Community Profiles: Alumni
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
Saying “Yes” Led to a Job with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
“Information professionals are going to be needed now more than ever, but it might not be the information profession a lot of us thought we were going into. I went to school to be an academic librarian and I ended up in records and archives for a government institution. You never know where the path is going to take you.”
Jon-Luc Christensen, ‘19 MLIS, DAM Advanced
Certificate
Records Management Specialist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Glendale, California
Advanced Certificate in Digital Asset Management Advances Work at Clinique
“Not only have I learned a lot from the classes and the curriculum, but the teachers have been amazing. The professors have been really open and available, communication has been fantastic. I learned more than I expected from the program. I definitely got my money’s worth, I would say. I really appreciate it.”
Daniel Goodman, ‘20 DAM Advanced Certificate
Digital Assets Manager, Clinique
Brooklyn, New York
Community Connection in Micro-Libraries
“I was definitely one of those kids that grew up in the library. My dad would take me and drop me off, and I’d just read all day long.”
Brianna Anderson, ‘17 MLIS
Librarian II and Branch Manager of the Micro-Libraries
Stockton-San Joaquin County, California
Media Literacy Advocate Using her MLIS Degree to Promote Information Literacy
“I thought I had to work in a library in order to honor my MLIS degree. Now, I am working for libraries, which is even better!”
Donnell Probst, MLIS 2018
Associate Director, National Association for Media Literacy
Education
St. Louis, Missouri
MLIS Graduate Finds Home in Academic Librarianship
“Volunteering counts, too! You don’t need to rely only on internships to gain library work experience.”
Jerry Limberg, ‘17 MLIS
Librarian, Saddleback Community College
Adjunct Professor, Palomar Community College
Carlsbad, California
Librarianship Opens Career Opportunities for iSchool Graduate Dedicated to Adult Programs
“My iSchool education opened my eyes to what is possible in the library field.”
Jenny Shonk, ‘16 MLIS
Continuing Education and Outreach Librarian
Finger Lakes Library System
Ithaca, New York
International Studies and Legal Work Lead to a Career in Law Librarianship
“With the iSchool MLIS classes, I was able to tailor my assignments to fit my library work.”
Jessica Pierucci, ‘16 MLIS
Research Law Librarian
Foreign, Comparative and International Law
University of California, Irvine
MLIS Skills Prove Valuable in Marketing the 21st Century Library
“At the iSchool, I felt support from the very beginning in the first introductory course all the way through.”
Jasmin LoBasso, ‘19 MLIS
Marketing Division
Kern County Library
Bakersfield, California
iSchool Alumna Enjoys Role in Online Student Outreach
“I had such kind and encouraging advisors when I was a student here. It’s gratifying to be able to give back.”
Sheila Gurtu, ‘99 MLIS
Student Outreach Specialist
San José State University
Family and Travel Open the World of Librarianship to MLIS Graduate
“Focus on people. Libraries are about people.”
Tameca Beckett, ‘18 MLIS
Reference and Access Services Librarian
Dover, Delaware
iSchool Alumna Finds Second Career at SJSU
“To those of you second-career people…it isn’t easy, but it CAN BE DONE…and it is worth doing!”
Ann Agee
Academic Liaison Librarian & Online Learning Librarian
King Library, San José, CA
iSchool Alumna Explores Both Archives and Public Librarianship After Graduation
“One of the reasons I chose to do SJSU’s program was because I needed to continue to work. There was no way that I could just go to school full time, and SJSU is really flexible in that regard. One semester I took five classes, worked, did the e-Portfolio and I look back and don’t know how I did it, but somehow I made it all work.”
Patricia Delara
Librarian, Daly City Public Library
Daly City, CA
iSchool Graduate Finds Exciting Opportunities in Los Angeles
“Try to meet other people working in the field or who are studying similar things. I was really glad I got to work in a public library while I was going to school. The internships also helped me meet a diverse group of people with different skill sets, so just try to get out there as much as you can. Build your network out not just up, as we were told during the Academy Gold program. Build connections with your peers so you can all bring yourselves up in the process.”
Gerard Collins
Resident Archivist, LA as Subject
Burbank, CA
Student Engagement Librarian Uses Data to Better Connect With Students
“It is important to find meaningful ways to connect with and support our users that we haven’t historically served as well, especially in the nation’s current climate. To me this means having cultural competency, knowing who your users are, having skills that support them and making sure you are meeting their needs in a way that is relevant and useful to them.”
Steven Deineh, Instruction and Student Engagement Librarian
MiraCosta College
Oceanside, CA
Sarah Edwards Obenauf Uses MLIS and Advanced Certificate as Librarian at New Mexico Tech
“I am putting the [advanced] certificate to good use now at the library at New Mexico Tech. We are trying to figure out how to get our archives up and running online. The classes that I took in digital asset management are definitely going to translate over into the real world sooner rather than later.”
Sarah Edwards Obenauf
Public Services and Instruction Librarian, New Mexico Tech
Albuquerque, New Mexico
iSchool Alumnus and Departing Community Profile Writer Summarizes His iSchool Experience
“One of the best things about SJSU’s iSchool is that it connected me with LIS professionals across the world and right next door. It actually took me going to a school online in California to meet and connect with LIS professionals working right here in Philly; which is weird, I suppose, but also kind of affirms the global network connectivity that librarians have going on.”
Nick Perilli
MLIS Graduate 2018
Philadelphia, PA
School of Information Alumnus and Archivist Hosts Genealogy Event and Looks Ahead
“I think the number of interesting dead people is greater than the number of interesting living people. I value the opportunity to help keep alive the memories of previous generations by arranging and describing historic records.”
Sebastian Nelson
MLIS Graduate 2007
Sacramento, CA
Recent Alumna Extends Her Preservation Skillbase as a Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellow
“The best part about the program is being able to go to school remotely in order to continue earning an income as well as being able to actually have an internship or a fellowship to gain hands-on experience. So much of the information field is online at this point that I don’t feel like I am missing anything by not being in a classroom. If anything, it has taught me how to better interact in digital forum [and] deal with time zones and different technology interfaces.”
Tanya Yule
MLIS Graduate 2018
San Francisco, CA