A. Kwan

Work Experience

Public Library, Bay Area, CA — Librarian, Adult Services

• Homebound Delivery: Manage bespoke monthly deliveries to over 50 clients
• Reference: Provide research, technology, and readers advisory assistance to adults with diverse needs in-person or via phone, chat, or email; teach patrons to access digital offerings
• Collections: Select, weed, and promote adult nonfiction, adult graphic novel, juvenile graphic novel, and feature film collections; prepare annotated book and film lists for online catalog, individual patrons, and in-building displays
• Programs: Plan, promote, deliver, and evaluate in-person and virtual programs for adult community members; facilitate two monthly discussions groups (for film & music); research, test, troubleshoot, and report on options for virtual and hybrid programming
• Marketing & communications: Communicate information about Library services to community via social media, LibAnswers, and email newsletter; design marketing collateral for Library programs and services in Canva and Adobe Photoshop; create engaging social media posts, including original video, for Facebook and Instagram
• Advocacy: Advocate for LGBTQ community members; engage LGBTQ community members through targeted programs; coordinated Library's first contingent in the local pride parade; coordinated two Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) trainings for municipal and regional library staff in coordination with a local organization
• Co-chaired 2022 Future of Libraries Conference as a member of the Pacific Library Partnership Staff Development Committee

Outsider Comics and Geek Boutique, Seattle, WA — Assistant Manager

• Proactively provided warm and inclusive customer service
• Coordinated with small press and independent vendors to offer unique products and events geared toward our store mission and a diverse customer base
• Hired, trained, and mentored new associates
• Evaluated and ordered products from major and independent vendors
• Designed and implemented events and promotions such as Blind Date with a Book, Comic Book Swap Meet, and Outsider Comics Summer Reading Challenge
• Ran the monthly graphic novel book club: Moderated discussion, composed book club email newsletters; designed and deployed survey at one-year mark to assess success and ascertain member needs
• Promoted products and events on Eventbrite, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Answered customer information requests related to new and old releases, publisher initiatives, and industry standards
• Scouted independent artists and small press at trade shows, in other stores, and online to initiate wholesale or consignment relationships geared toward our store mission and customer base
• Marketed store vision, values, offerings, and events to a range of stakeholders, including customers, non-customers, vendors, and potential collaborators (authors, artists, librarians, retailers); represented the store in interviews and at conferences and trade shows
• Redesigned sections of the store’s physical space to respond to changing needs
• Offered readers' advisory to adult and child customers suited to their genre preferences, reading levels, content concerns, and comics familiarity; composed book synopses for monthly staff picks to succinctly capture readers' interest
• Top salesperson from 2018 Q3 until departure in 2019 Q2.
• Promoted from Sales Associate and Book Club Manager in December 2017

University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, WA — Circulation Assistant

• Staffed the circulation desk: Processed loans, returns, and holds using Alma and aided student, alumni, faculty, staff, and other patrons in general library use, policies, and wayfinding
• Instructed patrons in use of online catalog, inter-library loan services, and library website
• Contributed to daily operations by processing patron requests; delivering mail and materials between departments; shelving, inventorying, and shifting materials; emptying book returns; and sweeping floors for patrons during closing

Two Cats Comic Book Store, San Francisco, CA — Sales Associate

• Ran monthly graphic novel book club: Moderated discussion, selected titles based on member preference and store needs, promoted club in-store and via social media
• Offered readers' advisory to adult and child customers suited to their genre preferences, reading levels, content concerns, and comics familiarity
• Researched and ordered customer requested books from distributors; coordinated with industry groups to receive discounted product and exclusive promotional materials
• Redesigned store's Twitter strategy to better engage with customer base
• Ideated and organized "blind date with a book" project to boost sales of slow-moving product

Hurricane Electric, Fremont, CA — Support Engineer

• Troubleshooted webhosting and network issues with customers via phone and email
• Collaborated with other departments to identify and resolve user issues

Berkeley Air Monitoring Group, Berkeley, CA — Media Design Specialist

• Redesigned website to be responsive and mobile-friendly; created online library of projects and publications, filterable by type, topic, location, year, and client

NuReality Productions, Berkeley, CA — Production Assistant

• Redesigned website using WordPress CMS and Boostrap framework
• Designed and implemented Shopify online art store
• Marketed online store via social media and Mailchimp online newsletter
• Managed Shopify store: Priced vintage items based on condition, demand, and competitor prices; created graphics for store and newsletter

Potential Energy, Berkeley, CA — Web & Graphics Consultant

• Took lead on two major website redesigns; acted as liaison to contracted web and graphic designers; worked closely with organization directors to convey organization’s message
• Designed majority of graphics for use on organization's website, as well as business cards and event materials (posters, table tents, invitations, etc.) for 2012 and 2013 fundraising galas
• Implemented website updates using HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP
• Helped coordinate fundraising campaigns and annual fundraising gala
• Designed and scheduled email fundraising campaigns through Mailchimp
• Maintained database of donors and contacts in Salesforce CRM; answered website inquiries

Projects & Activities

Queer Comics Database, Seattle, WA — Co-Founder

• Developed a free online resource for librarians, retailers, and readers to discover and acquire comics featuring LGBTQIA representation
• Managed the project over 7 months of development, including setting timelines, tracking weekly progress, and regularly updating stakeholders
• Investigated needs of target user groups through surveys and interviews and outlined database features based on those needs
• Developed taxonomies and controlled vocabularies to appeal to different user groups, including varying professions and identities; composed metadata schema to guide data entry
• Implemented database using Wordpress CMS with custom post types and taxonomies and customized plugins written in PHP
• Read and catalogued dozens of graphic novels, webcomics, zines, manga, and more according to the previously developed metadata schema
• Conducted eight usability tests to refine taxonomies and database features
• Database launched in May 2018 with 130 series entities; promoted via Twitter and Facebook, receiving over 2.7K retweets and 150 submissions within the first week
• Voted MLIS Best in Class at the University of Washington Information School's 2018 Capstone Event, where the project was presented to iSchool students, faculty, and staff, as well as industry professionals
• Recruited and trained volunteers to catalog comics according to the database's metadata schema and style guide using the Wordpress interface
• Composed user guides to further aid access

Suzzallo and Allen Libraries, UW, Seattle, WA — ICAF Exhibit Volunteer

• Selected, scanned, and wrote captions for comics to be displayed in an exhibit about queer comics for the International Comics Arts Forum
• Contributed to design of the exhibit

Odegaard Undergraduate Library, UW, Seattle, WA — Directed Fieldwork

• Selected graphic novels by and about underrepresented minorities to be added to the collection
• Analyzed faculty use of graphic novel collection in courses

Buffy the Vampire Slayer DeCal (English 98/198), Berkeley, CA — Facilitator

• Designed and led a for-credit course in the University of California, Berkeley’s English department focused on critical analysis of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a text, as well as examining the show’s treatment of gender, race, sexuality, and class

Education

University of Washington, Seattle, CA — Master of Library and Information Science

University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA — Bachelor of Arts in History

Relevant Coursework

• Catalogs, Cataloging, and Classification
• Collection Development
• Design Methods for Librarianship
• Inclusive Practices in Libraries and Learning
• Instructional and Training Strategies for Information Professionals
• Metadata for Interactive Media

Skills

• Web design & development: WordPress installation and integration; responsive design using CSS media queries, HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, PHP, MySQL
• Social media: Blogspot, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube
• Adobe Photoshop, Illustration, InDesign
• Customer support
• Typing speed of 105 wpm