Tag Archives: library staff

Meet Mudd’s Kelli Yakabu

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Name: Kelli Yakabu

Title: John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Archival Fellow

Educational background: I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle as a part-time, online student and will graduate in 2020. I earned my bachelor’s degree in American Ethnic Studies and English with a minor in French also from UW.

Kelli Yakabu. Photo by April C. Armstrong.

Previous Experience: After this fellowship, I will continue as the Accessioning Assistant for the Pacific Northwest Collection at UW Special Collections where I communicate with donors and organize and rehouse incoming collections to prepare for further processing. I currently volunteer at the Seattle Municipal Archives where I process photo slides and Densho, a Japanese-American digital archive, where I digitize photographs and manuscripts. I’ve also interned at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and the UW Health Sciences Library.

Why I like archives: I love how archives can help people, especially young people, learn about and understand their own history and identity. It’s helped me reconstruct the way I think about my own identity after finding people and communities in archival records that I can connect to. It’s an indescribable feeling when you see yourself reflected back in an archive after being ignored by mainstream history and Eurocentric curriculum for years.

Other interests: In my free time, I enjoy exploring Happy Hours, going to concerts and theater performances, running, skiing, reading, and being ignored by my cat Waffles. I enjoy traveling when I can and plan to visit NYC and Philadelphia this summer.

Projects this summer: I am excited to work on accessioning and processing various Public Policy Papers and University Archives collections including the Warren Worth Bailey Papers and the Richard Holbrooke Papers. I also look forward to participating in the reference rotation and learning about and working with born-digital materials.

A Message from Valencia L. Johnson, Project Archivist for Student Life

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By Valencia L. Johnson

Hello everyone! My name is Valencia L. Johnson and I am excited to venture into a new role at Princeton University Library’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, home of the University Archives and the Public Policy Papers. I have been a part of the Mudd team since June 2017 starting off as a John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Archival Fellow. In my new role as the Project Archivist for Student Life, I aim to create an environment where students can create history for themselves. This is a very broad statement but it truly captures the spirit of the position. Students shape the trajectory of the University as much as the administration, and it is important that the archives reflect this dynamic. My work will involve making connections across campus with various student organizations, student publications, residential colleges, the graduate school, cultural and affinity centers, and alumni. I plan on hosting public programming events that will strengthen the record keeping aspect of organizations, introduce people to personal digital archiving, and engender a sense of ownership within the Princeton University Archives for students. In addition to this public outreach, I will process acquisitions, reprocess existing collections, and write finding aids. If you have questions about the position, me, or want to learn more about archiving, I can be reached via email.

Meet Mudd’s Valencia Johnson

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Name: Valencia Johnson

Position: John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Archival Fellow

Educational Background: I recently graduated from Baylor University with a master’s in Museum Studies. My focus was archives and special collections. I earned my bachelor’s degree in History and American Studies from the University of Kansas.

Previous experience: In my two years at Baylor, I processed several collections that included Baylor’s presidential papers. In addition to processing, I worked at the reference desks for the University’s archives and the special collection library, Armstrong Browning. I also curated exhibits for Baylor’s main library and for the Mayborn Museum Complex.

Why I like archives: I think it is amazing that archives enable people, notable and ordinary, to have an impact on others and the collective human knowledge long after they’re gone. You’re able to understand the private working of an institution or the intimate thoughts of an individual. I love that the field is able to help researchers through digital access.

Other interests: It may come as no surprise that I love museums. I enjoy exploring places, so NYC and Philadelphia are on my list to visit this summer. All recommendations for places to see are welcomed. I also like coffee, comics (books and movies), and cooking.

Projects this summer: I am pleased to work on enhancing the description of the Communications Records photograph series, being a part of the exhibit team, and working with my fellow fellows on the born-digital research project. I’m excited to learn EAD and about the challenges of handling digital-born materials.

Meet Mudd’s Will Clements

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Name: Will Clements

Position: John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Archival Fellow

Educational Background: I earned my bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin. I studied English literature, with a minor in Russian language and history. I’m currently working on my master’s degree in Information Studies at the UT Austin School of Information. My focus is on archives, both traditional and digital, and I’ll graduate in December of this year.

Previous experience: Since 2003, I’ve worked in the Reading Room at the LBJ Presidential Library. My work there includes administrative duties, public service, and reference. When I return to the LBJ Library in August, I will be transitioning from public service to technical service projects under the supervision of our digital archivist. I’m pleased to be gaining more experience in both these areas during my time at Mudd.

Why I like archives: I believe that archives are important centers of cultural memory (to borrow a phrase from Jeannette Bastian). It’s really gratifying to be a part of preserving and providing access to that memory. Interacting with the scholarly community is another perk for me, and I also enjoy working with younger researchers encountering archives for the first time.

Other interests: I love hiking and walking in the woods. My house in Princeton is about a mile from Community Park and the Witherspoon Woods, and I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the trails since I arrived. I’m looking forward to checking out some of the other parks and nature preserves in the area this summer. While indoors I enjoy cooking, movies, reading, and collecting rare books (mostly genre fiction).

Projects this summer: I’m thrilled to be getting a good deal of description and arrangement experience already, and I’m looking forward to researching and answering reference questions starting in June. I’m also keen to learn about processing and providing access to born-digital collections.

Mudd Technical Services Meeting Minutes: June 2012

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Mudd Technical Services Meeting Minutes – June 2012

Maureen Callahan

Maureen has finished managing the Princeton Weekly Bulletin digitization project – this resource is now available online. In addition to her usual reference and accessioning work, she also created a number of orientation screencasts for the new finding aids site, and is finishing writing notes for the Bill Bradley Papers. She, Dan Linke, and (mostly) John Walako installed the new exhibit in the Millberg gallery, “The Election for Woodrow Wilson’s America,” which will be on display through the end of the year.

Lynn Durgin

Lynn oversaw data collection and processing of 2012 senior theses (completed 15 of 33 departments); implemented a new system for applying dissertation embargoes in DataSpace and ProQuest; and created ten new University Archives accession records.

Adriane Hanson

Adriane began work in earnest this month on her summer projects, preparing the next batch of Daily Princetonian newspapers (2003-2012) and the Western European Theater Political Pamphlets for digitization.  She also worked with three patrons in to use the newly open ACLU Records and is preparing to speak on the project at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists in August.

Christie Peterson

Christie finalized all remaining work and reports from the P collection shelf read/reconciliation project. She created three new collections and added materials to seven additional collections in an ongoing project to assimilate all unprocessed University Archives materials. In continuing her work with born-digital materials, Christie and Dan Santamaria attended an SAA workshop on digital forensics for archivists, and Christie began work on an accessioning workflow that incorporates these materials. She also trained a new summer student on cataloging photographs in the Historical Photographs Collection database, and he restarted work on that project. Finally, Christie has announced that she will be leaving to start a new job September 1.

Dan also updated the group on the progress of various initiatives, in particular new developments with the redesigned EAD site, Primo, Aeon, and related issues.   We also discussed Bethany Nowviskie’s keynote talk at the March 2012 code4lib conference on the concept of “Lazy Consensus.”

For more information or questions mudd@princeton.edu