My Story

Librarians have the best jobs in the world. It’s true. I’ve had a lot of jobs, so I’m pretty sure I know. I’ve put new roofs on old barns, pulled cars out of snowdrifts, pruned moldy leaves from geraniums by the acre, and I can honestly say that there is no finer place to spend a day than in a library. When a library works, I think, it’s for two reasons. It’s because it’s the one place where everything is free. The resources and the help, yes, but also the heat in winter, the air conditioning in summer, the bathrooms, the water, the peace, the quiet, the choices, and the discoveries. That has always seemed like real freedom to me. And it’s because magic happens when people come together. In every place I’ve ever lived, I’ve always gravitated to the places that inspire people to cooperate and share. I came to Warren Wilson because I saw, from way up above the 46th parallel, all of this in action. People working and learning together. People sharing ideas, taking pride in their creativity and curiosity, and building something really powerful. Now I spend my days in the Creative Technologies Lab inside the library. It is the best of both Wilson worlds. Out the window, I can watch students stop traffic for the cattle move to upper pastures and, inside at the same time, I can help a student program an Arduino-based weather station to give us real time agricultural data about those upper pastures before the cows even get there. It’s a rare combination and just one example of what makes this place so special.

Brian Conlan

Education

  • B.A. in English, St. Olaf College
  • M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science, Dominican University

Research Interests

  • DIY technology
  • Making and tinkering
  • Open access scholarship
  • Open source computing

Courses Taught

  • MAT 299: Independent study: Introduction to Database Languages

Crews and Other Activities

  • Creative Technologies Crew Supervisor

Contact Brian Conlan

(828) 771-3063
Library, Creative Technologies Lab
WWC CPO 6398

PO Box 9000

Asheville, NC 28815-9000