For my practicum I processed a collection of Atlantic World Slavery documents for the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota.  The documents dated from the mid 1500s to the 1800s and were mainly in French, with the occasional document in Spanish or Italian. To process this collection,  I assigned call numbers and accession numbers to each of the documents according to James Ford Bell/ University policy.  Then I put the documents into archival folders and boxes. Then using the inventory from the dealer from whom the documents were purchased, I wrote a finding aid and conducted research on the documents using skills I have learned in the program. 

I learned so much, from the practical things like how to assign call numbers,  to behind the scenes things like accessibility,  to boring things like improperly installed HVAC systems. I also helped with a new exhibit, and learned a lot about how to describe old language that would be considered highly offensive today. 

I highly recommend doing a practicum because not only was I gaining hands- on experience,  but I gained a mentor,  and in the class itself I got feedback on interviewing and resumes from the professor and my peers.  Not to mention it was fun!

After taking LIS 7590 Digital Libraries taught by Dr. Kyunghye Yoon, I had the skills to help East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) set up a digital repository. The East Side Freedom Library in Saint Paul is a unique library with a mission statement to: "inspire solidarity, advocate for justice and work toward equity for all." 

For my internship, I created the foundation for this collection and started cataloging for their collection of Union and Social Justice pinback buttons, pins, and ephemera. Union pinback buttons are unique because most contain a lot of metadata, including a "union bug" aka "union stamp" that indicates what union printed the designs. There is minimal research on the history of union stamps, meaning this collection is one of the first to catalog them in the USA. It has been fascinating to hold history from as early as the 1930s and work to make that information accessible in the present landscape of unionizing efforts. This is an ongoing project, with buttons that still need to be cataloged, photographed, and researched as ESFL starts to upload data to their chosen digital repository of ContentDM. 

If you are interested in volunteering to help, Reach out to Xerxes, we meet twice a month at the ESFL Library in St.Paul. Over 500 pinback buttons and pins have been cataloged for the collection so far. We estimate that some of the exhibit will be live in mid-to-late 2024.

The Digital Libraries class teaches students how to create a digital exhibit with consideration for preservation, metadata organization, what the present and future of digital collections looks like, and more. It will be offered for Spring 2024.

This summer, I interned as a processing assistant at the Hennepin County Special Collections. I had the opportunity to work on the Hennepin County Staff Newsletters, the Hennepin County Library Communication Records, and the Minneapolis Public Library Central Library Files. I logically arranged, described, and preserved the materials, creating a finding aid to help researchers. The coolest thing I found in the collection was correspondence between the head librarian and author/illustrator Maurice Sendak asking for use of his illustrations. 

Reflecting on the experience, I better understand the real-world dynamics of library and information services. The hands-on experience exposed me to the challenges and intricacies of managing archival materials and preserving historical artifacts. It also went beyond the theoretical classroom setting.Working closely with a group of dedicated professionals with distinct expertise and approaches gave me great insight into the profession. Creating these working relationships can also benefit growth within the field, as job searching is often about networking.

Overall, this processing assignment has been an important part of my graduate school experience, offering me the opportunity to bridge theory and practice within the field of librarianship. I highly recommend the practicum experience for MLIS students to gain hands-on experience, make connections within the field, and bridge theory and practice.

Practicum Project - Summer '23

For my Summer 2023 practicum project, I worked alongside Professor Heather Carroll to curate an exhibition of the Hennepin County Library Special Collections’ Historic Arts Collection. This massive and largely unseen collection is filled with beautiful folios and bound books, mostly acquired between 1890 and the mid-20th century. We were given total curatorial freedom to explore the items and identify themes we wanted to highlight in the gallery. The show, titled Storied Leaves, displays over 80 of the pieces in the collection and provides historical context for the collection as it exists in HCL, information on the different (and beautiful!) printmaking techniques utilized, examples of contemporary book arts, and so much more. 

The “hands-on” nature of the practicum has been so essential in completing my MLIS degree. Prior to entering the St. Kate’s MLIS program, I worked in printmaking and had an arts background; like many of my classmates, I had limited professional experience working in a library. Spending several months in the Special Collections department offered me the opportunity to learn about the structural aspects of working in a library- I could experience and ask questions about things like funding and management within the department, or witness how the librarians handle difficult reference questions. On a more exciting note, I was simply blown away by the materials I was working with (I found a new “favorite piece” nearly every day I was onsite). I am incredibly proud of the gallery exhibit we put together, and I encourage everyone to stop by to check out the gems we uncovered!