parham. “We are not limited by card catalogs and words printed on a page. We can explore the world and continually have the latest information at our fingertips.”
Parham also understands the value of becoming an avid fundraiser for the library. At Cal State, Dominguez Hills, she successfully lobbied for a $63 million Public Education Facilities Bond, $50 million of which was used for the university’s library expansion, and raised millions of additional dollars through campaigns and grant opportunities.
Molding libraries to meet their vast potential is not the only project for which Parham has a passion. She also “loves to serve others.” In the Los Angeles area, she has put her faith into action working with the homeless population through the Normandie Church of Christ. She launched a nonprofit homeless ministry organization that regularly serves more than 400 homeless people in downtown Los Angeles.
Whether it is serving those in need of food and shelter or serving students in need of information and resources, Parham said her passion is impacting the lives of others.
“It has been a real blessing to be able to fuse my career with my passion for helping others,” said Parham. “Nothing is more rewarding than to look back and think that you’ve seen someone’s potential, helped them reach that potential and made a difference in their lives.”