{"id":6555,"date":"2024-03-01T15:50:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T21:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/?p=6555"},"modified":"2024-09-16T16:00:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T21:00:11","slug":"student-worker-spotlight-ramin-roshandel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/2024\/03\/01\/student-worker-spotlight-ramin-roshandel\/","title":{"rendered":"Student employee spotlight: Ramin Roshandel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ramin Roshandel will never forget the first time he stepped into the University of Iowa Rita Benton Music Library. From the beginning, the PhD candidate knew that the library would become a crucial part of his time as a student of music composition pedagogy. Roshandel describes being immediately \u201coverjoyed with the beauty of the space,\u201d and with the friendly staff who work within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In no time, Roshandel found a source of collegiality and support in the Music Library. After his initial visits, he remembers being pleasantly surprised by spontaneous emails from library assistants Amy McBeth and Christine Burke, who had continued the search for resources that might interest him even after he had left the building. In a library with a vast repository of materials, the staff soon became a welcome source of support. And on occasions when the items Roshandel and his cohort were seeking were unavailable, the Music Library\u2019s director, Katie Buehner, was \u201cextremely cooperative and enthusiastic\u201d about fulfilling requests for acquisitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appreciation is mutual; Buehner has high praise for Roshandel’s contributions to the Music Library. \u201cRamin requests many excellent scores and other materials for library purchase, and recently, he advised me on the purchase of several monopods\/tripods that would pair well with our circulating video recorders,” she said. “He is creative, collaborative, and incredibly kind, and it\u2019s been an immense privilege to have him work and study here at the Music Library.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, Roshandel joined the team at the Music Library himself, bringing the same enthusiasm to his own role. His familiarity with the world of music and the students, faculty, and researchers who frequent the Voxman Music Building have made him particularly adept at helping library users unearth resources that enrich their work. These qualities also recently earned him a Libraries Academic Achievement Award for 2023\u201324<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roshandel, who came to Iowa from Iran, earned a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree at institutions in Tehran. He found that political constraints sometimes limited his research, forcing him to rely heavily on online or electronic resources. The availability of physical media at the university was a welcome change, and the Interlibrary Loan system meant that nothing was out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been thinking a lot about the importance of physical resources lately…this is because of the ubiquity of \u2018online-ness\u2019 in our lives these days, especially social media, and our detachment from the tangible things we can learn from.\u201d<\/p>RAMIN ROSHANDEL<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been thinking a lot about the importance of physical resources lately,\u201d said Roshandel. \u201cThis is because of the ubiquity of \u2018online-ness\u2019 in our lives these days, especially social media, and our detachment from the tangible things we can learn from.\u201d

Roshandel expects that the skills and knowledge base he\u2019s developed as a student library employee will continue to serve him in his chosen career. After receiving his doctorate, Roshandel plans to continue to work in academia as an instructor, and his work at the Music Library has helped him to recognize academic libraries\u2019 \u201csignificant impact on the teaching and learning process.\u201d After his time as an employee and a patron of the Music Library, he feels well-prepared to guide his students towards library resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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