Staff Spotlight: Elizabeth Bittner

Each time opportunity knocked, Elizabeth Bittner walked through the door, ready to take on the new adventure it presented. 

The life experiences from working with the Arkansas and Florida State Park systems, the Houston Zoo and two North Texas libraries will help Elizabeth in her role as a multidisciplinary librarian at UTA Libraries. 

After graduating from UT Austin with a double major in anthropology and Asian studies and completing a master’s program, Elizabeth still felt her opportunities were limited. So, she made a pivot in the direction of her career. 

“It’s been one of those journeys where it would be hard to replicate what I did because a lot of it was good and bad luck. I took opportunities as they arose, which is one thing that I always advise people to do if they can. You never know where it will take you,” Elizabeth said. “It just so happened that by the time I was ready to leave the state park and nature center field, I had all of this programming and public speaking experience. So that was really appealing to libraries.” 

Elizabeth shared that the aspect of working in the conservation field she enjoyed most was learning about the science that connects the world. 

“I think that my love of nature comes from the love of the scientific aspects of it. When I think about what we still don’t know about nature and what we could lose, that was the issue that kept me interested,” she said. “An important thing to know is that you can love nature, but you don’t have to be in it all the time. You can love something and want to protect it and appreciate it, but it is not necessary to go out and interact with it.” 

As a multidisciplinary librarian, Elizabeth works alongside the research services team to help faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students on their research projects. 

“A lot of times, through having a conversation with somebody else about their research, maybe a slightly better direction to take is needed. Sometimes talking with somebody helps you to narrow it down to decide what to focus on,” Elizabeth said. “Our primary goal is to help connect people with the right resources. Whether that is a library resource or a person. Our ultimate goal is to connect the person with the resources they need.” 

Elizabeth shared that she is excited to get back into the role of a researcher, where she can help others and learn about different subjects in the process. 

We are proud to have you on our team here at UTA Libraries Elizabeth. Your vast professional experience and knowledge will be invaluable to library patrons as they research various topics. Welcome aboard.