Omobolaji O. Olarinmoye, librarian for African Studies

In February, Omobolaji O. Olarinmoye will celebrate his first-year anniversary at Yale Library as librarian for African Studies in the Department of Area Studies and Humanities Research Support (DASHRS). In that brief time, he has accomplished much.

 

In collaboration with Robin Dougherty, librarian for Middle East Studies, Omobolaji developed two study guides on culture and politics in the six Portuguese-speaking African countries, known collectively as Lusophone Africa. Just one month after his arrival at Yale, Omobolaji joined other DASHRS librarians to provide assistance to students in Professor David Engerman’s course “History and Global Affairs” during the class’s research visit to Sterling Memorial Library. Before joining Yale, Omobolaji was visiting assistant professor in the Department of Government at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

 

In his role as Yale librarian for African Studies, Omobolaji is responsible for the selection, interpretation, and collection management of imprints in indigenous African languages, particularly those taught at Yale: Kiswahili, Yoruba, Wolof, and isiZulu. He also is responsible for collecting African Studies materials published in Africa by Africans. Omobolaji also acts as Yale Library’s liaison to the Council on African Studies.

 

On his very first day at Yale Library, Omobolaji met with Risë Nelson, the library’s director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) to gain insight into the planned DEIA efforts then under way at the library. 

 

“I got good insight into the DEIA process through the orientation session Risë coordinated for new library staff,” Omobolaji said. “And I am most excited to see two DEIA initiatives come to fruition: the DEIA Digest and the DEIA Staff Development Program. I am glad to be able to contribute to the success of the DEIA Digest by participating in this Spotlight profile.”