Lyuba Basin

Meet Lyuba!

Lyuba Basin was only four years old when her family immigrated to the United States from Belarus. Her passion for literature and languages stems from her early immersion into a multi-lingual, cross-cultural world. Although Basin did not come from a family of readers, she was always drawn to books. The first book she remembers reading and loving was Patricia Pollaco’s Rechenka’s Eggs. In this children’s book, she saw her own family, which served as a great comfort as she began to learn about and spend time in the school library. It was through literature that Basin discovered that the world outside was much larger than she first imagined. She began to read and write in order to travel to distant places, and experience worlds only accessible through the imagination. As Basin grew older, this hobby turned into a successful academic and professional pursuit.

Lyuba Basin is a two-time University of Utah Alumna, who graduated with double bachelors’ degrees in English Literature and Applied Linguistics in 2015, and a master’s in World Languages and Cultures in 2018. Prior to completing a graduate degree, Basin was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Argentina. There she developed her pedagogy in teaching with rare materials and artists’ books, which was published in the university textbook, Express Yourself: Exploring Creativity in English Language Education (2018).

 

Career Insight

Today, Lyuba Basin is the Rare Books Librarian at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. In both her personal and professional life, she continues to pursue the connections found within languages and literature. More specifically, she is interested in the materiality of the book and its relationship to historical, political, and cultural contexts.

As an undergraduate at the University of Utah, Basin had the fortunate opportunity of coming to several presentations in the Rare Books classroom. During one of those presentations, she had learned about the part-time, student employee positions offered by the Marriott Library and immediately applied. While excited about the possibility of working in a library and on campus, she did not anticipate was how much the Rare Books collection would alter the course of her life. While completing both her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Basin worked as a part-time Rare Books Assistant in Special Collections. During those five years, she actively used the collection for her own academic research. The Rare Books collection not only inspired her pedagogy while teaching on a Fulbright Scholarship in Argentina, it was also highlighted in her Master’s thesis, It’s What Matters: The Materiality of the Book in the Twentieth Century. 

Beginning with her perspective as a student, Basin understood the important role that Special Collections and primary source materials can have on research in higher education. When she transitioned into a full-time position in 2019, she brought those experiences with her. In this role, she focused on enhancing the digital resources of the Department by enhancing digital exhibitions and developing a series of Rare Books Virtual Lectures. Additionally, Basin continues regular contributions to Open Book, the Rare Books blog, which has maintained a consistent digital presence on the Library’s website since 2011. The exhibitions, virtual lectures, and blog posts allow students to not only browse through the collection, but also develop an understanding of the greater historical and cultural links that exist between historical and contemporary books.

While digital resources are an important tool for the twenty-first century, Basin also recognizes the need to nourish and develop relationships with students and faculty on campus, as well as local community patrons. Her main responsibility as the Rare Books Librarian (and perhaps the most fulfilling) is Special Collections Instruction. During the academic semesters, Basin works with a variety of different courses –Book Arts, English, Writing and Rhetoric, Spanish and other foreign languages, Middle East Studies, Business, Honors, History, Philosophy, Graphic Design, Art History, just to name a few. Each Rare Books presentation is a carefully curated selection of books from the collection that fits the curriculum of the class and the needs of the students. While working with such a wide range of subjects, Basin has been able to develop a deep understanding of the Rare Books collection, while increasing her knowledge of the historical movements in book history – across languages, cultures, and eras. 

Basin’s approach to both instruction and patron support is founded upon her own experience as an immigrant and first-generation student, who transferred from the community college system to the University at a later stage in life. When her academic focus was on linguistics and language acquisition, she volunteered as a teacher at the English Skills Learning Center and worked with students of all ages, speaking in different languages, with varying degrees of literacy. Because of her background and work with ESL learners, Basin is able to recognize the barriers and intimidation that students might face while working with Special Collection materials; and so strives to ensure an environment of accessibility for all.

Additionally, Basin understands the importance of representation and has made it a priority to highlight the diversity of the Rare Books collection in all the work that she does – in instruction, written blog posts, curated exhibitions, primary source research, outreach initiatives, collaboration with organizations on campus, and the acquisition of new materials.

 

Advice for Students

Seek out new opportunities, say yes to adventures, and never stop learning.

Basin credits her personal and professional success to the variety of resources provided at the University of Utah. Experiences such as Learning Abroad in the Caribbean and volunteering with the Bennion Center’s Alternative Breaks program took Basin out of her comfort zone, introduced her to new friends, and encouraged independence. Attending presentations, conferences, and other on-campus events also inspired Basin to move toward further exploration and discovery.

Although she no longer attends classes, Basin considers herself a “forever student” and is still just as excited about campus life as when she first enrolled in 2012.