Rudisill Library: a campus sanctuary

For Lucas Quinn, M.A. ‘25, Carl A. Rudisill Library at Lenoir-Rhyne University has been more than just a workplace during graduate school – it has provided consistency, community and a home on campus.

“The library has been the most positive part of my experience at LR. It’s like a sanctuary,” Quinn shared. “This is the place where I can fully use my knowledge and skills and know my contributions are valuable to my colleagues and fellow students.”

Quinn began graduate studies at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2020, drawn to the university by family connections and the opportunity to serve as a graduate assistant. Initially enrolled in clinical counseling, Quinn later switched to human services, a fully online program described as a “better fit” for both skill set and personality. With an eye toward life after graduate school, current explorations include interests in nonprofit organizations and Ph.D. programs. For now, the focus is on an innovative internship that blends academics with service in the library.

“I’m developing ways to merge human services with library services,” said Quinn. “It’s all about promoting mental health and sharing the library as a sanctuary for everyone. We’re using the space we have to connect people with the support they need.”

The goal of the measures Quinn has planned will promote wellness by making new resources available each month. Topics include mental health first aid, advocacy for refugee students, information on food pantries and sharing libraries, career development and professionalism and strengthening ties between Lenoir-Rhyne and the surrounding community.

Quinn explained, “Since this project is my practicum, it’s officially set up just for one semester, but I’m hoping I’ve set it all up in such a way that some of these programs can be carried on by future staff members after I graduate.”

Quinn’s everyday work blends leadership, logistics and lifting, with a schedule that runs the gamut from processing book returns and overseeing circulation to shelf-reading and supervising student workers. The work touches nearly every corner of library operations. One of their biggest recent projects involved leading the “weeding” of the library collection to make space to accommodate materials arriving with the relocation of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary to the Lenoir-Rhyne Hickory campus – a massive undertaking that involved evaluating every book on every shelf to determine whether it should stay or be donated. Books selected for removal were passed along to Better World Books to be processed and shipped around the world.

“A lot of my job is manual labor – it’s not easy, but I love it,” Quinn said with a laugh.

Despite the physical demands, Quinn finds the work deeply meaningful and credits the student staff and supervisors for making the environment collaborative and welcoming, which goes hand-in-hand with the library’s role in advocacy and access – an area Quinn feels passionate about.

“People sometimes assume libraries are strict or conservative places, but we are here for everyone,” Quinn said. “Libraries support mental health, marginalized groups, free expression. We believe literature and knowledge are power – and we want all people to feel welcome here.”