The Place for You and Me

See how Janet Clarke is keeping the mission of the public academic library alive

By Ellen Cooke

“Besides providing safe spaces for all students, we work to propel research — and joy and hope — in very uncertain times, here at the University Libraries. We recognize the very big responsibility we have to encourage learning, provide the right environment for it, and role model professional behavior for students to hopefully adopt.”
— Janet Clarke, Stony Brook University Libraries’ associate dean of research and learning

Janet Clarke was 9 years old when she first experienced the wonders of a public library. Having just arrived in the United States from her homeland of South Korea, she remembered when she was in third grade and her teacher in the English as a Second Language program took the class on a bus trip to the Chicago Public Library: “That was my first exposure to a library and the idea of a library. That I could take something out, read it and then bring it back — that was just amazing to me, and I started to go more and more on my own. I actually worked in a library, too, when I was a high school student.”

Fast forward to the present and Clarke said she couldn’t be prouder or happier to serve as Stony Brook University Libraries’ associate dean of research and learning. And she couldn’t feel luckier to have spent the past 26 years, and counting, among the books, stacks, substantial resources and wonderful staff members at the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library — where her affinity and appreciation for all libraries, particularly public and academic institutions, have only grown stronger.

“My vision — and what sustains me — is the knowledge that the libraries are an essential element of a student’s success at Stony Brook,” she said. “These students are here to engage in critical thinking and to become more literate about the information they consume and the knowledge that they create. Learning how to conduct the most effective research, with the new tools constantly coming into play, is key. And I just feel so privileged to play a part in that.”

A love of research is what led Clarke to make the shift from a college professor to academic librarian way back when. And a desire to help students succeed in their own research is what keeps Clarke going strong here at Stony Brook.

“One thing I’ve learned about being an academic librarian is that it is very dynamic,” Clarke said. “I love that I get to stay on top of all the latest technological advances and keep myself fresh, then share all that information and all those tools with the students. And I just love seeing that light bulb go off when they really ‘get’ it.”

When Clarke started working here in 2000, classes from three subject areas utilized the libraries’ research instruction program. “Today we have more like 40 different departments that we work with on both sides of campus who bring their students into the library as part of the curriculum,” Clarke said. “We just realized there was so much more we could do … and we’re doing it, together.”

A recent “full-on” focus, said Clarke, is teaching Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy, ethical and responsible use of AI, copyright implications and more through courses for students, as well as workshops for students, faculty and staff in collaboration with the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). “ChatGPT emerged in November 2022 and we started offering workshops the next month, in December,” she said, explaining that the offerings have grown “broader and more sophisticated as the technology evolves.”

But that’s not where it ends for Clarke, whose passion for providing all students with access to the library and all it has to offer has led to many enhancements over her tenure. “Access and equity are a foundational principle of libraries,” she said, “and that mission is what has led me and so many wonderful collaborators across East and West campuses to do all that we do, in our regular day jobs and beyond.”

“Janet represents everything we strive for in our Libraries, and she brings both heart and rigor to everything she does.”
— Karim Boughida, Dean, University Libraries

In just the past six years, Clarke and her campus colleagues have collaborated with Student Affairs, the diversity office and other areas around campus to provide a game-changing (and what many call “life-changing”) array of services and support to Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, who she said make up about 40% of SBU’s student population.

“When COVID happened, there was so much anti-Asian racism happening and affecting people in traumatic ways. All the things I read, saw and felt myself really motivated me to act. And I thought, ‘Okay, if not now, then when?’”

Clarke did act, and the results of her advocacy have resonated deeply across the university.

Rick Gatteau, Student Affairs vice president, said, “Janet has made remarkable contributions toward bettering the lives of Stony Brook students. She is an exceptional role model, mentor and student advocate. And she has worked tirelessly to ensure that every student who identifies as AAPI feels supported, engaged and cared for.”

The list of AAPI social and educational programming initiatives and celebratory and recognition events she’s brought to campus is varied, impressive and impactful (see sidebar).

“It’s really like building block by building block, we’re creating this environment that supports AAPI students,” Clarke said, “to make them feel seen and heard and celebrated.”

In addition to these programs, Clarke was among the partners who played a pivotal role in SBU’s first Student Affairs-sponsored Lunar New Year celebration this past February.

“It was like 17 degrees out. Remember those two weeks where it was freezing? Really, really freezing? And we thought, ‘Are students even going to come?’ But this is the biggest AAPI celebration of their year so, of course, they showed up. More than 700 of them. And the second amazing thing is how many members of the surrounding community came, too.”

Working with groups across campus such as Student Affairs and Facilities & Services, Janet Clarke and her team spearheaded the Melville Library Galleria Renovation initiative to expand accessibility and appeal for students who come there to study and collaborate. Clarke said: “We set out to make student study and other spaces as inviting, attractive and functional as possible and it worked. It’s lively but relaxed, buzzing with energy and a true ‘campus hotspot.’”

Beyond establishing programs and initiatives, Clarke is also making an impact as a mentor and has teamed up with 10 students over the years. Nelly Lin, who earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Sociology in 2023 and a Master of Business Administration in 2024 at Stony Brook, said, “Being paired with Janet Clarke was one of the best parts of my college experience. Her guidance and perspective helped me approach challenges with greater clarity. And her thoughtful advice and encouragement helped me move forward with greater confidence in selecting and pursuing my career.”

Lin, a human resources generalist in New York City, said she still keeps in touch with Clarke and “continues to value and appreciate her influence.”

What Clarke appreciates most about working in the library is the same thing that drew her to this “sacred space” all those years ago. “It’s a place where everyone is welcomed and belongs,” she said, “and the only place on campus staffed and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have some students who come every day. You know, this is like their second home. Some of them just squirrel away in a cubby on the third floor. And some of them are here to study with their friends because they are their support system, studying together and helping each other.”

Claiming that “everybody remembers their library experiences,” Clarke herself vividly recalled exactly where she wrote her dissertation when pursuing her PhD in English here at SBU in 1996: “I was in the music library. I was in the third-floor stacks. And I was at the Health Sciences library. It gave me my own space, somewhere I could spread out and just think, or sometimes friends would come and find me.”

Clarke feels fortunate to “be part of an organization that provides that for the students. And I love working among professionals who are as committed as I am to paying forward what they’ve received in higher education to help our students thrive. There are angels all across this campus taking steps to make this institution better and better every day. And this is right where I want to be.”