Meet Alesia McManus, Environmental Sciences Librarian

Alesia provides library research support and consultation for environmental sciences students, faculty and staff. She is an experienced science librarian who can answer your questions and help you learn to do library research. Contact Alesia.

Q. How did you become a science librarian?

My favorite class in high school was biology so I knew I wanted to be a science major in college. I’m an alumna of UC Davis (’88) with a B.S. in Anthropology. While a student, I got a job at Shields Library and saw first-hand how the librarians connected students and faculty to the best information and decided that librarianship would be a good career for me. I have been able to combine my enthusiasm for connecting people with information with my ongoing interest in supporting science research and literacy.

Q. Your specialty is environmental science and policy. What do you see as the biggest environmental challenge facing our nation and the world today?

Keeping up with the environmental news these days can be discouraging if you love our Planet Earth. We have to do everything we can to address climate change as quickly as we can.

Q. How do you spend your time when you’re not at the library? 

I’m a Twitter addict. I also like to binge watch TV shows like Game of Thrones and Homeland. My current favorites are Big Little Lies on HBO & Chef’s Table on Netflix. I love cooking, which I find to be a great way to relax and unwind when I come home from work. I enjoy spending time with my husband and our cat Thomas. My husband and I try to go on day or overnight trips every other weekend.

Q. What was the high point of the past year for you in working at the library?

I think it was participating in a qualitative study of agricultural researchers at UC Davis. I learned a great deal about the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and the interviews were very informative.

Q. What was the high point of the past year in your life outside of work?

Visiting Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula in Alaska – my 50th state for my 50th birthday!

Q. Pretty cool that you’ve been to all 50 U.S. states. What was most memorable about your Alaska trip?

The most memorable things were seeing glaciers and running into a moose.

Q. What is your favorite travel destination?

I’m fortunate to have visited 24 countries, many of them in the past ten years. My favorite city is Paris and I think my favorite country is Peru. My favorite natural wonder is the Great Barrier Reef. I’m sad to read about how the rising temperature of the oceans is causing significant bleaching of coral reefs.

Q. What’s next on the travel bucket list?

We love to snorkel and my husband has never been to Hawaii so we’ll be going to Oahu in May.

Q. You recently made a move from the East Coast here to the West. How was that?

I’m a native Californian. I grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and went to UC Davis and UCLA. I lived on the East Coast for 24 years where I enjoyed the seasons, but it’s wonderful to be back in California. We love the weather and I’m fascinated by the water infrastructure in the state.

Q. Do you have a favorite book?

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Q. If you weren’t a librarian, what else might you be doing?

Traveling the world.