Clayton Hayes
Digital Publishing/STEM Librarian
Wayne State University
2018-2020 MiALA Treasurer
What are you currently reading?
After spending a bit too much time in the UK (The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, and some of Agatha Christie's Ms. Marple) I've moved on to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel, Purple Hibiscus. I really enjoyed Americanah and am looking forward to seeing more of her work.
I've also been reading a book called How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier, a kind of best-practices guide to cartography. I've had a growing personal interest in mapping and have recently been made the liaison to our Department of Urban Studies and Planning so it seemed like a good overlap between personal interest and professional development.
What are your research interests?
I'm interested in examinations of the demographics of participants in professional communication venues for librarians. Though so far the only form this has taken is an article on gender and the ACRL's SCHOLCOMM listserv, I hope to one day continue doing research along those lines and expand the scope of my investigations.
I've also been trying to learn different methods for creating digital maps and incorporating them into research on Detroit's history. Really, I suppose, Detroit history in general is an area of interest of mine though I wouldn't necessarily say I've done any research on it.
Do you have hobbies or interests outside of the library?
I play goalkeeper for a recreational soccer league team in Detroit; the league just celebrated its 10th anniversary, though I've only been playing for the last 5 years. Each team represents a different neighborhood in the city (or in Hamtramck) and I play for a team called Scripps Park which is one of two teams representing the Woodbridge neighborhood.
I also enjoy films, especially (at the moment) French and American Noir, French New Wave, 70s/80s Italian horror, and 80s/90s American horror. Though I'll watch pretty much anything once. Some of the best films I watched for the first time this year are: Drunken Angel (1948), The Old Dark House (1932), Boy (2010), Us (2019), Mulholland Drive (2001), L'Assassin Habite au 21 (1942), and Un Couteau dans le Coeur (2018).
What drew you to the library profession?
I knew that I enjoyed learning, instruction, and working with people one-on-one, but I didn't want to do any of those things full-time. Academic Librarianship is the perfect intersection of those things (and others), and gives me the opportunity to participate in such a wide variety of activities that I (almost) always find it enjoyable.
What do you value about MiALA?
I think the most valuable thing about MiALA to me is that it has welcomed me to step into leadership roles and allows me to "learn as I go." As someone who is relatively early in their career, I haven't had a ton of opportunities to be in leadership positions, and the fact that I've been able to do that in MiALA has been extremely valuable.
