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| Vol. 17, No. 25 | March 26, 1998 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 25 | March 26, 1998 |
James Scott used to spend the time he was supposed to be in high school in the library. "I went in to read the things that I was interested in, not what was assigned to me," he said. "I guess that's when the seed was planted that got me interested in becoming a librarian."
The new head of media services in the Morris Library said he dropped out of high school, entered the U.S. Marines, served 13 months in Vietnam during the war, earned a G.E.D., then went on to receive a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees and worked at the Library of Congress.
Scott, who arrived on campus in September, said that initial time in the library, plus a few side roads and chance opportunities, finally led him back into very large buildings with thousands of books.
"My military experience turned me around," Scott said. "I saw people living in Third World countries, and I decided to do something with my life."
After the service, Scott entered the University of Iowa. He planned to be a writer who would focus on social realism, commenting on the problems of the world. However, a class in "Literary Adaptation" exposed him to the world of film and, particularly, how books can be adapted into movies.
Later, he became film coordinator at the University of Iowa, and his interest in films grew. As part of his job, he cataloged incoming films, wrote summaries and showed them for faculty classes and other events.
"I found I liked working in a library," Scott said. "I enjoyed the environment and working with faculty, staff and students. I'm service-oriented. Eventually, I moved into a career in library science and administration."
While at Iowa, Scott earned two master's degrees, one in film and video studies and the other in library science.
He arrived at UD after working as supervisor of the media libarary at the University of Iowa, manager of media services at Brown University and as an employee in visitors services at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
As head of the library's media services, Scott is responsible for three units- media, microforms and microcomputing.
"I oversee acquisitions, storage and dissemination," he said.
Scott explained that he knew of the University's reputation as a leader in technology before he became aware of the job opportunity. Scott's brother lives in Lewes, and his nephew is an athlete at Cape Henlopen High School.
"Being here is an excellent opportunity," he said. "I'm interested in technology and in libraries. I call myself an 'infopreneur.' That's a word I made up. It's what I do, provide information on film and technology to others.
"This is an excellent library," Scott said. "When I first came here I was impressed with the wide range of services that it provides to its faculty, staff and students. It compares very well with the University of Iowa, Brown University and the Library of Congress."
-Ed Okonowicz
Photo by Robert Cohen
