Upcoming SLASC Event: “There’s A Special Librarian For That?”

iStudent Blog

Published: April 23, 2018 by Priscilla Ameneyro

Librarians work in all kinds of non-traditional environments from cruise ships to art museums. In the popular series hosted by the SJSU iSchool SLA Student Chapter, “There’s a Special Librarian for That?”, several special librarians will share what they do and how they got their jobs. All iSchool students are welcome to attend on May 1 via Zoom by clicking this link. Socializing starts at 6.15 pm with the main program beginning at 6.30 pm PDT. The line-up is as follows:

Phyllis Graham – Crocker Art Museum
Phyllis Graham has been the librarian at the Crocker Art Museum since February 2015. Prior to this she worked in acquisitions at Shields Library, UC Davis, and in reference and acquisitions at the Blegen Library of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. She holds an MA in Art History from UC Davis and an MSLIS from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Diana Doublet – Symphony Nova Scotia
Diana Doublet is passionate about music and libraries, especially the intersection between the two. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, she has degrees from both coasts with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University. She has participated twice in the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute where she was introduced to and subsequently fell in love with music sourcing and orchestra librarianship. Her library experience includes work in the Calgary Public Library, the Canadian Architectural Archives, University of Calgary Libraries, Saint Mary’s Archives and Dalhousie Libraries Special Collections, as well as volunteering with Symphony Nova Scotia’s previous librarian.

Dana Lema – King Library Special Collections
Immediate past president, Dana Lema, will graduate from the iSchool with her MLIS this Spring. Dana is currently working as a student assistant in the Special Collections and Archives department at the SJSU Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. The collection focuses on local and state history as well as the history of San José State University. In her role as a student assistant, Dana works to preserve documents and other items, organize and catalog the collections and create finding aids. In her spare time Dana enjoys reading, travel and geocaching.

Mary Vasudeva – HP Labs
Dr. Vasudeva, the chapter’s programming director, teaches writing and critical thinking at San Ramon College as she completes her final semester of MLIS school. Her experience as a special librarian includes an internship with Wikimedia and a current internship with HP Labs as a content manager. She has also volunteered in Yosemite National Park Library. These experiences have given her a great introduction to the many opportunities for special librarians.

Jonathan Christensen – NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jonathan Christensen, current SLASC president, entered the MLIS and Advanced Certificate programs at SJSU in the Spring of 2017 and expects to graduate in Spring of 2019. He works as a Records Management Specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and California Institute of Technology’s (Caltech) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Jonathan’s work and interests center around digitization, preservation, curation, paper and electronic records, archives, information architecture and knowledge management.

The Special Libraries Association is a professional organization for information professionals working in law libraries, medical libraries, museums and other alternative environments. The goals of SLASC are to promote careers in special librarianship, explore LIS trends, develop creative educational programs and create scholarship and career opportunities for members. Consider joining if you are interested in a career in special librarianship.

There are a number of other student groups to explore at the SJSU iSchool. Joining one provides opportunities for professional development in a supportive and encouraging environment. This includes connecting with students with similar interests, attending events or even serving on the executive committee.

You don’t need to be a member to attend an event so drop in on May 1 at 6.15 pm PDT to meet some new people and find out more about the special librarian career path.

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