Statement of Professional Philosophy

My first opportunity to experience a rare books collection was all I needed to know this was where I wanted to focus my career. My goal is to work within an academic Library in a Special Collections department and specialize in rare books. I am very committed to fostering a user-centered, welcoming, and accessible environment for researchers and the curious. I have found that many research collections are perceived as too intimidating for students to pursue archival research on their interests. I aim to eliminate factors that make these departments seem daunting to students to increase access and usage of these rich resources. 

I have been building my skills through the completion of an internship as a rare book cataloger at the University of Tulsa. This experience developed my knowledge on rare book policies and procedures, vocabulary, preservation, storage, cataloging, and research on books as old as 900. While theory is a great place to start, hands-on experience has broadened my skillset. Encountering more complex and nuanced situations has especially grown my critical thinking abilities in the area of rare book librarianship.

The Archival Representation and Use course has guided my understanding of both backend and frontend perspectives on cataloging and accessioning and deepened my awareness about the relationship between both sides. Through the course, I was able to focus on developing intuitive access to collection materials in order to connect researchers who can utilize the information an institution preserves. Even down to the basics, taking the Information Behaviors course enlightened me to view resource access from other perspectives. I have always enjoyed participating in archival research so learning how other communities may perceive these information environments drives me to create spaces that seem welcoming and inclusive to the curious, so everyone can access the same research and learning experiences I have enjoyed. 

Through experiences in this program, I can apply theory to my future career to ensure welcoming and accessible research environments. The Archival Representations and Use course and my internship working as a rare book cataloger have both shown me how to make records and books easier to access by researchers and patrons that do not have research backgrounds. I aim to apply intuitive, user-centered design to finding aids and catalogs to foster an approachable setting to access information. My education on creating access points has also inspired me to aim to prioritize the creation of thorough access points to records to ensure I can connect the information to those who need it.