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Jennifer Hecker
Digital Archives Access Strategist, University of Texas Libraries
Education:
B.A. (American Studies), University of Texas at Austin; M.L.I.S. (Archival Enterprise), University of Texas at Austin.
Work Experience:
University of Texas Libraries: Project Archivist, 2011-2013; Digital Archives Access Strategist, 2013-present. Harry Ransom Center: Project Archivist, 2005-2011; Student Assistant, 2000-2001. Austin Public Library: Circulation Clerk & Photo Archives Volunteer, 1998-2000, 2004-2005. Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University: Archivist, 2003-2004. Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University: Librarian, 2002-2003.
Relevant Professional Service:
Archivists of Central Texas: Treasurer, 2014-present; Founding Chair, Austin Archives Bazaar, 2013-2014; Ad-Hoc Programming Co-Chair, 2011-2013; President, 2009-2010; Vice President/President Elect, Programming Chair, 2008. Texas Digital Humanities Consortium: Steering Committee member, 2014-present. Texas Archival Resources Online: Steering Committee member, 2013-present. Society of Southwest Archivists: Scholarship Committee, 2014-present; Local Arrangements Committee, 2013 annual meeting, 2011-2013. Society of American Archivists: Events Co-Chair, SAA-UT Student Chapter, 2001. Texas Book Festival: volunteer, committee chair, 1999-2005.
Relevant Publications and Presentations:
Spoke: “The Austin Archives Bazaar: Bringing Archives to the People,” and chaired “Represent!: Challenges and Rewards of Documenting Underdocumented Communities” panel at the Society of Southwest Archivists annual meeting; spoke on “Archiving the Electronic Frontier” at EFF Austin, May 2015. Co-presented “Zine Party! Collaborating across UT Libraries to Experiment with Methods, Workflows & Tools, Build Awareness of a Collection, and Teach Metadata Literacy” at the Texas Conference on Digital Libraries, April 2015. Wrote: “Bazaar Circumstances: How We Threw the Austin Archives Bazaar,” Archival Outlook, January/February 2015. Spoke: “Amazing Archives!” at Nerd Nite Austin, June 2014. Presented: “Preserving Holiday Memories,” Good Day Austin, KTBC TV, December 2012.
Statement:
Access to information has always been my passion. I love bringing archives to the people, and more people into archives. Recent technological advances have given us new opportunities to help break down the walls between archives and the rest of the world, and between the various facets of our work, further blurring the boundaries between reference, access & outreach. Lately, I am particularly interested exploring how crowd-sourcing can encourage deeper engagement with our collections. Additionally, in the wake of last fall's Austin Archives Bazaar, I am really fired up about spreading the gospel of fun, collaborative, community outreach events! I am particularly excited about this opportunity to serve on the RAO Steering Committee that has been doing such great work of late.