First-year Personal Librarians: McDonnell Hall (Floors 1 & 2)

What can your First-year Personal Librarian do for you?

• Keep you informed with periodic e-mail messages highlighting resources and programs
• Assist you with your research assignments by helping you identify the best sources and formulate search strategies
• Answer your questions about library services and resources
• Connect you with librarians across all subject areas
• Support you even when you’re not on campus—for example if you’re on break
• Help you when you don’t know where to start, or can’t think of what to do next!

Your First-year Personal Librarian is Susan Falciani Maldonado.

Susan is the University Archivist and Director of Special Collections at Bertrand Library.

The mission of Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) is to introduce students to primary sources including rare books, manuscripts, and archival records. We are happy to support research requests from students, faculty, staff, and the general public. 

Susan was destined to be a history major since about the age of eight. She was fascinated not only by historical narratives but also by the accompanying material culture. When her family visited Colonial Williamsburg when she was thirteen, William & Mary became the only college on her wish list, and she obtained a history degree from there in 2000. Her interest in material culture led her to a job in the antiques auction industry, and from there to working for an antiquarian bookseller. In time, she realized that her interest in the research of rare bookselling was greater than her interest in the business side, and she obtained a graduate degree in library science from Rutgers University. Since 2014, she has worked as a special collections librarian at small liberal arts institutions where she has the privilege of introducing undergraduates to rare and primary materials. She has a particular interest in how learning about a college/university's history can enhance a student's sense of place. 

Before coming to Bucknell, Susan was a lifelong NJ native. She and her husband are proud pet parents of five cats. She enjoys antiquing (especially auctions), knitting, and collecting decorated publishers' bindings.