Archivists, storytellers & documentaries
An exciting mix of articles in the library, archives, and genealogy fields! Enjoy!
Hello everyone! I’ll soon be writing about my reflections from the #DNAChat I recently had, but that is still in progress.
For this week, here are some articles I found:
Every year, NARA hosted the annual Archivist’s Achievement Awards Ceremony, highlighting the achievements of NARA employees, with the ceremony hosted two weeks ago. This is especially important at a time that major cuts to NARA have been proposed, including the elimination of the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
Aubrey Young writes about the reference interview and its connection to “customer service.” A very interesting article indeed!
Micaela Blei, an acclaimed storyteller, is interviewed by Chris Burns, telling him that archivists who learn “more about storytelling can help introduce some new tools, but more importantly, remind you that you already have powerful tools that you can use with new intention….Realizing that this is something we are already good at—and can apply it with an awareness—can be so effective in archives work.”
Christian Lauersen talks about libraries as shared public spaces and is a form of social infrastructure that ties communities together. This is connected to the need for placemaking or “Creating public spaces that promotes people’s health, happiness and well being.”
Joy Harjo was just named the 23rd Poet Laureate of the U.S. She is the first indigenous poet (and first from Oklahoma) to serve in the position, as a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. She says, about her honor, that she shares this “honor with ancestors and teachers who inspired in me a love of poetry” and that she counts “among these ancestors and teachers my Muscogee Creek people, the librarians who opened so many doors for all of us, and the original poets of the indigenous tribal nations of these lands.” Very exciting!
Alyssa Mkey writes about networking, saying that those with an MLIS should begin early in their “careers to maximize their chances at getting their dream career either during or after completing their MLIS degree.” Her recommendation is to connect, engage, sustain, socialize, and respect those they are establishing connections with.
Robin Brown and Scott Sheidlower write about disabled librarians, how disability manifests itself among those who work in libraries, the impact on the job market, social dynamics, and suggesting ways forward.
American Ancestors, a branch of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, recently released the GU272 Memory Project which traces “the family histories of hundreds of black slaves sold by the Jesuits” who ran Georgetown University in 1838. A great resource!
Olivia Dorsey Peacock, a genealogist and creative technologist, released ‘Digital Black History,’ which is a searchable directory for digital Black History and Black Genealogy projects. A wonderful new resource!
South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) premiered a new “one-hour documentary film exploring the history and cultural connections between Barbados and South Carolina,” titled “Beyond Barbados: The Carolina Connection” on June 20. Very interesting for those interested in drawing connections between various places and diversifying existing histories.
- Burkely