Get to Know the Library Staff! Elizabeth Leonard

Elizabeth Leonard

Elizabeth Leonard is the Assistant Dean of Information Technologies and Collection Services. Her fantastic team runs “the back of the house,” managing the online library and ensuring that electronic and digital materials are findable and accessible. 

1. How long have you been working at the library?
I’ve been working at Seton Hall since 2013.

2. What is a book that everyone should read?
Any book that brings them enjoyment. I have no patience with the idea that folks need to read something because everyone else is, or because someone said it is a “must read.” Reading should be a pleasure, like the smell of spring flowers or a hug from a friend.

3. What music are you listening to these days?
Not music—I’ve been listening to podcasts, mostly. Hidden Brain (Science/psychology), Amended (stories of women who fought racism, classism, and xenophobia), OnBeing (conversations about spirituality, science, social healing, and the arts).

4. Last music concert you attended?
Facebook live streamed concert of the Indigo Girls.

5. What is your favorite spot on campus? 
Currently, I love to walk past the peony plants on the path leading to the entrance of the Dining Hall. Those are my favorite flowers.

6. Do you have a good take-out or delivery spot you’d recommend? 
A colleague and I love to go to Jackie and Son. They have great, fresh food!

7. What is your favorite app? 
Probably the New York Times Crossword app. I do the crossword everyday.

8. What is a skill you are working on mastering? 
Not interrupting. I’ve been working on it my whole life (unsuccessfully). My brain generally moves at warp speed and my mouth forgets that it isn’t supposed to join in!

9. What is something most people don’t know about you? 
I spent three years living in Germany, working for the Department of Defense. (Please don’t ask me to speak German anymore; I’ve forgotten most of it!)

10. What person living or dead would you like to have dinner with?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Eleanor Roosevelt.