ATGthePodcast 315 - A Conversation with Xan Arch, Dean of Libraries, Portland State University

The following interview is part of the 2025 Charleston Conference Leadership Interview Series. In this series, we sit down with leaders and innovators who are making a real difference in scholarly publishing, libraries, and the broader information world. Each conversation is a chance to hear firsthand how these decision makers tackle new challenges, rethink traditional models, and collaborate across sectors. Today's episode features the next conversation from the 2025 Charleston Conference Leadership Interview Series.  Erin Gallagher, Chair, Acquisitions & Discovery Services at the University of Florida, and a Conference Director, talks with Xan Arch, Dean of Libraries, Portland State University. In this conversation, Xan shares with Erin her library origin story which began with her love of checking out books from the public library as a child and a temp job at the Duke Business Library that she took after college while doing temp work.  She talks about switching institutions post pandemic and her move to Portland State University and working to understand that library's experience during the pandemic. She talks about the plenary panel she was on at the 2025 Charleston Conference, "Leading in Times of Crises", the colliding crises libraries are currently facing along with burnout from pandemic days. Xan recently posted a video called "Dean's Decoded" shortly before completing her dissertation on equity in hiring practices in academia and earning her PhD.  Lastly, Xan talks about serving her students and serving the public, to combine that personal and professional affection for Portland and, as she says, "to let knowledge serve the city." The video of of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/EyMevTpJN1Q LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xan-arch-3216bb3/ Keywords: #CharlestonConference #AgainstTheGrain #AnnualReviews #LeadershipInLibraries #InnovationInLibraries #TeamWork #Team #ConferenceEvolution #LibraryCommunity #Librarianship #ProfessionalDevelopment #LibrarianJourney #LibraryEducation #InformationAccess #LibraryCommunity #libraries #librarians #libraryCareer #librarySchool #LibraryLove #academic #AcademicPublishing #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication  #learning #learnon #information #leaders #leadership #2024ChsConf ##career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts