Andi Beckendorf knew even before going to college that she wanted to combine music and librarianship. A lot of her career journey has been focused on that combination but “the serendipity of being able to combine the two things as a job came about purely by chance. I think I was in the right place at the right time and was able to demonstrate that the atypical combination was an asset for the institution and for the students. I think the opportunity to do all of my graduate work at the University of Iowa played a large role in shaping future possibilities because of opportunities I had from both coursework and application. In addition to my SLIS degree, I had work study positions in the Rita Benton Library and in cataloging with Grace Fitzgerald, and the opportunity to do the MA and DMA in double bass performance and pedagogy with a world renowned pedagogue (Diana Gannett) may not have been possible anywhere else.” Her favorite part of her current position is getting to help students work on research, finding it fun to connect students to resources.
Andi came into SLIS unsure of what direction to take librarianship, studying public librarianship, academic librarianship, and special collections, and she’s “happy to say that I am still able to use all three courses! The first two relate to my professional role at Luther College, and I am able to use the third one in my role as a trustee for the Decorah Public Library.”
In 2024, Andi gave a presentation on music information literacy at the 2024 International Association of Music Libraries Congress in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Her presentation was based on a publication written by her and several other colleagues from the Music Library Association: “Music Companion to the Framework for Information Literacy.”
Her advice to current SLIS students is to be curious: “One of my favorite quotes is ‘Chance favors the prepared mind’ (Louis Pasteur). In my academic advising and teaching, I encourage students to explore, to wonder, and to make experiments in their thinking, research, and playing. There may still be moments of uncertainty, but curiosity can offer a way to keep your thinking flexible, which can prepare you for moments of insight on how to move ahead.”
She would love to thank her librarian colleagues at the University of Iowa: Katie Buehner, Melissa Moll, and Christine Bellomy! “There are not many music librarians in the state of Iowa, and I can always count on them for advice when I need it.”