When Summer Mord started college at Mississippi State, like many students she knew one place that would be central to her studies: Mitchell Memorial Library. She didn't know she would spend much more time there beyond her searches for books and resources. She also found her future husband and her future career, all at the library!
As coordinator for access services, Mord has experience doing every job in her department. She began as a student worker after enrolling at MSU in 1993. It was there that she met a fellow student worker in the library named Russell Mord. For them, the rest is history. They now have been married for 14 years and are the proud parents of two children, 11-year-old Meagan Grace and 8-year-old Zachary.
After graduating with a degree in educational psychology and a minor in counseling, the Hattiesburg native became employed full-time as a library assistant. A promotion to library associate followed and eventually another to assistant coordinator before gaining her current title.
Mord's department could be described as the "front door" of the library. It is the first stop for assistance for students, faculty and other library patrons. Access Services oversees circulation, course reserves materials, inter-library loan, and also handles security for the library.
In addition to Mitchell Memorial's own vast holdings, the library serves as a gateway to 40 other libraries within the state as a part of the Golden Triangle Regional Library Consortium and to more than 260 additional university, college and independent research libraries as part of the Center for Research Libraries Consortium. Students may search through the library's catalog system for materials that are not housed at Mitchell. Inter-library loan is another option for borrowing materials from even more libraries outside the catalog system, Mord explains. She said she enjoys working with individuals to help find the materials they need.
"It makes every day a little different, and you never know what the next question will be," Mord says. "I enjoy working with people and being able to help them find what they are looking for, whether they are writing a book or doing some other type of research. I just enjoy helping people."
Mord says the library staff always works to get materials as quickly as possible.
In addition to her work at the library, Mord loves attending MSU football games and doing mission projects with her family. She teaches a missions class at Sturgis Baptist Church, where her husband also serves as pastor.