Familiar Face Takes Over as Library Director

Jana Mayfield Mullen, who began teaching in Westmont’s history and religious studies departments in 2001, is the new director of Voskuyl Library. She joined the library staff in 2013 and served as co-director for the past year.

Though the library is open to students only on an extremely limited basis, staff continues to provide research assistance, teach information literacy, and check out books and DVDs through contactless curbside pickup. “We’re confident we can navigate the challenges we face as we empower students and faculty in their research and learning,” Mullen says.

Mullen graduated from Morris Harvey College in West Virginia, completed a Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina and a doctorate in the history of Christianity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky. She also earned a Master of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky.

“Students are our most important resource,” Mullen says. “As one of the largest employers on campus, we mentor our student workers, who provide valuable services such as research help, tutoring for general education courses, and support for interlibrary loans. They keep our doors open on the weekends and late evenings; they process our new books and check them out to patrons. The library is a lonely place without their presence, and we look forward to welcoming them back inside in the near future.”

As an adjunct professor, Mullen taught courses in European cultural history, world geography, North American religions, and world history.

“Many years ago, I was struck by a secular information scientist, who declared that providing access to information was only the beginning of the librarian’s role,” she says. “Information—even if it’s reliable—is the foundation for developing knowledge. But knowledge is most valuable when it leads to wisdom. This is our job, our purpose and our end: to participate as agents of God’s grace in the building up of knowledge and wisdom for the Kingdom of God.”