Simmons Success

just the facts
Alphonse Vinh likens himself to the famed Peanuts comic character, Pig Pen. Instead of walking around in a cloud of dust, however, it’s a cloud of books. “I own thousands of them,” states Vinh. And, he’s not exaggerating. He’s got about 6,000 books in his own personal library. French literature, Eastern Orthodox religion, Russian history, and oh yes, cookbooks — lots and lots of cookbooks.

As a reference librarian at National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, DC, Vinh researches stories for NPR news reporters and correspondents around the globe. He fact-checks stories before they air, reviews reporters’ scripts, and alerts NPR’s programming department to story ideas or experts worth interviewing.

Vinh also writes a monthly column for NPR — "Musings with Alphonse Vinh" — which highlights interesting topics he comes across in his vast reading of new books and articles. His column has taken on somewhat of a cult following with more than one million people reading it each month! “I feel so privileged to be the only librarian in any national news network with his own column,” says Vinh, “especially given NPR’s reputation for excellence and integrity and the quality of its listeners.”

A 1986 graduate of Simmons’s library and information science school, Vinh says when he entered the program he had the intellect to be a good reference librarian, but not the training. “Simmons showed me how to be a reference librarian and in a sense, taught me how to ‘fish for life,’” he notes. “Beyond my career as a librarian, I aspire to be a scholar and at GSLIS I was educated to do that. I was surrounded by professors and mentors who were passionate about their subject matter and passionate about teaching. I was energized by the collegial community at the school and by the wealth of internship opportunities in one of the greatest library towns in America.”

Vinh takes his scholar role seriously. In addition to his work at NPR, he has published reviews, essays, and poems in a variety of magazines. His first book, Cleanth Brooks and Allen Tate: The Collected Letters, 1933-1976, was published in 1998. He wrote an essay included in the 2001 book Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America. He also teaches at Catholic University of America.

previous | next



Alphonse Vinh likens himself to the famed Peanuts comic character, Pig Pen. Instead of walking around in a cloud of dust, however, it’s a cloud of books. “I own thousands of them,” states Vinh. And, he’s not exaggerating. He’s got about 6,000 books in his own personal library. French literature, Eastern Orthodox religion, Russian history, and oh yes, cookbooks — lots and lots of cookbooks. As a reference librarian at National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, DC, Vinh researches stories for NPR news reporters and correspondents around the globe. He fact-checks stories before they air, reviews reporters’ scripts, and alerts NPR’s programming department to story ideas or experts worth interviewing. Vinh also writes a monthly column for NPR — "Musings with Alphonse Vinh" — which highlights interesting topics he comes across in his vast reading of new books and articles. His column has taken on somewhat of a cult following with more than one million people reading it each month! “I feel so privileged to be the only librarian in any national news network with his own column,” says Vinh, “especially given NPR’s reputation for excellence and integrity and the quality of its listeners.” A 1986 graduate of Simmons’s library and information science school, Vinh says when he entered the program he had the intellect to be a good reference librarian, but not the training. “Simmons showed me how to be a reference librarian and in a sense, taught me how to ‘fish for life,’” he notes. “Beyond my career as a librarian, I aspire to be a scholar and at GSLIS I was educated to do that. I was surrounded by professors and mentors who were passionate about their subject matter and passionate about teaching. I was energized by the collegial community at the school and by the wealth of internship opportunities in one of the greatest library towns in America.” Vinh takes his scholar role seriously. In addition to his work at NPR, he has published reviews, essays, and poems in a variety of magazines. His first book, Cleanth Brooks and Allen Tate: The Collected Letters, 1933-1976, was published in 1998. He wrote an essay included in the 2001 book Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America. He also teaches at Catholic University of America.
previous \| next