Debora Ervin - The Stars at KLIC: Journey Story of our Staff

By Debora Ervin

Before working at Chattanooga State, I worked as an office manager for 10 years. The company suddenly lost a major contract and had to lay off a lot of people. Of course that affected me. But an opportunity came for me to return to school and to revamp my skills. Families First was the program that allowed me to return to college to obtain a degree.

I enrolled at Chattanooga State, and as I was completing my second semester, I decided it was time to start applying for jobs. One day after class, as I was walking by the cafeteria, there was a posting for a part-time position in the library. I applied for the position and was hired. I started as a permanent part-time library assistant. I completed my Chattanooga State associate’s degree in Information Systems – End User Support, and after working 5-6 years in the library, I became a full-time library assistant.

I’ve enjoyed my time working in the library! I've had the opportunity to learn and increase my skills.  What I do here is assist with managing the public service area, supervise and train our student assistants, train staff on circulation, and taught library RI100 classes.  I oversee our inter-library loan services and course reserve services. In between time, I help promote the library events and services through live-streaming on Periscope and other social media platforms. The events that I lead annually for the library are Black History Month, Stress Free Zone, and KLIC Chats.

I had the pleasure last year of attending the Access Services Conference held in Atlanta and it was a great opportunity for me to learn more about my area of work. I was able to bring that wealth of knowledge back and implement it immediately.

I've been an entrepreneur for over 20 years, and I've worked here for 19 years. I love what I do here and look forward to many more years.

Debora's Campus Service: 
BEST Team - Chattanooga State (2 years)
Non-Faculty Sick Leave Bank Secretary – Chattanooga State (3 years)
Graphics Committee - Kolwyck Library & Information Commons
Social Media Team - Kolwyck Library & Information Commons
Marketing Committee – Kolwyck Library & Information Commons