Growing up, Jim Hutchens never imagined he would become a librarian. When he graduated from high school in Pennsylvania, he went to play football at St. Francis College (now St. Francis University) in Loretto, PA. His time at St. Francis ended when he was injured, and he enrolled at Clarion University and majored in history.
“There weren’t a lot of opportunities being a history major,” said Jim, who remembers telling his advisor at the time, “I’d like to be a history professor like Indiana Jones or Jack Ryan.”
His advisor instead pointed him in the direction of a graduate program in library sciences, but Jim wasn’t interested. Instead, he tried his hand at personal training and restaurant management, but neither of those were a good fit. When his former advisor tracked him down and once again suggested a graduate assistantship in library science, Jim put on a suit, went to the interview, and changed the trajectory of his career.
His path veered again when his mother gave him a gift of a vacation at a timeshare in Fort Lauderdale, and liked it so much that he decided to move permanently. He responded to an ad for a position of distance education librarian at Nova Southeastern University, was chosen for the job, and began a remarkable career at NSU. After a year, he accepted a position for document delivery. His next job was to Director for Library Systems, a position he held for 15 years.
At the suggestion of one of his NSU mentors, Lydia Acosta, Jim then applied to become the Executive Director of the Alvin Sherman Library. Soon after accepting that job, he was presented with an opportunity to fill his current role—Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian.
Now, as a member of NSU’s Fellows Society, Jim is giving back to the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center, hoping to help other staff members pursue their own successful career paths.
“At NSU, I’ve had five jobs, and each step of the way, I had professional development opportunities,” said Jim. “We don’t have the funding right now to give everyone the same opportunities I had."
“What I wanted to do was to have a fund so that librarians—and not just librarians, but all library staff— could have professional development opportunities.” he said.
Jim noted that one of the reasons he stayed at NSU for more than 20 years is that he could see opportunities to grow and rise at the library.
“When I did my first interview, this building that I’m sitting in wasn’t even built, but I was shown the plans.,” he said. “I realized I would be on the ground floor of this growth."
Jim said that he also really enjoys the atmosphere of both South Florida and of the Alvin Sherman Library itself. He appreciates the variety of cultures, countries, backgrounds, and socio-economic stories found in the community and the library.
“Working at the Alvin Sherman Library is really a treat and a delight because it’s a joint-use library.” “You walk into the atrium and you’ll see three generations at a story time—a little child, dad, and grandma. On the third floor, you’ll have three HPD students working, and if you go up to the fourth floor, there will be graduate students in a study room."
“The Alvin Sherman Library is a unique and special place,” he added. “It’s not just a beautiful building, but what we do here is really special.”
