Community Profiles: Alumni
Checking out BookTok with Mychal Threets
“I think we just have fun with it. Me and the people who work on Library TikTok pride ourselves on embracing the cringe. I think as more and more people see library coworkers having fun with TikTok, you’ll see them start to submit ideas or be willing to participate themselves.”
Mychal Threets, ‘18 MLIS
Fairfield, California
Thriving in Solo Librarianship with Amanda Thompson
“I just happen to have ‘librarian’ in my title. One of our first librarians actually called herself an ‘information architect’. I’ve seen people in the health sciences space call themselves ‘informationists’ or say they work in ‘knowledge management.’ There is a wide variety of titles and places where you can work as an information professional.”
Amanda Thompson SJSU MLIS, 2014
San Francisco, California
Finding Success in Academic Libraries with Dominique Dozier
“No one has been in my position. I’m the first one. But I’m creating it. I am figuring things out. I’m using the tools that I learned in iSchool. I’m applying all this knowledge and trying to support the students and faculty the best way that I can.”
Dominique Dozier, ‘21 MLIS
Santa Clara, CA
Finding Support Through Library School with Alejandra Reyes
“I’ve learned that librarianship is about building relationships. Yes, we have a lot of resources. But as a librarian, it is our job to like to see which resources work for each specific person. Librarians have to be adaptable – they always tell you to have a backup plan because you never know. I feel like that’s what we are. We’re adaptable. We’re flexible. We’re ready to help.”
Alejandra Reyes, ‘20 MLIS
Los Angeles, CA
Alessandra Gonzalez on Working as a Library Communications Manager
“The degree helped, but everything outside of it just put me onto another level – all the experience, all the people I connected with, the opportunities that came from joining clubs and working is unreal. I honestly don’t think I’d have all the opportunities I have right now if I didn’t get involved or put myself out there.”
Alessandra Gonzalez, MLIS ‘21
Anaheim, CA
Championing Student Success with Chris Lopez
“You have to ask yourself, what’s the Counseling Center doing? What’s the Women’s Resource Center doing? What’s the LGBTQ Center doing? How can I partner with them, because they’re getting to that holistic side of the student? They’re speaking to that and that’s where I want to help them see that the library is like a co-conspirator.”
Chris Lopez, ‘21 MLIS
Adulting: Teaching and Writing About Life Skills with Kimberli Buckley
“I want to be a mentor. That’s my goal. [When] working with a staff I really like to find out what their strengths are, what areas they really enjoy or don’t like as much, so then we can build on that and make it so that they can be successful.”
Kimberli Buckley, ‘11 MLIS
Making Higher Education Accessible with Dr. Walter Butler
“So my interest was, how are [college] libraries changing? How are Open Educational Resources impacting their structures, and what new structures are now emerging to support this new effort?”
Dr. Walter Butler
Pasadena, CA
SJSU Ph.D. March 2022
Understanding Good Library Management with Tiffany Duck
“I like being a manager. I know it can be stressful but I really like it. I think it gives you the opportunity to help shape people’s work and help them grow and get to where they want to go professionally.”
Tiffany Duck, ‘13 MLIS
Suffolk, VA
A Life of Libraries with Stephanie Saba
“I love libraries. I love this profession. You just meet so many amazing people every day…I just love it. Like I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Stephanie Saba, ‘12 MLIS
Pacifica, CA
Lizette Cabrera on Cultural Perspectives in the Library Environment
“I feel we are all equal. We all deserve an opportunity to better ourselves, to learn, to gain knowledge and wisdom to educate ourselves. I feel humbleness, it’s what identifies me as an immigrant. Humbleness, honesty and perseverance.”
Lizette Cabrera, ‘21 MLIS
Lemoore, CA
Alumnus Randall White on Changing the World with Informatics
“The informatic principles I am able to provide and assist a lot of our graduate students and our principal investigators with allow them to publish works that are pushing humanity forward.”
Randall White, ‘20 MS in Informatics
Computational Research Technical Consultant
Stanford University
Tulsa, OK
Jerome Zhang on Mastering the Art of Informatics
“Find something you’re passionate about in the field: health informatics, human-centered design, digital asset management, etc. Definitely try to find something informatics-related and become an expert in that.”
Jerome Zhang, ‘20 MS in Informatics
Software Engineer at Amazon
San Francisco Bay Area
Reflections from Retired iSchool Director of Distance Learning, Debbie Faires
“It’s like looking at a lake and seeing all of these twinkles. How do you choose which twinkle is most meaningful? I have a whole lake full of beautiful twinkles of meaningful interactions (from my time at the iSchool).”
Debbie Faires, ‘01 MLIS
Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area
Alumna Alejandra Reyes’ Passion for Helping Others Through Public Librarianship and REFORMA
“I believe in treating your neighbor the way you want to be treated. If I were going through something, I’d want someone to help me, and I want to be that person for someone else…I believe I was always meant to do this, to go to San José, to become a librarian. Everything sort of fell into place!”
Alejandra Reyes, ‘20 MLIS
Messenger Clerk at Los Angeles Public Library’s Robert Louis
Stevenson Branch
Los Angeles, CA
Alumna Beaudry Allen’s Passion for Digital Archives
“Whether it’s accessing images in our digital libraries that creates more equitable access, or when a researcher has what they think is a really difficult question and we have the material to help them – it’s really exciting to see your collection being used.”
Beaudry R. Allen, ‘15 MARA
Preservation and Digital Archivist Villanova University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alumna Rosa Hall Made the Most of Her Time in the iSchool
“When I started the iSchool’s program I wanted to make sure that I got experience with different kinds of libraries and librarianship. Since I had started in an academic library, worked as a library aid in a public library as well as an intern in a corrections facility library, when I saw that they were hiring at Hansen Bridget I thought it would be a really good experience to try law librarianship as well.”
Rosa Hall, ‘20 MLIS
Assistant Research and Library Operations Specialist, Hanson
Bridgett LLP
San Francisco, CA
iSchool Alumna Named Special Libraries Association Fellow
“[The Special Libraries Association] has really been incredibly valuable for me in my personal career…. People are, by and large, very willing to share knowledge.”
Anne N. Barker, ‘05 MLIS
Senior Information Specialist, Genentech
San Rafael, California
iSchool Alumna Provides Access to the Spanish Speaking Community
“Being the Multilingual Collections manager allows me to continue to raise awareness about the library that connects, engages and resonates with diverse Angelenos.”
Anna Avalos, ’07 MLIS
Multilingual Collections Manager
Los Angeles Public Library
iSchool Alumnus Darnelle Melvin talks Metadata, Linked Data, and Digitization
“If you want it, you can get it. If I can get it, you can do it. I’m the least likely person; I have a background in audio. An audio engineer became a metadata person, a linked-data professional. It’s not a long jump, but it is a jump. You can do it.”
Darnelle Melvin, ‘14 MLIS
Special Collections and Archives Metadata Librarian
University of Nevada Las Vegas