This semester has witnessed a resurgence of library and archives community here at the iSchool through our unified student chapter of the Society of American Archivists and the American Library Association!
Student groups like SAA/ALA are an essential component of graduate training programs. Through these groups, students can practice leadership, establish connections with our local professional community, gain awareness of national issues in the field, and build camaraderie with their colleagues as they move into their careers. Student group involvement also distinguishes candidate resumes in competitive job application pools.
This semester, students have elected a new slate of officers, reinvigorated social media, taken guided tours of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and UT Collections Preservation and Research Center, and established new communications platforms to discuss course availability. Student advocacy for library and archives education has spurred renewed iSchool attention to future hiring and course planning. That’s a lot to achieve in one semester!
Many UT student organizations have struggled and even dissolved post-COVID with membership and University financial policy issues. Co-adviser Andrea Baer and I are so proud to see our iSchool SAA/ALA buck the trend. This vibrant student community bodes well for library and archives training as we look to next steps for the iSchool.
