Concluding our introductions of the fall remote metadata program, we have the West Coast team. If you missed the foreign legal gazette program, east coast, or central team introductions, take a look!
Our West Coast team is led by Alyssa Key. Alyssa may soon hold the record for the greatest number of semesters volunteering with the Law Library! This is her fifth remote internship with us, after serving as a remote intern in the spring and summer of 2021, a team lead with the American State Papers project earlier this year, and as a mentor this summer. Alyssa is a life-long California resident who graduated from San José State University’s M.L.I.S. program in May 2021, with an emphasis on public and academic librarianship. Alyssa also holds a B.A. in sociology from California State University, Northridge. In addition to her work here, Alyssa is also currently contributing to the American Library Association Subject Analysis Committee’s Working Group on External Review of LC Vocabularies.
What is your favorite project you’ve worked on?
It is so hard to pick a favorite. During my time on the Statutes at Large, American State Papers, and bill summaries metadata projects, I have learned a lot about how historical documents can be made more accessible for the public’s benefit simply through creating metadata. In turn, this is something I have grown passionate about because I have enjoyed seeing how increasing the accessibility of resources helps make information retrieval, and access standards and methods more equitable and inclusive.
Why do you keep coming back to the Library of Congress?
I started my journey with the Library as a Statutes at Large metadata project intern in the spring of 2021 while finishing my master of library and information science (M.L.I.S) degree at San José State University. So, now to be serving in my second team lead position with the bill summaries metadata project and to have almost five full internships completed with the Library, I can genuinely say I have really enjoyed working with my fellow interns and my supervisor, Jennifer González. In turn, it’s been an easy decision for me to continue volunteering my time to the projects I have been privileged to work on so far.
What is the coolest thing you’ve come across while working with us?
It is hard to choose because all of the digitized historical documents I have handled as part of the Statutes at Large, American State Papers, and bill summaries metadata projects have been really interesting to view. They have given me more perspective on congressional and governmental history that I did not have. So, now to have hands-on experience handling digitized historical documents that detail congressional and governmental history is a real privilege.
What are you hoping to do in the library field?
This is a really big question I have been pondering for a long time! Having spent roughly half of my M.L.I.S degree seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the field in real time, I have grown passionate about increasing the availability and accessibility of digital collections, services, and resources to patrons, as well as addressing the digital divide impacting the ability of some patrons to access such library offerings on- and off-site. I am also passionate about information and media literacy, technology, and teaching patrons advanced online research strategies and techniques. Thus, I see myself in library roles that not only connect to a lot of my current professional interests, but also utilize many, if not all, of the skills I have cultivated through my library internships and other professional experiences so far.
Why libraries?
Admittedly, when I first joined the library and information science field, I was inspired because I was an avid reader growing up and love reading books and learning, and wanted to share that passion with others as others had done for me as a child. However, as I have gained more field experience, I have found myself incorporating much of what I learned as an undergraduate sociology student into my work. I am passionate about social justice and human rights, and believe everyone should have easy access to credible information, issues which I first explored as a remote student intern with San Francisco Public Library’s Jail and Reentry Services Reference by Mail program in the fall of 2020. I hope to further cultivate those passions, as well in my professional career going forward.
Now meet the team!
Tamah Bartlett currently lives in Arizona and will complete her M.L.I.S at the University of Arizona (U.A.) in fall 2022 with the goal of entering the archival field. She holds a B.F.A in digital arts from the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and a graduate certificate in archival studies from U.A. Tamah is the marketing officer of the U.A.’s American Library Association student chapter and interns at the U.A. Law Library working on the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources Library Preservation Project. When not working, she enjoys creating art, researching her family history, and pet sitting.
Leigh Carroll holds a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Berkeley and is finishing her M.L.I.S. degree from San José State University. She lives in the Bay Area with her partner and two young kids where she is a volunteer school librarian. She loves libraries of all kinds and working with historical documents. After a career in digital content strategy for companies of all types, she is eager to apply her skills to a cultural heritage institution where she can combine her loves of history and information organization.
Joanna Coelho is a master of management in library and information science (M.M.L.I.S.) student at the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Before pivoting to the world of libraries, she received her B.A. in English at UCLA and worked in book publishing and film production. In addition to her metadata work with the Law Library of Congress, she is also working as a digital asset management intern at USC Gould School of Law.
Emma Cogan is from Los Angeles, but has lived in Wisconsin and Denver. She is a current M.L.I.S graduate student at the University of Denver where she is focusing on archival practices. She has professional interests in digitization, metadata, cataloging, and digital asset management. Emma has two cats and enjoys gardening and bouldering (free rock climbing).
Margaret Daab was born and raised in northeast Illinois but has recently moved to Washington State. In 2014, she received her bachelor’s degree in television writing from Columbia College Chicago. After an unexpected move into the public library field, she enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s online M.L.I.S. program. When she is not studying, Margaret loves hiking, drawing, and binge-watching her favorite shows. She is excited to continue her work in library programming and to gain new skills as she completes her education.
Danielle Dantema is a California native residing in sunny Orange County. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in English from University of California, Los Angeles, and her M.L.I.S. degree from San José State University. While she currently volunteers in public libraries, she hopes to become a video game archivist and librarian. When she is not busy guiding people on how to fulfill their knowledge quest, archiving important documents, and organizing information from around the world, she enjoys letting her creativity flourish in planning themed parties, pottery, and watercolor painting.
Brenda Esparza is a graduate student completing her M.L.I.S degree from the University of Arizona. Interning remotely from Phoenix, Arizona, she is interested in metadata management, digitization and digital preservation, and contributing to the development of accessible and discoverable digital projects. In addition to her work with the Law Library of Congress, she works as an outreach specialist for her public library to implement long-term and sustainable early literacy activities in hard-to-reach communities. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, watching British Bake-Off, and playing board games.
Eun Hye Jun double majored and earned two bachelor’s degrees in education and sociology from Korea University in Seoul, Korea. She taught social studies in high school for about ten years. She finished her master of science in library science (M.S.L.S.) program from Clarion University of Pennsylvania last spring. Eun Hye is currently participating in the research group of the library and information science department at Clarion University and working with several professors. Her professional interests include information literacy in childhood, digital youth, and the information seeking behavior of teens.
Cashel McGloin is long past her intern days, but volunteers for the Library of Congress out of her love for the institution. She uses her degrees in archaeology as a volunteer archaeologist for a number of organizations around the greater D.C. area, and her experience from growing up in Colorado to rebuild trails in national parks. When not being paid by museums to handle their collections, she explores, dances, draws, does beadwork, restores antiques, and conducts historic site research.
Hayley Park (she/they) is finishing her M.L.I.S degree at the University of Washington with an emphasis in digital scholarship, data curation, and knowledge organization. Her academic background is in comparative literature with an emphasis in film studies. Her professional experience primarily comes from working at public and institutional libraries and working at an academic library as a graduate specialist. As an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar, she is drawn to ideas and practices that challenge cultural hegemony and structural inequities and is committed to ensuring equitable access for all people to pursue knowledge essential to each of their sensemaking journey(s).
Belinda Reich is originally from Australia, but has lived in South Korea, Canada, and currently in Los Angeles, U.S. She recently graduated with a master of information studies from Charles Sturt University, with a focus on audiovisual and digital archiving and preservation, data management, and metadata. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in visual arts (electronic and temporal art) from the University of Sydney. This year, she provided metadata description for a newly digitized audiovisual collection at the Australian Museum, and governance research for a government records office in Australia. Her previous professional experience includes film and digital development, and communications. When not looking at a screen, Belinda loves exploring Southern California for its diverse food, neighborhoods, and history, and swimming in the ocean.
Robert Rosas is a Southern California native currently pursuing his M.M.L.I.S. from the University of Southern California. He holds a B.A. in political science from UC Irvine. When not focusing on his studies or working at the UC Irvine Law Library, he enjoys cooking, hitting the gym, and exploring southern California with his corgi, Archie.
Laura Wertz is a lifelong resident of Walnut Creek, California. She is currently working as a remote metadata intern at the Law Library of Congress. Laura earned her master’s degree in library and information science from San José State University (S.J.S.U.) in May of 2021 with a focus on academic librarianship. Her research paper on the fight to desegregate southern U.S. public libraries during the civil rights movement was published in the S.J.S.U. School of Information Student Research Journal. She previously interned as a virtual collection development associate for the Open Access Digital Theological Library. Laura is pursuing a career in academic librarianship. She enjoys spending time with her dog, music, the arts, reading, and is a digital art enthusiast.
Keri Wilkins is an Arkansas native, but is currently living in San Diego, California. She is about to graduate with her M.L.I.S. from San José State University in December 2022. She also holds a paralegal certificate from the University of San Diego and a B.S. in psychology from Arkansas State University. Keri has two fur babies and has a huge love for animals. She currently enjoys working in the cataloging world of librarianship. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, volunteering at animal rescues, and swimming.
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