Emily Horn recently joined Resource Management and Description as Resource Management and Description Coordinator. Helping to build and cultivate Falvey Library’s collection, Horn assists with acquisitions, licensing, description, discovery, and access to resources for the Villanova University community.
Horn grew up in Lower Merion and attended Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where she earned a BA in American Studies with a dual minor in religion and writing/rhetoric. Her thesis focused on southern Jewish communities and the Civil Rights Movement. “I was also interested in labor history and examining the way labor activism in fiction interacted.”
After graduating from Trinity, Horn moved to New York and began working as an assistant to a literary agent with the Trident Media Group Literary Agency. “I had a couple of different jobs there…I began working as a receptionist, then became a part-time assistant to an agent specializing in children’s books, and an assistant to the chairman of the agency.” Grateful for the opportunity to learn about the publishing industry, Horn realized she wanted to focus on the talent side of the profession. She took a job with ICM Partners, one of world’s leading talent agencies, working as an assistant to an agent focused on event planning. “ICM represents a number of people across the spectrum, not solely authors. We worked with actors, broadcasters, directors, journalists, and public figures. I managed the contracts and logistics for many speaking events.”
Before joining the Falvey Library staff, Horn worked for Penguin Random House in their speakers bureau coordinating author events. In addition to event management and marketing, she also wrote weekly newsletters and numerous authors biographies. “It was fun to be close to that environment,” said Horn, reflecting on her interactions with a number of prominent authors including Bryan Stevenson (2018-2019 One Book Villanova selection), George R. R. Martin, and her favorite author Ottessa Moshfegh.
Horn’s experience working in events aided her transition to resource management and descriptions coordinator. “[This role] is like solving millions of puzzles. It makes you prioritize: what’s the most important thing, and how do we actually get that thing done? That’s what really intrigued me about this opportunity. I wanted to transition to a more academic environment, but also I liked solving these puzzles. Asking, “Is there another way that would be more efficient to complete a task? Is there a way that accounts for this one exception that always trips us up?'”
Working alongside Danielle Adamowitz, Resource Management and Description Coordinator, and Megan Ausen, Resource Management and Description Coordinator, Horn assists in ordering books that are requested by the campus community and processes those acquisitions across many mediums (books, e-books, streaming videos, etc.). “The actual act of acquiring these things must be as streamlined as possible because every acquisition has a stack of paperwork that goes with it. There’s licensing agreements, invoices, and digital records…numerous things need to happen to acquire a resource.”
In her free time, Horn enjoys reading and writing [at least 500 words daily]. A published author, her first book, Mindful As F**k, was released in October 2020 (Simon & Schuster). Writing a lot of comedy, Horn frequently freelances for Reductress, a women’s joke magazine [similar to The Onion].
“I’m grateful to be at Falvey Library. I really appreciate that everyone is invested in teaching and learning, and that it’s a collaborative and friendly environment.”
Horn’s office is located on Falvey’s second floor. (Email: emily.horn@villanova.edu.)
Her summer reading recommendation is Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. The book details the Sackler family’s role in the Opioid crisis.
Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.
