iSchool alumna Carole Prietto, ‘13 MLIS, was recently hired as the archivist for the Georgetown University Law Center, where she is responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to the institutional history of the law center.

A San José State University School of Information alumna was recently hired as the archivist for the Georgetown University Law Center.

Carole Prietto, who graduated in 2013 with a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, is responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to the institutional history of the law center, which dates back to 1870.

“I work with campus offices, advising them on questions of what records should come to archives and answering questions about the history of the school,” she said, adding, “I work frequently with the law center’s alumni office answering questions about GU Law alumni.”

In addition to caring for the law center’s physical records, Prietto is responsible for the regular capture of the Law Center’s website, and for managing a large and growing collection of scanned items from the holdings.

Although Prietto hadn’t planned to go into law librarianship and mainly took courses relating to academic libraries while at SJSU, her professional experience as a university archivist was an asset when she pursued the position at GU.

“During my time in the iSchool, I was working in the archives of a religious community. When I finished my MLIS degree, I wanted to return to the academic library world,” Prietto said. “When the position in the Law Center opened up, I hesitated to apply initially because I thought the position would require a law degree. While a law degree is important for some positions in a law library, it was not a requirement for my position.”

For those interested in a career in law librarianship, Prietto advises them to “get practical experience through internships or volunteer opportunities, and don’t be afraid to try out different types of archives to find the one that’s the best fit for you.” She also recommends aspiring archivists to take records management classes, particularly ones that focus on electronic records, metadata and digital preservation.