Welcome José Rincón

Please join us in welcoming José Rincón to the William H. Hannon Library! José is our new reference and instruction librarian for business.

José is a native Angeleno who became a university librarian at Marymount California University in 2015, where he was the director of library services and learning support coordinator. José also worked as a reference and instructional assistant at the Herman B Wells Library at Indiana University, Bloomington, while earning his M.L.S. José received his MBA in 2018 from Marymount California University.

In order to get to know José a little better, we asked him a few questions about coming to Loyola Marymount University:

What drew you to the world of archives and libraries?

“In 1998, I was an undergraduate at California State University, Northridge. During this time, I applied for a library assistant position at the Delmar T. Oviatt Library through a federal work-study program. While my passion for early education had been ignited years prior, the Oviatt Library position served as my official introduction to the world of libraries.

I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue a career in teaching. In fact, after earning my B.A. in liberal studies with a focus on education, I went on to the Michael D. Eisner College of Education to earn a multiple subject teaching credential for grades K-8.

Fast-forward to 2010. My good friend, Madelyn Washington, who is now the music librarian at the University of Huston, recommended that I apply for a diversity fellowship for the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. While I didn’t receive the fellowship, I made the decision to go to library school. I began to work as a reference assistant and as an instructional assistant at the Herman B Wells Library while working on my degree. I went on to work with the Kelley School of Business, successfully providing library workshops for a variety of courses. Moreover, by 2018, I had earned a master’s degree in business administration.

When I signed up for a work study program as a library assistant at Cal State Northridge 24 years ago, I never thought that it would bring me here. My background in librarianship and education has allowed me to develop innovative teaching methods which allow me to provide effective information literacy instruction not only in business but across multiple disciplines. I’ve elevated day-to-day operations across multiple institutions, and intend to leverage this knowledge to not only serve the LMU community, but to help grow it.”

What about this new role are you most excited about?

“I’m excited to be working with the LMU learning community, the Reference and Instruction Department, the College of Business Administration, and to be collaborating with other library and LMU departments. I’m looking forward to working with faculty and students from the Department of Accounting, Finance and Computer Information Systems, Management, and Management and Business Law. I’m excited to find ways to connect with students through the different business centers developed here at LMU (Center for Asian Business, Center for Accounting Ethics, Governance, and the Public Interest, Fred Keisner Center for Entrepreneurship, Executive MBA program and The Good Lab). When it comes to assisting our LMU community with locating business data, teaching library newcomers how to use the library’s systems, and planning for the William H. Hannon Library’s future success, I’ve got tons of ideas and can’t wait to hear from our neighbors. I’m thrilled that I’ll be teaming up with the acquisitions and collection development team in selecting and evaluating the library’s electronic business databases and other materials, as this is critical in ensuring that student and instructor needs are met.”

What have you been listening to, reading, or watching lately?

“A few weeks ago, I was asked to provide a workshop for professor Marcus Crews’ graduate course “Corporate Entrepreneurship, and Innovation.” I went and browsed our “Explore Staff Picks” collection in our library to find some content and inspiration to begin developing the lesson. I found: Seed Deals: How to Grow from Startup to Venture Capital by David J. Willbrand. One concept that I took from this book is that every start-up company has a beginning and an end. The end-stage is mergers and acquisitions (M&A). If a company gets to the M&A stage, a liquidity event could happen, which is where the company assets are sold, liabilities are paid off, and owners are paid through equity. Right before M&A, there is a stage called the venture capital stage, and at this point, the company has picked up momentum and is attracting and landing new investors. The stage between start-up and venture capital is the seed stage. This stage is very critical for the success of the company, especially if it plans to reach the venture capital stage. As the company is growing and developing, it needs cash. Investors through preferred stock, convertible promissory notes, and a simple agreement for future equity (S.A.F.E.) invest this money. The students in this course were getting ready to work on corporate venture and strategic entrepreneurship projects. Wilbrand’s insights were presented to them before beginning our business database exploration.”

What is something about you that we would be surprised to learn?

“Between 2005-2009, I went on a couple of national and international tours with the Tony Award musical “Blast” as a visual performer and a musician. Visualize a marching band on stage with performers playing and performing choreography with their brass instruments, percussion instruments, and dancers manipulating a variety of props on stage with special lighting through a variety of musical numbers. In high school, I was very involved with the music program. I was in marching band, winter drumline, winter guard, and concert band. While in college, I performed with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps from Concord, California and Fantasia Winter Guard from Riverside, California. The performing arts taught me excellence, discipline, creativity, cultural awareness, empathy, and compassion. I believe all schools; especially public schools, need to continue allocating funding for these performing arts programs so that students can reap the benefits of this powerful developmental tool.”

Anything else you’d like to tell us?

“I want to acknowledge that throughout the past two years, society as a whole has been carefully navigating uncharted waters. We are all working on visualizing an optimistic future with our loved ones, family, and friends. We have embraced new ways to relax. From discovering new books and browser-based games to learning new skills, like knitting and baking. Some of us have even gotten healthier through exercise. In fact, during the pandemic, I enrolled in cross-fit, boxing, and Olympic lift classes. These classes have assisted me in improving my mental health, energy, strength building, and stress reduction. Together, we will get through this — and with any luck; we’ll get through it stronger and in many ways, wiser.”

We are delighted that José has joined our team at the library. Please join us in welcoming him to our campus community!