UTA Libraries Staff Spotlight: Ryan Hedrick

Helping people find the tools and the resources to succeed drives Ryan Hedrick’s work daily at UTA Libraries. Ryan joined the university as the new data management librarian after completing graduate school at Indiana University Bloomington. 

“As a data management librarian, I help researchers, whether that is students, faculty, staff, or whoever would need my services in managing data they create throughout their research,” Ryan said. “I can help them find data relative to their research, analysis and data preservation. Whether in one of our repositories or an outside repository.” 

Before coming to the university, Ryan spent almost three years as a reporter for his hometown paper, The Daily Dispatch, in Henderson, North Carolina. At the paper, Ryan covered stories ranging from local government to crime and breaking news. 

“What interested me in being a reporter was that my mother worked in journalism and communications for most of her career. So, I grew up around newsrooms and, consuming news and understanding the importance of good journalism. It was always something I was interested in doing,” Ryan said. “I believe journalism is an integral part of creating and maintaining an informed citizenry. I think that belief is part of what also drew me to librarianship. The desire to foster the discovery of facts and information to those who are looking for it.” 

While he enjoyed being connected to the community as a reporter, he felt the need for a change in his life. 

“During that time, I had two managing editors who left to pursue their master’s in library science. So that put the idea into my head and look into that field and see what all was involved,” Ryan said. “When COVID-19 came around, I was examining things and felt like it was a good time to return to school.” 

Outside of work, Ryan and his wife, Tatiana, enjoy visiting new places locally, domestically and internationally. They recently completed a European trip, taking in the sites, culture and history. 

“This past summer, we did a European vacation. We went to Italy, France and Spain. It was beautiful and we loved it. In Italy, we went to Rome, Florence, and Sorrento. I like Rome more for the historic parts. To me, it was an older version of New York City,” he said. “The next time that we go outside the States is to Honduras to see some of my wife’s family there and see the country.” 

 

Ryan shared that he looks forward to helping library patrons with their research using the knowledge and experience he has gained as a professional. 

We are proud to have Ryan as a part of the UTA Libraries family and look forward to seeing the success you will bring our students.