Vol. 38, No. 1
March 2008

RON BRYANT MOVES ON UP

Congratulations to Ron Bryant, who was recently appointed Assistant Director at BTBL. Ron has been with BTBL for over two and a half years, but his career as librarian actually began in college. “I started my library journey as a student aide within Cataloging for the Hayden Library at Arizona State University,” says the self-described jack-of-all-trades. He admits he didn’t really know what career he wanted to pursue, but he wanted to study history and obtain a college education.

Ron did manage to get a college education. Three times over. “I attended nine or ten schools,” he laughs, counting off on his fingers. "It usually costs a small fortune when I have to request official transcripts. It was at Arizona State University where he received his degree in history, followed by a Master’s in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. That degree was later accompanied by yet another Master’s; this one in Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona.

Ask the Gary, Indiana native and Scottsdale transplant what he does on the weekends, and he’ll probably tell you he’s hanging out with his family or busy at his part-time job. As a Naval Reservist, Ron spends the weekend training with other Reserves once a month. Throw in other commitments such as church and a personal life, and it becomes a challenge to balance. His secret to managing time? “Learning how to set priorities," he says simply.

During his time in the Navy, Ron was deployed twice, “Talk about stress,” he says. “There’s stress here, but not as much compared to those experiences. It has definitely prepared me for the challenges of this new position.” The father of three also worked in the Navy Historical Center in Washington, DC, where he was the archivist for the Ships History Branch. This entailed collecting and maintaining ships’ operational reports for previous years. “I enjoyed going out to the fleet, being a resource, and archiving information,” he says.

Ron is making the transition from Technical Services Librarian to Assistant Director, where he expects to provide the same level of service to patrons, work more with the public, and ensure customer satisfaction. Way to go, Ron!