The Long Hiatus

The name plate says it all: L.I.B.R.A.R.I.AN

I apologize for a very long hiatus. I want to think that I have gone through an "existential dilemma" or a mid-life crisis for the last  7 months. The truth is that I have been too lazy to write blog entries, despite completing two of my goals. I successfully applied to the Reading Education doctoral program at Oakland University. I started my own business and have one client so far. Now...to market my skills and expand my client base.

Life is good.

At work, I'm currently working on several projects.  Although I am no archivist and have not archives training, I am doing archival research to compile an Oakland University diversity timeline. A virtual archives exhibition, this project focuses on the key people and events that shaped diversity and inclusiveness at the University.

Although I tend to focus on African Americans, who were the target population of many University diversity efforts, I include other ethnic groups (Native Americans, Asian Americans, Whites, and International Students) and diversity categories (sexual orientation and gender).

The above also applies to archivists.

Having reviewed many photographs with no metadata (Date, Title, Location, etc), I give much respect to archivists. I have done some research to complete this timeline, but not the type of extensive research I imagine archivists do on a daily basis.

I have never curated an archives exhibition before. This challenging experience has inspired me to think about going back to school for a post-MLIS archives certificate. I definitely want to do more archives-related projects.

I have developed several skills being the main curator of this project. I have learned how to develop and organize metadata, create and implement artifact selection criteria, and manage various media formats. The most important skill I honed is probably collaboration with diverse colleagues. I have learned to actively engage the expertise and wisdom of my colleagues.

I constantly conduct research for my scholarly article. I hope to have a publishable manuscript by April 2015.

Until next time....which will not be another 7 months.