el Don News
By Izabella Santana
From her throne at the desk, hidden from view and almost invisible, librarian and punk-rock fan Stacy Russo keeps herself engaged in her job and enjoys helping people.
“I love the service aspect of it all. I believe information is very powerful, and being able to give information to people — I believe in that as a democratic principle,” Russo said.
Russo has been hopping libraries for nine years.
She started out as an Academic Librarian at Cal State Fullerton, then split part-time positions at Chapman University and Santa Ana College. But because of her love for SAC, she chose to dedicate herself to the Dons.
“I’d rather be here than UCLA,” Russo said.
Growing up in the 1980s punk-rock scene, Russo published her own ‘zine called Anti-Establishment where she interviewed bands and wrote about music-related topics. Her favorite musicians during the time were Black Flag and Joni Mitchell.
Literature has always played a big part in her life. As a teen she discovered Jack Kerouac and the gritty realism of Charles Bukowski.
Not only is she a big lover of music and books, but animals as well. Russo owns two cats, Mr. Pibs, whom she rescued from an alley, and Sasha.
“I’m really into animal rights,” she said. “That came out of the punk-rock scene, so I became vegetarian when I was 16 and I’m a vegan now.”
Russo is very passionate about her work and is always open to answering students’ questions, even some weird ones.
“Someone asked if I had nail clippers,” Russo said.
