Meet Your Lane Library Staff: Mindy Chang

Every month, we are spotlighting an amazing member of our library staff. This month meet Mindy Chang, our new Library Specialist.

What do you do at the library?

I am a Library Specialist 3 on the Access Services team. Besides helping patrons at the front desk, I manage the online registration process for library classes and events, update the library website, and maintain statistics from our various public service activities.

What did you do before coming to Lane Library?

I have 12 years of experience in library circulation at public, school, and academic libraries. I have worked at Stanford for 7 years. In my first role at Stanford, I was an Evening Library Specialist 2 at Stanford Terman Engineering Library for 3 years where I helped with course reserves, supervising student workers, library events, and book repair bindery. I was also in charge of our branch’s social media marketing, RSS feed, digital signage boards, library swag, and assisted librarians with events and outreach. For the next 4 years, I worked in Student Services as a course and event scheduler for the Computer Science dept, Registrar’s Office, and the Student Services Center. I really missed being in the library, so I left Student Services to join Lane Library.

What are you most excited about in your new role?

I am proud to join the wonderful Lane Library team in supporting the brilliant SoM affiliates in their mission to pioneer innovative, life-saving research in the field of medicine. As a tech nerd, I am eager to learn about new systems like Folio, the system Lane Library uses to manage our library materials and circulation. I am excited to use my curriculum management experience to handle library class registration. I am especially excited to bring my mass communication and marketing background to join Lane’s marketing team since I am eager to collaborate and learn from my coworkers.

How long have you worked at Lane?

I started working at Lane in mid-March 2024.

What do you do in your spare time?

I love to read, write, sing, meditate, practice yoga, dance, visit museums, collect gems and minerals, try new cuisines, spend time with loved ones, and be in nature. I am also a bit obsessed with libraries; so much so that I try to visit different libraries most weekends to observe new library trends. 

Do you prefer . . .

Coffee or tea?  Although I like coffee, I love tea. My favorite tea is a loose-leaf blend I make myself consisting of black tea, lavender, and Persian rose buds. 

Cats or dogs? I am a cat person, although I love all animals. In college, I did feral cat rescue on campus.  I have 2 Siamese mix cats; a brother and a sister named Houdini and Princess Poppy who were rescued as sickly, stray kittens from the streets and are now plump, content house cats.

Candy or cake? I love candy and cake, although I prefer candy since it’s more portable. My favorite cake is Taiwanese pineapple cake.  I am obsessed with chocolate!  I like unique, old-fashioned candies like horehound hard candies or honey lollipops. For instance, after visiting England I am constantly searching for British humbugs and barley sugar candies.

Salty or sweet? How does one choose between the two? I like both, including kettle corn which is both salty and sweet!

Print or digital books? As an old soul, I prefer print books although I like the convenience of digital books. I prefer print books for the sensory experience. There is nothing like the smell of old books, the soothing sound of rustling paper, and the tactile sensation of paper beneath your fingers as you turn each page.

Nonfiction or fiction? I prefer fiction, although I also enjoy nonfiction books on interesting topics such as “Quiet: The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain.  My favorite fiction genre is urban fantasy and my favorite fiction author is Terry Pratchett. Right now, I am re-reading “Strange the Dreamer” by YA Lit author and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor; a beautifully written fantasy novel that was nominated in 2017 for the Michael L. Printz Award.

Summer or winter? Despite the beauty of summer, I prefer winter since hot weather makes me sluggish. My favorite season is Spring since I was born on the Spring Equinox.