January 2018: Jingwei Zhang

1. Why did you join AALLc?

I joined AALLc in July 2015 while attending the annual conference in Philadelphia. It was an unofficial program organized by our caucus about finding legal information in Mainland China, Hongkong, Macau, and India. I was very impressed by this program and decided to join this wonderful organization to learn more from colleagues who share the same interests in Asian legal information with me.  

I am a reference librarian at University of Tennessee College of Law. My daily work includes providing reference services, teaching legal research, and promoting faculty scholarship. I have also enjoyed planning outreach activities for the law library.

3. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy the interacting with law students and faculty through teaching and faculty services. Also, I spend an average of 10-12 hours at the reference desk each week. It is very rewarding when I was able to help public patrons find what they need.

4. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I like cooking Chinese dishes and baking. Recently I have also regained my passion for Korean drama series. :)

5. What is your favorite travel destination (Asia or otherwise!)?

Shanghai is my hometown and definitely my favorite travel destination in Asia. Other than that, I have always wanted to revisit Japan.

6. What’s your favorite part of being the president of AALLc?

Being the Chair of our caucus gives me the opportunity to interact more with our members and get more involved in caucus matters. I have always enjoyed working with members of other institutions and learned a lot from every one of them. Chairing the caucus is a challenge as I am taking on more responsibilities. In the meantime, I have also gained valuable leadership experience from this.