13 Questions With: Elizabeth Hostetter

March 24, 2013

Metadata Analyst, Statistics Canada

A hero who has inspired you in your career?

Michele Sura, Manager of the Privy Council Library, has been a huge inspiration. We worked together in the Statistics Canada Library and what struck me the most was her ability to manage with compassion, yet hold the highest of standards. She also taught me the value of outreach in information services; they are critical to the survival of any library.

The first job you ever held and at what age?

I used to walk kids to piano lessons at another school over the lunch hour. I earned a dollar per week.

Your first position in the library and/or information services field?

2004 Summer Student Librarian at the International Development Research Centre.

Coolest thing in your cubicle or office?

Some computer art that my son made when he was younger.

What is your guilty pleasure?

True crime shows and things like “Untold Stories of the ER”.

Career advice – what’s your top tip?

Read – a lot, whether it’s books, blogs, or journal articles. Read to keep on top of trends and learn the language, so to speak. It keeps you sharp and bolsters your credibility.

What useless skill(s) do you possess?

Making up songs and rhymes on the fly. My son used to love it, but I think – now that he’s older – he finds it a bit annoying.

Proudest moment in your professional life?

Getting my Master of Library and Information Science (McGill) when my son was a year old.

If you had 24 hours all to yourself, how would you best like to spend it?

As a mother I don’t get much time to myself, but I would probably spend it taking an online course, and catching up on reading and housecleaning.

If you didn’t work in the information industry, what would you be doing?

Probably web content management, which is what I did before becoming an information professional.

Finish this sentence: “In high school, I would have been voted the person most likely to … “

Become a librarian; I always loved hanging out in the library.

How do you stay current in your field?

Reading and networking. I like to meet people for lunch or coffee, and I network internally at Statistics Canada, particularly around metadata.

What would you like your headstone to read?

Temporarily yours…