Tag Archives: graduate assistant

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Precious Olalere

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Precious headshot

What is your educational and/or professional background? 

My undergraduate degree was in Library and Information Science at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, West Africa. In my prior experience, I worked in a research library where I was able to help researchers and students get access to the right information, I absolutely loved doing this and then I went on to work for Scholars Academy where I gathered some data analytics experience and helped students and researchers with data related questions. 

What led you to your field? 

One key factor that influenced my choice of this field is my ardent love for helping people. Connecting people to the information they are looking for has always been something I enjoyed. Then I realized the philosophies that libraries represent for the people in their communities and how they influence the success of people, which can, in turn, birth a strong nation; all of these are what drove me to the field. 

What are your research interests? 

While I have a broad interest, I am particularly interested in information organization and management, digital libraries, data, and learning analytics. 

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons? 

I will be focusing on the data side of things at the Scholarly Commons such as data analysis and data visualization. 

Describe a favorite project you’ve worked on.

This is a hard one because I have enjoyed all the projects I have worked on, particularly the one where I created a small database for a particular library collection. The library had a handwritten manual inventory book used to locate items. To save the amount of time in locating items; I designed a simple inventory database to make access to information faster and easier. 

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about?  

I am really looking forward to learning about room 308 studio booths, I have always loved music and so maybe I will get to record my imaginary music album in it – haha! 

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

While I am still undecided on what I would like to do after graduation, I am really interested in data librarianship and working in the academic sphere.  

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Jason Smith

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Jason selfie

What is your educational and/or professional background? 

I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s in History and Cognitive Psychology and a minor in Music. While an undergrad, I worked at the Music and Performing Arts Library (MPAL) on campus, which is where I developed my interest in librarianship. While working there, I was responsible for the circulation desk, reference desk, shelving, and had some experience with special collections.  

What led you to your field?

I actually never thought much about librarianship until I reached my undergraduate years. A combination of working at MPAL, doing research for history courses, and a love for learning made me realize that a Library and Information Science (LIS) pathway was a perfect fit for me. I reached this thought in my freshman year of college, so over the course of 4 years, that passion did not change!

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons? 

I am one of the weekend and evening shift supervisors. I am responsible for supervising the undergraduate student assistants and ensuring the smooth operation of the Scholarly Commons and loanable tech during times when full-time staff are not working. I also do some work on our LibGuides, have created signs for the 220 space, and am hoping to pursue more data or audio/visual (AV)-related projects.

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about? 

I am really excited for the A/V booths! Since I have a background in music, I spent a lot of time in studios and recording spaces. I love being in them and being able to have a space to perform and record music. I would love to set up my equipment one day when I am not working and just spend some time in there! 

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

I am mostly undecided as to what I want to do after graduation! However, I am very interested in archives, special collections, and museums. I am hoping to explore courses relating to these and pursue whichever field that I think I will enjoy most!

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Hannah Meyer

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Photo of Hannah in front of Main Library

What is your educational and/or professional background? 

I went to Elon University for my undergraduate degree, where I majored in psychology with minors in teaching & learning and literature. While at Elon, I worked at their library which cemented my desire to work at a library. Other professional experiences have included working at local bookstores during the summer.  

What led you to your field? 

I grew up going to my local public library. I have always loved reading and knew I could not picture a future where I did not spend my workday surrounded by books. I enjoy doing research and helping patrons find what they are looking for.  

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons? 

I am a shift supervisor at Scholarly Commons. I supervise student assistants during weekend and evening hours. I also work on various projects within the department including working on LibGuides and scheduling. 

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about? 

I am most excited about learning about all the loanable technology that Scholarly Commons has to offer! It has been interesting getting to see the different options for equipment to check out and to learn the difference between them.  

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

I am still undecided on what kind of library I would like to work at after graduation. Right now, I am considering working at either an academic, community college or public library.  

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Nora Davies

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Nora headshot

What is your educational and/or professional background?

I graduated with an English degree from Beloit College in Wisconsin. Afterwards, I worked at the Circulation Desk and then at the Reference Desk at Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL. I also had a second job in Materials Services and then later Cataloging at the Poplar Creek Public Library in Streamwood, IL. 

What led you to your field?

I ended up in the library world unintentionally. As an undergraduate, I worked a campus job at the college library so I could avoid cafeteria work. Then, once I moved back to my hometown, I used that experience to apply for a job at my local public library. I ended up really enjoying the atmosphere of the reference desk and worked there for five years. I like the odd out-of-the-box questions I get at the desk and enjoy helping people with their research, their genealogy hunt, or their email accounts. Libraries do a whole lot more than I’d ever realized.

What are your research interests?

I’m interested in equitable and accessible library services, social work in libraries, and open educational resources (OER). I’m also interested in art and design.

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons?

I’m working as a Digital Projects Assistant at Scholarly Commons and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. I work on our social media accounts, our newsletter, and I create graphics or instructions as needed.

Describe a favorite project you’ve worked on.

In my previous position, I was given free rein to work on mini posters for a bunch of tri-sided stands to advertise different library services. I enjoy being able to make creative graphics and designs.

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about?

I’m excited to learn more about our studio cameras and how to take professional-looking photos.  

What do you hope to do after graduation?

I’m still undecided as to what kind of librarianship I’d like to pursue after I graduate. I think I’d like to work as a research librarian at a college or university.

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Apollo Uhlenbruck

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This semester, the Scholarly Commons is onboarding five new GAs! In order to help you get to know all the new faces, we will be asking them to answer a few questions, and posting their responses throughout the fall. 

First up, we have Apollo Uhlenbruck. 

Apollo headshot

What is your educational and/or professional background? 

I got my undergraduate degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where I studied media arts. Afterwards, I moved back to my hometown of Missoula, Montana and worked a wide variety of jobs: first, I was a production assistant on a Gold Rush spin-off, then I spent a little over a year as a bookseller at an independent bookstore as well as providing in-home care for people with developmental disabilities. Then, after a brief stint as an administrative assistant at the University of Montana, I finally worked in shelter animal care at the Humane Society of Western Montana before packing up my bags and moving to Illinois! 

What led you to your field? 

My hometown’s public library was a staple of my childhood. I was one of those kids that got in trouble for reading during class, and the library was more than happy to feed my voracious appetite. I also joined the library’s teen writers’ group, which helped me grow as a writer and a person. In my work after graduation, I’ve found that I really enjoy working with and helping people, so I aim to combine my love of books with my love of people by going into library and information science. 

What are your research interests? 

I would say that my interests are very broad. I’m primarily interested in how libraries can better serve marginalized groups, but I’m also curious about UX design, gamification, mythology, and diverse representation in youth literature. 

What is your specialty within the Scholarly Commons? 

I’m wearing multiple hats here at the Scholarly Commons, focusing on both GIS and Web and Media. Part of that involves helping to run this blog! 

Describe a favorite project you’ve worked on. 

Moon tarot card

For one of my undergraduate courses, I created a major arcana tarot deck comprised of photos featuring queer and gender-nonconforming individuals, emphasizing the magic that is present in everyday life. The photo series was an interpretation of the Major Arcana informed by the traditional symbolism and meanings and viewed through a queer feminist lens. The project involved research into the history of Tarot as well as the relationship between witchcraft and feminism. 

What Scholarly Commons resource are you most excited to learn about? 

The new studio space in 308! It’s still in the works, but as soon as it’s up and running I think it’ll be a great space in which to experiment with lighting and photo/video equipment, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of projects people create!  

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

After graduating from the MSLIS program here at Illinois, I hope to go into public librarianship and youth services. 

Meet Our Graduate Assistants: Ryan Yoakum

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In this interview series, we ask our graduate assistants questions for our readers to get to know them better. Our first interview this year is with Ryan Yoakum!

This is a headshot of Ryan Yoakum.

What is your background education and work experience?

I came to graduate school directly after receiving my bachelor’s degree in May 2021 in History and Religion here at the University of Illinois. During my undergraduate, I had taken a role working for the University of Illinois Residence Hall Libraries (which was super convenient as I lived in the same building I worked in!) and absolutely loved helping patrons find resources they were interested in. I eventually took a second position with them as a processing assistant, which gave me a taste for working on the back end as I primarily prepared materials bought to be shelved at each of the libraries within the system. I really loved my work with the Residence Hall Libraries and wanted to shift my career to working in a library of some form, which has led me here today!

What are your favorite projects you’ve worked on?

I have really enjoyed projects where I have gotten to work with data (both for patrons as well as internal data). Such projects have allowed me to explore my growing interest in data science (which is the last thing I would have initially expected when I began the master’s program in August 2021). I have also really enjoyed teaching some of the Savvy Researcher workshops, which have included ones on optical character recognition (OCR) and creative commons licensing!

What are some of your favorite underutilized Scholarly Commons resources that you would
recommend?

The two that come to mind are the software on our lab computers as well as our consultation services. If I were still in history, using ABBYY FineReader for OCR would have been a tremendous help as well as supplementing that with qualitative data analysis tools such as ATLAS.ti. I also appreciate the expertise of the many talented people who work here in the library. Carissa Phillips and Sandi Caldrone, for example, have been very influential in helping me explore my interests in data. Likewise, Wenjie Wang, JP Goguen, and Jess Hagman (all of whom now have drop-in consultation hours) have all guided me in working with software related to their specific interests, and I have benefitted greatly by bringing my questions to each of them.

When you graduate, what would your ideal job position look like?

I currently have two competing job interests in mind. The first is that I would love to work in a theological library. The theological library could be either in a seminary or an academic library focusing on religious studies. Pursuing the MSLIS has also shifted my interests in working with data, so I would also love to work a job where I can manage, analyze, and visualize data!

What is the one thing you would want people to know about your field?

Library and Information science is not a field limited to working in the stereotypical way society pictures what a librarian’s work looks like (there was a good satirical article recently on this). It is also far from being a dead field (and one that will likely gain more relevance over time). As part of the program, I am slowly gaining skills that have prepared me for working in data which can apply in any field. There are so many job opportunities for MSLIS students that I strongly encourage people to join the field if they are interested in library and information science but have doubts about its career prospects!

An interview with Billy Tringali on JAMS and Open Access

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This week I had the opportunity to talk to Billy Tringali. If you don’t know Billy he worked in the Scholarly Commons as a graduate assistant from 2016-2018 and now works as a Law Librarian for Outreach at Emory University. Our conversation this week was about a passion project that he started during his time here at Illinois. Billy is the founding editor-in-chief of a brand new open access journal, The Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS). The first volume of JAMS came out recently so be sure to go take a look!

"JAMS" with orange book icon and a dark gray background

How does JAMS fit into a broader scholarly conversation? What gaps in scholarship are you addressing with this journal?

JAMS is currently the only open-access journal solely dedicated to publishing scholarly articles on anime, manga, cosplay, and their fandoms. While there are other journals which publish works about anime, like the incredible Mechademia, they are not open-access. Anime and manga studies is such a diverse field, and there is a lot out there being published. The goal of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies is to provide a space for academics, students, and independent researchers examining the field of anime, manga, cosplay, and fandom studies to access high-quality research about these topics and share their research with others.

Tell us about your experience working with the Illinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN). What advice do you have for scholars interested in using this resource?
Working with IOPN has been a dream. Such a qualified, helpful, and truly brilliant staff. If you want to use this resource (and why wouldn’t you?!) come prepared to work! JAMS went through a one-year long notes process before being accepted into IOPN, and they don’t publish low-quality work.
Did you always envision the journal as open access? Why or why not?
There was no point in time in which JAMS wasn’t going to be open-access. While I was attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I had more than 14 million items at my fingertips. It was amazing. So much knowledge just a click away. In my coursework I learned how imperative information access is to scholarship, and I could only imagine how difficult it must be for scholars at smaller universities and outside the academe to find peer-reviewed research on this subject. JAMS aims to be part of that solution by publishing work that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere.
What unique challenges do you encounter as a new open access journal that you were not expecting?
The truly worst (and also funniest, looking back) was the professor who doubled-over in laughter when I told them I was trying to start up an open-access journal about anime and manga. But for every person that scoffed at JAMS, there was another who was so interested and excited to see this project succeed. A wonderful lesson to learn as a young scholar was to persevere!
What are the advantages for scholars who publish their work under a creative commons license?
Publishing under a Creative Commons license allows your work to be seen by everyone. It’s as simple as that. Do you want people to see what you’ve made? Then a Creative Commons license is a great choice!
I know Anime and Manga studies is a small area for academic research in the United States. How has this impacted the peer review process? 
It’s actually not all that small! There are a wide variety of researchers doing work on anime and manga studies, they just all happen to be spread out among a number of fields! We have peer reviewers from a diverse set of backgrounds – from education, to information science, to fandom studies – who are all so passionate about anime and manga studies. Our peer reviewers do an incredible job strengthening the papers submitted to JAMS, and I am incredibly grateful for their willingness to dedicate time to this journal.
What are your hopes for the future of this publication? 
(Combining this the question that was above)
I mention this in my “Welcome from the Editor-in-Chief”, and I think I said it best there:
“I hope the Journal of Anime and Manga Studiescan exist as a space that publishes high-quality scholarship about anime, manga, cosplay, and their fandoms. I hope that JAMS can bring visibility to the deeper meanings, understandings, and cultural significance of anime, manga, cosplay, and their fandoms. I hope that, in making JAMS open-access scholarship about anime and manga can be accessible to everyone, regardless of university affiliation. As Aramata Hiroshi and the Kyoto International Museum of Manga imbued a burning desire in me, I hope that the papers you will read in this journal imbue the same sense in you to do all you can for this fantastic art form.”

Our Graduate Assistants: Abigail Sewall

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This interview is part of a continued series introducing our graduate assistants to our online community. These are some of the people you will see when you visit our space, who will greet you with a smile and a willingness to help! Say hello to Abigail Sewall!

What is your background education and work experience?

Before coming to graduate school, I was working as an administrator in standardized testing for a few years. I am a fountain of useless knowledge on most national standardized tests such as the GRE, SAT, and LSAT. The aspect of my job that I liked the most was talking to people and guiding them through what was inevitably one of the most stressful days of their life. I feel like the unique customer service environment of that job oddly enough prepared me well for working at a reference desk, especially during those stressful times of the semester where people are in panic mode. Before I worked in standardized testing I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder in Spanish Literature and Political Science. I wrote my undergraduate honors thesis in comparative politics on trust in the police in Latin American countries. Through this process I had to learn to do large scale data analysis using a large public opinion survey database. It was a challenging project but I got a lot of help from the library.

What led you to your field?

My love of libraries developed as an undergraduate. I loved working on research projects because it gave me an opportunity to talk to one of the librarians, explore the collections, and discover the seemingly endless resources available in the library. The library really enriched my academic experience in such a profound way I wanted to be able to share that experience with others and help make the magic happen. Librarianship is a great intersection of my interests because it is both an intellectually challenging field and performs a valuable service to the community.

What are your research interests?

Where to begin? I am currently really interested in Twitter data literacy. I use Twitter every day and I find it to be a rich source of political and social discourse. I like to see how text data extracted from the popular micro blogging platform is used to address a variety of research questions. I’ve done some research on institutional archiving of Twitter data, which allowed me to consider some of the ethical and cultural implications of collecting and storing social media data. I am now working on learning how to scrape data from Twitter using Python. Experimenting with Python has been interesting because I don’t come from a technical background but I am finding I make slow but sure progress with it. I am excited to see where it takes me and I may even try building my own Twitter database.

What are your favorite projects you’ve worked on?

One of my favorite projects I’ve worked on as a Scholarly Commons GA was developing resources for using US Census data for students and researchers. In the process of making our LibGuide on the Census I learned a lot about the census questionnaire and how researchers use census data. It was also a lot of fun to help my supervisor with the US Census workshop because I love instruction and it was a great opportunity to show my expertise.

What are some of your favorite underutilized Scholarly Commons resources that you would recommend?

Our LibGuides! We have dozens of guides on a variety of subjects such as software tutorials, data discovery, digital humanities, and more. Each guide has been thoughtfully assembled by one of our librarians or GAs and contain links to resources, advice, and information to suit all of your research technology needs. I taught myself how to use SPSS using our SPSS tutorial LibGuide and would highly recommend it to anyone! Check out all of our guides on our webpage!

What is the one thing you would want people to know about your field?

I think it is important for people to recognize that libraries are always a reflection of the community they serve. All the services we offer at the Scholarly Commons address a specific need of the scholars and students at our university. We provide a space for collaborative work, software and technology available no where else on campus, and instruction to supplement the resources in our unit. I hope in my career that I will be able to continue to serve the needs of my community, whatever they may be.