Collections Digitization Enhances Access: An Interview with Hanna Fogle

Today’s blog post is an interview with Hanna Fogle, a 2024-25 Librarian-in-Residence here at the Library of Congress.

Carlyn: Hi Hanna, could you tell us a bit about what you do as a Librarian-in-Residence (LIR)? How would you explain your job to someone outside the Library of Congress? What do you like most about your current LIR role? 

Hanna: I’m a Librarian-in-Residence in the Collections Digitization Division’s newly-formed Digitization Planning and Analysis section. A good way to describe the work we do is that we help others in the Library do digitization. My work here has been centered on learning and supporting the Library’s collection digitization workflow, which is the process of creating surrogates of physical or born-digital items in digital formats and making them available on loc.gov for patrons to access. My main project was helping develop a set of user requirements for a new end-to-end digitization tracking system based on feedback from our colleagues in all the other library departments and divisions that are involved with digitization projects in some way. I’ve also been doing some hands-on imaging work in our Digital Scan Center, where I’ve had the opportunity to digitize books, atlases, and film negatives, and working on special projects like helping to organize a joint meeting of the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) still image and audiovisual working groups. The variety of work has been my favorite part of the LIR experience; complementing my digitization workflow analysis project with hands-on imaging work in the Digital Scan Center and being part of FADGI has enhanced my experience at the Library!

C: Can you tell us a bit about your professional background and journey. In particular, what professional or educational experiences prepared you for your role?

H: I got my Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in December of 2023. My degree concentration was in Information Organization, so I took elective courses in metadata, cataloging, records management, data curation, and data analysis. I had also been working for many years at the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation, where I managed the donor database and developed internal policies and procedures around information management, and my MLIS coursework enhanced and expanded the skills I’d gained from my work experience. I believe this combination of my previous work managing information and my MLIS education prepared me for my work here at the Library. So much of what I do here is process-oriented, and having an understanding of the information lifecycle and how to interpret data and turn it into insights has prepared me for my work as part of the Digitization Planning and Analysis team!

C: What part of your work do you find most meaningful or engaging? 

H: I love getting to see how the work we do in collections digitization enhances access to Library collections, making important parts of our cultural heritage available to people who may never be able to visit the Library and see them in person. For my LIR capstone project, I gave a presentation highlighting a Library collection I found inspiring – the AIDS Memorial Quilt Archives – and using it to illustrate how the work we do in collections digitization amplifies the voices represented in Library collections by making these collections available online for users all over the country and the world. It is really inspiring to know that because of the work we do, many more people will be able experience the treasures in our collections, and the voices of those represented in those collections, such as the lives memorialized on the AIDS Quilt, will never be forgotten.

C: What do you think is the biggest thing you’ve learned so far in working at the Library of Congress? 

H: How so many different skillsets and backgrounds contribute to the work of collections digitization, and the mission of the Library as a whole. Many of my colleagues in collections digitization have professional expertise in photography and image science, project management, coding and data science, and digital file formats, just to name a few! Additionally, the process of digitizing Library collections is a team effort involving Library conservation and preservation specialists and librarians and archivists in curatorial divisions in addition to the work of the collections digitization staff. There is a very rich ecosystem of people and skillsets that go into this important work!

C: Do you have any advice for people interested in getting into the kind of work you do? Are there any skills or competencies that you think are really important for folks that want to get into this field to develop? 

H: In general, attention to detail and familiarity working with objects and information in digital formats are very important competencies in this field. Digital services work is more sensitive to technological advancement than other areas of librarianship, so it is also crucial to be comfortable with, and open to learning about, the use of new and emerging technologies in order to thrive in this field. For anyone pursuing a degree in library science or a related field and hoping to go into this work, I would highly recommend taking a course in digital libraries and/or digital archives to get a better understanding of the foundations of this work, if your program offers it!

C: Aside from work, what sorts of things are you passionate about? Do you have any hobbies or interests that you’re up for sharing out with folks?

H: Many of my hobbies unfortunately fell by the wayside while I was balancing graduate school with full-time work, and now that I have graduated from my MLIS program, I’m slowly getting back into them! In particular, I love distance running and the process of training for races – I’ve run 4 marathons and over 20 half marathons and am now getting back in shape so I can add to those numbers again! I also love creative writing and hope to one day write a novel and at least one chapbook of poetry. My husband and I enjoy doing activities together such as hiking and kayaking (although we are still novices at both!). My new year’s resolution for 2025 is to invest more in hobbies!