Librarian Nicole Murph: A Brief Biography

In October 2022, Nicole Murph, ’04, then reference assistant at the William H. Hannon Library, was promoted to a limited term as reference and instruction librarian. In March 2023, her position was made permanent.

Nicole is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in Pasadena. First in her immediate family, Nicole graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2004 with a bachelors in psychology and a minor in history. In 2010, she received her master’s in history from California State University, Northridge. After graduating from LMU, Nicole interned and worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Wende Museum in their collections management, registrar, curatorial, and public relations departments. Nicole also worked in the environmental lab industry reviewing analytical reports and providing basic microbiology analyses and prepping Total Dissolved Solids of water samples.

In 2012, Nicole returned to her alma mater, LMU, to work for the Department of Art and Art History as a senior administrative coordinator. During her time with the department, she created and directed the department’s KaleidoLA Speaker Series. In January 2020, Nicole began working for the William H. Hannon Library as a reference assistant. In 2021, she received her master’s in library and information science degree from San Jose State University; and in fall of 2022, she was promoted to reference and instruction librarian at Hannon Library and gained permanent status in March 2023.

At LMU, since 2012, Nicole is actively involved in committees and task forces, served as vice president on the Staff Senate, and currently serves on the executive boards of two staff affinity groups: Black Faculty and Staff Association and the Latinx Staff Association.

Librarians are teachers and as a librarian, Nicole continues to strengthen her skills in teaching information literacy, which is important to her since these are lifelong set of skills essential to community life beyond the classroom and one of the cornerstones of a democracy having an informed citizenry.

Fun fact: Nicole recently learned of a family connection with Hannon Library. For seven years since 1979, Betty J. Blackman served as university librarian at the William H. Hannon Library. Nicole learned that on her father’s side of the family, specifically her aunt’s family, Betty Blackman is first cousin to her own two cousins’ grandmother.