Digging in with Data: Experiences from a Paid Summer Internship for BIPOC LIS Students

To register for this event visit the NNLM 2024 Showcase Symposium hosted by vFairs.

In this one-hour session, attendees can hear from former participants of the NCDS summer internship program for data librarianship. Learn about the application and selection process as well as the experience and impact of this program short term and one year after completion.

Presenters

Robert Rosas is a Southern California native that graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in Political Science and a MLIS from the University of Southern California. He was a member of the inaugural cohort of the NCDS Data Internship while attending USC’s graduate program. The data internship with NCDS allowed Robert to develop skills with data cleaning, data visualization, Python, and SQL. Shortly after graduation from the program, Robert assumed the role of Access and Student Services Law Librarian at the UC Irvine Law Library, where he utilizes skills developed during the NCDS internship to use data to drive the library forward.

Aundria Parkman is a library technician who assists university affiliates with interlibrary loan at Tulane’s Matas Library of the Health Sciences. Aundria was part of the first cohort of the NCDS’ summer internship for data librarianship, working with the Data Curation Network. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Tulane University and her MLIS with a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from Louisiana State University. Her professional interests include community outreach and research support services in the health sciences as well as working alongside peers at Tulane to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the university’s libraries. When she is not working, she loves art museums, cooking new foods, and spending time with her cat, Ole Blue Eyes. Aundria believes that work in health science librarianship has the potential to transform health research and health care systems by persistence, intentionality, and innovation.

Rachel Priesman Márquez is a MSLS student at UNC Chapel Hill and is expected to graduate in May of 2024. She previously obtained a B.A. in English and M.A. in Pedagogy. Throughout these degrees, she has worked at three Writing Centers and is passionate about working one-on-one with students and scaffolding information literacy and writing skills. She started her NCDS internship in summer 2023 with the Data Curation Network, and now her library interests include data librarianship, data curation, sustainable practices in libraries, and library instruction.

Khiana Harris (she/they) received their MLS with a concentration in Informatics from Emporia State University in August. They are currently completing a certificate program in African-American Studies at the University of Kansas while applying to LIS PhD programs. While developing a theoretical background that speaks to liberatory practices, her research interests include but are not limited to pedagogy in LIS instruction, data literacy, and bibliometrics. Born and raised in Kansas, she lives there with a spouse and two cats.

Katya E. Mueller is a current MLIS student at Syracuse University (SU) and will graduate in the spring of 2024. She earned her B.A. in Classical Civilizations at the University of Rochester and uses her Classical background in her work as a graduate assistant student researcher at SU, researching public libraries in antiquity. She completed the NCDS internship in the summer of 2023, hosted by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, where she explored an alphavirus dataset to identify trends in infections in mammals.