{"id":9936,"date":"2023-11-27T08:42:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/library\/?p=9936"},"modified":"2023-11-28T11:37:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T18:37:37","slug":"catching-up-with-former-student-employee-britney-bibeault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/library-cline\/catching-up-with-former-student-employee-britney-bibeault\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with former student employee Britney Bibeault"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Head<\/em><\/p>\n

Britney Bibeault graduated from NAU with B.A. degrees in History and in Anthropology in 2020, and she was part of the Honors College.\u00a0 During her undergraduate studies Britney worked in<\/em> Special Collections and Archives<\/em><\/a> at Cline Library.\u00a0 As the 2019 Elizabeth M. and P.T. Reilly intern, she was the lead curator for the exhibit <\/em>Full Circle: The Life and Legacies of Katie Lee<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>We caught up with Britney to learn where her career path has been heading and how working at Cline Library prepared her to navigate it.<\/em><\/p>\n

What did you enjoy most about working at the library?
\n<\/strong>I loved the people I worked with (staff and students alike) and the range of activities I could do, from processing materials to helping patrons with their research questions.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite library memory?
\n<\/strong>I loved working in the summers when it was quieter and watching the hail or rainstorms roll through with anyone else who was working.<\/p>\n

What have you been doing since graduating from NAU?
\n<\/strong>I attended the University of Arizona\u2019s iSchool<\/a> and completed the Masters in Library and Information Science with a certificate in Archival Studies in 2022. During the last year of this program, I curated an exhibit called \u201cCurrents: A History of the San Juan River\u201d for Ts\u00e9 Kooh Outfitters<\/a> in Bluff, Utah, and interned in Spring 2022 at the archives in the Arizona State Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m now a second year PhD student at the University of Maryland\u2019s iSchool<\/a> working towards my research on the history of community archiving, how communities choose to keep their materials and share knowledge, and what the future of community and mainstream archiving looks like as ideas about ethical, reparative, and decolonial methods become more normalized.<\/p>\n

I also am the Digital Heritage fellow for the Antiquities Coalition<\/a> which works with communities to create culturally appropriate digital preservation plans.<\/p>\n

How did working at Cline Library prepare you for life after graduation?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWorking at Cline Library sparked my passion for archiving. Without Sean Evans, Peter Runge, Cindy Summers, Sam Meier, Kelly Phillips, and everyone else I worked with, I would not have thought as seriously as I did about pursuing a career in archives. I also would not have been able to successfully apply to the MLIS and PhD programs without their support and encouragement.<\/p>\n

Some of the greatest skills I learned were interpersonal skills (between colleagues, superiors, and the public\/researchers), digital technology (I\u2019m now working to integrate some of the things I learned about digitizing into my research and work), and archival practices.<\/p>\n

When you were working at the library, who was especially helpful or influential in terms of your career readiness, plans or aspirations?
\n<\/strong>Sean Evans and Peter Runge encouraged me to pursue my MLIS before I even knew that\u2019s what I wanted to do. They continue to support me through letter-writing and encouragement.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for your career?
\n<\/strong>My future goals are to complete my PhD program and work in an archives where I can support communities who wish to collect their own materials and knowledge outside of mainstream institutions. I would also love to do more curatorial work.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to Cline Library student employees and other Lumberjacks?
\n<\/strong>I would share this advice:<\/p>\n