April 19, 2022
Ohio University Libraries is excited to welcome Greta Suiter as manuscripts librarian in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, as well as Patrick Koga as a library support specialist in Acquisitions & Collections Services.
Greta Suiter earned her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington in 2010 and then went on to intern at the Library of Congress. After the internship, she worked at George Mason University – where she picked up a second master’s degree in art history – before working for seven years at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology.
Suiter said she didn’t know much about archives when she first got started at the University of Washington, but she soon found that the area combined her interest in history with the ability to work with unique materials.
“There really is a lot of opportunity for a variety of work in archives, so I was very drawn to that,” she said. “I’ve been spending a lot of time here [at OHIO] getting to know the Libraries’ collections, and it’s been really interesting because there’s so many different collections.”
As manuscripts archivist in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections , Suiter will instruct classes, manage collections, help people access the archives, curate exhibits and much more. She said that one of the most interesting parts of working at the Libraries so far is learning about all the different ways that people can engage with the materials.
“[T]here is this sense of creativity and innovation and wanting to be transparent about the collections and how we, students and [the] local community can use them,” she said. “I’m just very excited because there are a lot of opportunities here that you can’t find everywhere.”
Miriam Nelson , director of the Mahn Center, Preservation and Digital Initiatives, said that Suiter’s experience with “processing archival collections, project management and interest community engagement are just a few of the reasons we are excited to welcome her to the Libraries.”
Patrick Koga has worked at University Libraries since he was a student at Ohio University.
“Fresh out of high school, I started working in P-Circ over the summer,” he said. “I stuck with it all of my undergrad, and when I graduated a position opened up in circulation about that time, so I moved up there full-time.”
Koga was a library support associate in circulation for two years until he transitioned to Collections Assessment & Access as a library support specialist. Then at the end of March 2022, he transferred to the Acquisitions department and became a library support specialist in charge of serials and processing.
In his new role, Koga will maintain print and online subscription orders, process incoming materials, troubleshoot electronic access issues and prepare materials for future binding. All of these activities help keep the Libraries’ resources easily accessible for our users.
“I’m doing a combination of two jobs. I am processing physical books – labeling them, giving them property stamps – and then dispersing those to different locations [in the Libraries],” he said. “[I am also] maintaining subscription content like current periodicals, newspapers, magazines, etc. We get all of those daily, weekly, [and] monthly, so I keep track of those and prepare them as they come in.”
Koga has collaborated with the staff in Acquisitions & Collections Services in the past and brings strong technical experience to his new role. He said that he is excited about the variety that the position brings.
“Patrick also brings a user-centered approach to access management and troubleshooting developed from his time working at the reference desks,” said Seth Sisler , head of Acquisitions & Collections Services. “We’re excited to have him join us.”
Photos by Billy Schuerman/Ohio University Libraries