National Transportation Knowledge Network (NTKN): Blog

NTKN Member Spotlight - Madeline Kuncio

           Madeline Kuncio, Librarian, MnDOT

This article was reprinted with permission from the MN DOT Newsline, February 28, 2024 and was originally titled "On the Job: Madeline Kuncio does the research (and more)", written by Doug Mack

https://www.newsline.dot.state.mn.us/articles.html#Z5 

From historic maps to obscure documents to the latest news in specific industries, there’s lots of information that MnDOT employees need but sometimes can’t find on their own. Madeline Kuncio and her colleagues at the MnDOT Library are there to help through research and other services.

How long have you been at MnDOT?

I started in August 2021, so about two and a half years.

Give us a quick overview of the library and the services you offer. How do people access it?

Most people think of us as a provider of books and e-books, but the bulk of the librarian’s work is reference and research for the entire agency, both in person and online. Most people reach out to us over email or our Ask-A-Librarian form, but we’re open every day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We also send out curated news alerts on various topics of interest to MnDOT, like Connected and Automatous Vehicles, Sustainability and Public Health, and Government Workforce Development. Last year, we started the MnDOT Digital Library, which contains digitized copies of MnDOT material, including books, maps, photographs and reports.

What are your personal day-to-day tasks?

It depends on if I am at home or in the office. I come in at least once a week, and usually more. About half my time is spent working on the MnDOT Digital Library: getting materials scanned, creating metadata and ingesting the items into the library. If I’m in the office, I work on projects such as preparing material for digitization, working with the physical collection and doing research that I can’t do online. If I’m at home, I focus on uploading documents to the digital library and creating metadata, and anything I can do completely electronically.

How does your job fit into the broader work of MnDOT?

We work with other offices when they need information and help accessing resources. MnDOT Library is a focused, specialized library, so for materials requested by staff that we don’t own, I borrow reports, books and articles from other libraries, who borrow specialized material from us as well. Now that we have the MnDOT Digital Library, I work with other offices to see if they have material that they want to preserve in another repository. The material we collect sometimes overlaps with eDOCs, but it has both a wider and narrower focus.

What the most challenging and rewarding parts of your job?

The most rewarding part is being able to dig into a topic and learn new information that changes how I think about things in my life. For example, I recently did research on snowplows, and I learned a lot about how plows work. I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life, but I’ve never thought about plows in any detail. The most challenging part is related to that. Sometimes I can’t find the information the customer needs, and I don’t know if it doesn’t exist or if there is an error in my search technique.

 
Is there anything about your job that might surprise other people (either inside or outside MnDOT)?

Probably how many different subjects my work touches on. I’ve done research on Minnesota laws, public engagement best practices, the history of the Office of Communications and how DOTs around the country are planting native plant species to make roadsides into pollinator habitats.

What are your interests or hobbies outside your work with MnDOT?

I love to cook, and I’m trying to learn painting at the moment.