Every month, we are spotlighting an amazing member of our library staff. This month meet John Borghi, Manager of Research and Instruction.
Meet Your Lane Library Staff: John Borghi
What do you do at the library?
I am the manager of research and instruction. This means I coordinate the team that does the majority of the library’s instruction and outreach. If you’ve taken a class through Lane or consulted with the library on a literature review, it’s a good bet that you’ve worked with a member of the research and instruction team. We also do a lot of neat work related to research metrics, data, open science, and lots of other things.
What do you like best about the people who use Lane Library?
The degree to which everyone is open to collaboration. There are people at Stanford whose work I’ve read and cited my entire professional career and now we exchange e-mails and are on Zoom calls on a regular basis. If there is something I’m excited about, chances are there is somebody else in the School of Medicine who is equally excited and is already doing cool work.
What is the most rewarding (or favorite) part of your job?
I am a researcher myself by training, so I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the research process. In my position, I get to help people with individual projects and with broader efforts to make the research process more open and transparent.
How long have you worked at Lane?
I have worked at Lane for just over three years. Before my current position, I was Lane’s Data Services Librarian.
What do you do in your spare time?
When I’m not working, I can mostly be found running around with my 4 and half year old. If you’re wondering why I look so tired in my headshot, it’s because they woke me up very early the morning it was taken. The two of us recently spent some time exploring the sculptures outside the Cantor Center, which was lots of fun.
When I can, I also really like to ride my bike and engage in overly ambitious cooking projects.
Do you prefer…
Coffee or tea? I mostly drink coffee, but I do like a cup of tea (or a boba!).
Cats or dogs? Cats I guess? Though I like dogs too. Anyone who has been in a Zoom meeting with me in the last 18 months may have spotted our two cats- Rosie and Schnitzel- in the background.
Candy or cake? Not an easy choice, but I’ll go with candy.
Salty or sweet? Why not both? It’s hard for me to turn down peanut butter cup.
Print or digital books? I mostly read digital books these days, but if I really like something I’ll buy it in print.
Nonfiction or fiction? I mostly read fiction in my free time, though I do like to listen to nonfiction audiobooks if there is a topic I’m particularly excited about.
Summer or winter? Winter! Though that be mostly because I don’t have to shovel snow now that I live in the Bay Area.
