Wow! February has been a whirlwind, and I haven’t posted nearly as much as I’d hoped. Apologies to those who have checked in during my absence! So here is the update:
Since graduation in December, I’ve been very busy. I’ve looked and applied for jobs, set interviews with temp agencies, revised and revised my resume and curriculum vitae, and am checking in with and building my professional network. All of this has continued up through February, and now (already!) into March. But along the way, I have created opportunities for professional development, publication, and presentations–some of which I’ve already posted about on LIS Lady.
In January, I continued my research on the intellectual property concerns surrounding pre-1972 sound recordings. This topic has been of interest to me since my Summer 2010 internship at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. As a result, I submitted commentary (#53) to the US Copyright Office as part of their “Study on the Desirability of and Means for Bringing Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972, Under Federal Jurisdiction.” This project is also featured on the SJSU School of Library and Information Science website this week, as part of their community profiles series, where it will be archived, if you don’t catch the story now.
I delivered a presentation on Monday to the Society of American Archivists Student Chapter at SJSU during their monthly online “Meetup.” I spoke about making the most of the internship experience. Using examples and stories from both of my internships I talked about the benefit of framing the experience with learning outcomes, facing challenges, and developing a professional identity and professional network. Finally, and most importantly, I talked about ways to pay the experience forward, in order to make our professional community and professional life all the more vibrant. This concept is exciting to me because I believe that even those like myself, who are just launching a career as an information professional, can bring new ideas and energy to the profession.
During these last months I’ve also been exploring my own new idea, the crossroads of librarianship and theatre, which is dramaturgy. Dramaturgs often work with playrights in the development of new plays, and will provide research and support during the process to help make the play be the best it can be as it is finally produced. However, dramaturgs also may work on older/existing plays, again by providing context and research support.
I’ve been working with the cast and production staff for Chabot College‘s April 2011 production of John Steinbeck’s the Grapes of Wrath, by Frank Galati. I am serving as a dramaturg, and have created a blog, among other things to help provide everyone with pertinent information about the period. This has been supplemented by great work from the director, Dov Hassan; the music director, Dennis Chowenhill; and others, including a history professor at Chabot College. It is a dynamic collaboration. The play runs April 14-16, and 20-24.
Additionally, many production members, including myself, went to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival February 14-18 in Arcata, CA, where we were able to attend workshops and see plays. It has been a very rewarding experience.
So, it has been a busy few months. But very exciting.
LIS Lady 