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An Interview with Fuchsia Norwich White, Summer Intern

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Fuchsia is a summer intern working on a project with the Global Legal Research Directorate and the Digital Resources Division.

Fuchsia Norwich White standing in the great hall of the Library of Congress.
Fuchsia Norwich White. Photograph by Donna Sokol.

Describe your background.

I was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida.  My dad worked overseas for most of my life and a lot of my family is overseas. As a child I also lived in Taiwan, China and Australia, and visited many other countries. These early experiences abroad probably sparked the travel bug I have today. I later moved to Toronto for law school, which is where I live now.

What is your academic/professional history?

I completed my undergraduate studies at University of Massachusetts Lowell, in English and history. After undergrad, I decided to move to Toronto and attend Osgoode Hall Law School. During my time in law school I worked as a journal editor, research assistant and teaching assistant. I also had the opportunity to work in community legal clinics. I quickly realized that my favorite aspects of legal practice were research, writing, and teaching others; thus, I was drawn to law librarianship. To that end, I am beginning a master of information in library & information science degree this fall at the University of Toronto. I’m excited to be spending this summer at the Law Library of Congress before my program begins.

How would you describe your job to other people?

My primary project here is the Global Legal Research Directorate (GLRD) report archive. The purpose of this project is to preserve all of the Law Library’s writings, and my role is to identify and record all Law Library reports. As well as being a valuable internal reference, another final goal of this project is to publish these reports on the Law Library’s website. In addition to this, I have the opportunity to assist in other areas of the Law Library.

Why did you want to work in the Library of Congress?

It’s been repeated several times but the fact of it is still impressive: the Law Library of Congress is the largest law library in the world. In addition, I’m very interested in foreign, comparative and international law librarianship as it parallels my concentrations in law school. The Law Library of Congress is one of the few comprehensive global law libraries in existence.

What is the most interesting fact you have learned about the Law Library of Congress?

There are so many interesting things about the Law Library, but my favorite one I’ve learned since starting here is that the Law Library (besides the obvious service to Congress) isn’t just a resource for American individuals and institutions; it also serves the public worldwide. It really is a valuable, globally accessible resource.

What’s something most of your co-workers do not know about you?

I’ve completed both the culinary and patisserie programs at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and did a stage with a chocolatier after that. I still love baking, and consider it a great stress reliever. I also enjoy learning about food history and collecting old cookbooks. Some of my favorites include Alexandre Dumas’ Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine and How to Cook a Rogue Elephant by Peter Van Rensselaer Livingston.

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