UTA Libraries Staff Spotlight: Jessica Randazzo

Looking for a change in her career is what brought Jessica Randazzo to UTA Libraries. Jessica is a serials specialist with the Access and Discovery Department in the basement. 

Prior to coming to the university, Jessica worked in libraries and public health care. 

"I worked part-time in a public library in Concord, Massachusetts, and part-time digitizing personal archives. I also had two internships with registrars at small museums. I spent a big chunk of my life working in health care as an audiologist," Jessica said. "Around the beginning of the pandemic, I decided that I wanted a change. So, I stepped away from health care and returned to my roots. I worked at my college library and my graduate school library." 

Jessica stated that since joining the library's staff in February, she has come to value how everyone works together to make a stronger community through their creative efforts.  

As a serials specialist, Jessica ensures that the library's journals, periodicals and subscriptions are available, up-to-date and accessible to patrons. She also works with vendors that supply those resources directly and helps to coordinate donations that UTA Libraries receive. 

Jessica shared that while she is still learning her job, the staff here at the library have been very welcoming and willing to help. She added that it is exciting to see the direction UTA Libraries is heading to serve not only the community of today but the community of tomorrow. 

'It is refreshing to see students and faculty coming in realizing what the libraries are, the services and its resources, like the FabLab, and using it as a meeting space," she said. "Hopefully, when they leave UTA, they can carry that love for libraries as I did."