Donald Barclay has worked as an academic librarian since 1990, holding positions at New Mexico State University, the University of Houston, the Texas Medical Center, and the University of California, Merced. He has been at UC Merced since 2002 and currently holds the position of Deputy University Librarian. He has authored numerous articles and books over the course of his career on topics ranging from the literature of the American West, to childrens literature, to library and information science. His most recent book, Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age, was published by Roman Littlefield in June 2018.

He earned his bachelors degree from Boise State University and holds masters degrees in both English and Library and Information Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to working as a librarian, he spent ten seasons working as a wildland fire fighter, most of that time as a member of a U.S. Forest Service Hotshot Crew.