2015 Election Candidate Information

This year we are electing one Vice Chair/Chair Elect and three Steering Committee members. Electronic ballots will be sent to RLRT members in early July.

The Vice Chair/Chair Elect serves a two-year term. Year 1: Serves as Vice Chair and participates as a member of the Steering Committee. Year 2: Serves as Chair of the Roundtable.

Candidate for Vice Chair/Chair Elect:

Jessica Lacher-Feldman

Steering Committee members may be appointed or elected, each for a one-year term that is renewable for up to three consecutive years at the discretion of the incoming Chair.

Candidates for Steering Committee (Vote for 3):

Chris Chan
Lauren Goss
Jennifer King
Matthew McEniry 
Vakil Smallen
Elizabeth Wilkinson

Candidate for Vice Chair/Chair Elect (1 position)

Jessica Lacher-Feldman
Head of Special Collections
Louisiana State University

Statement

Archivists and special collections librarians are at center of much of the activity in research institutions of all sizes, and with the growth of digital collections, digital humanities, and institutional repositories, our expertise is more valued and important than ever. As an archivist and administrator who has spent her career in the research library setting, I am committed and deeply passionate about our profession and in the directions we are going.

Professional Experience

Jessica Lacher-Feldman is the Head of Special Collections at Louisiana State University's Hill Memorial Library. She holds an undergraduate degree in French Studies and History, as well as graduate degrees in History and Library Science (Archives Concentration) from the State University of New York at Albany. Prior to joining LSU, she was at The University of Alabama from 2000-2013 first as Public and Outreach Services Coordinator, then as Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections.

She has written and presented on a variety of subjects relating to archives and special collections, most notably on exhibition development. Her most recent work is the book, Exhibits in Archives and Special Collections Libraries, published by the Society of American Archivists in 2013. She is active in RBMS as well as the Society of American Archivists (SAA), where she held a leadership role in the Reference, Access and Outreach Section, and served on the Committee for Archives, Libraries, and Museums (CALM), representing SAA in this multi-organizational group. She currently serves on a joint SAA/RBMS Joint Task Force on Public Services Metrics.

Lacher-Feldman is a certified archivist (2001), and has strong interest in 20th century collections, literary manuscripts, and French and Francophone studies, as well as exhibition development and instruction in the archives.

Candidates for Steering Committee (Vote for 3)

Chris Chan
MLIS Student - UW-Milwaukee

Statement

I worked at the Marquette University Archives for three years. I have a deep interest in archival security, as well as finding new and more effective ways to retrieve lost and stolen items from archives and libraries. I have a considerable amount of experience working on committees on topics ranging from high school and college alumni issues to a college independent election commission. I have a great deal of research experience and I am looking for ways to popularize information studies with the general public.

Professional Experience

Chris Chan lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has a Ph.D. in U.S. History from Marquette University, and is currently earning a MLIS from UW-Milwaukee. He teaches online graduate history classes and writes for the official Agatha Christie website (www.agathachristie.com) and the magazine Gilbert (chesterton.org).

 Lauren Goss
Student Assistant - Oregon State University

Statement

To serve as a member of the steering committee would be an important opportunity to lead the present and future direction of the Research Libraries Roundtable. As a current MLIS student, the work of the roundtable will greatly influence my future career in this line of archival work. I hope to bring a fresh set of ideas to the table, as well as learn from others at this pivotal time in my education and work experience.

Professional Experience

I am a 2011 graduate of the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon. After graduating with a degree in history, with honors including Phi Beta Kappa, I worked as a paralegal for 3 years. I refocused on a return to academia by enrolling in graduate school to pursue my MLIS with a focus on archives. I recently finished my first semester in the San Jose State University Program. My interest in history led to several internships around the Pacific Northwest and abroad, including: the Charles Dickens Museum, Pittock Mansion, Holy Names Heritage Center, Oregon Historical Society, and the Washington County Museum. Currently, I work as a student assistant at the Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives. The return to an academic setting falls in line with my future career goals of working in research libraries. I have worked on the digital humanities project, "Dear Professor Einstein: Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists," as well as processing a major historical map collection.

Jennifer King
Interim Collections Coordinator and Manuscripts Librarian
George Washington University

Statement

As the Interim Collections Coordinator and Manuscripts Librarian at the George Washington University Gelman Library, I provide support to the GW research community in an atmosphere designed to foster new ideas and cultivate new collaborative possibilities. There are strong parallels between my role at GW and the mission of the RLRT. The RLRT provides a professional context where research librarians can share and debate ideas in order to facilitate innovation and collaboration. I hope for the opportunity to serve on the Steering Committee so that I may work to identify, support, and promote projects that provide all roundtable members with forums for creatively engaging with their colleagues.

Professional Experience

Jennifer King is the Interim Collections Coordinator and Manuscripts Librarian in the Special Collections Research Center at George Washington University. She has collection development responsibilities for the Washingtoniana division, manages the curatorial staff of three other major collections, and oversees the processing and technical services for the department. Jennifer's recent presentations and publications focus on her work with communities and their efforts to preserve their histories through archival donation, symposia, and online crowdsourcing tools such as the wiki platform. She holds an MLS with an archival concentration from the University of Michigan.

Matthew McEniry
Assistant Metadata Librarian
Texas Tech University

Statement

I am interested in serving as a steering committee member of the Research Libraries Roundtable for its discussion into new and innovative projects and issues that will affect work of archivists.

Professional Experience

Matthew McEniry is an Assistant Metadata Librarian at Texas Tech University. He works mainly with the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library digital manuscript collections and provides item level description to enhance discoverability online.

Vakil Smallen
National Education Association (NEA) Archivist
George Washington University

Statement

In Vakil's five years of work as a collection expert in a research library he has had the opportunity for extended interactions with researchers coming from all over the world. This has given him an interest in better understanding what tools researchers use to find collections. Understanding what tools work best and are most utilized will help research institutions promote their unique collections in effective ways. Serving on the Steering Committee will help him connect and collaborate with other archivists investigating the same concerns and help find the means to disseminate the results.

Professional Experience

Vakil is the National Education Association (NEA) Archivist at George Washington University, responsible for all aspects of processing, describing, providing reference, and promoting the NEA Collection, as well as teaching archival literacy and providing general reference of GWU's Special Collections. Additionally, he is on the team designing Social Feed Manager (SFM), a free and open source software application designed to collect social media and to provide analysis of collections. Vakil has been at this position for five years. Prior to that, he worked at the International Monetary Fund as a Declassification and Processing Archivist for three years. He received his Master's Degree in Library Science with a focus on Archives in from the University of Maryland College of Library and Information Sciences in 2007.

Elizabeth Wilkinson
Curator of Manuscripts
Georgetown University 

Statement

I would like to be part of the Steering Committee in order to explore and discuss issues archivists and special collection librarians are facing in research libraries and see if we can come together to find solutions to common problems, explore new opportunities, and anticipate new challenges.

Professional Experience

I am the Curator of Manuscripts where I develop and acquire manuscript collections, direct and supervise accessioning, processing and cataloging efforts; provide and supervise reference service for manuscripts collections; initiate and engage in outreach activities; collaborate with liaison librarians to conduct research and instruction needs assessment of academic departments; provide academic course support; and set priorities for digitization and conservation of collections. I earned an MLS and an MA in history, and a BA in history from Indiana University. I previously worked at Purdue University as Processing and Public Services Archivist, and the Indiana State Library as Head Manuscript Librarian. I have contributed to SAA through the Manuscripts Repositories Section as a Steering Committee Member, Vice Chair, and Chair; RAO as a member of the Teaching with Primary Sources standing committee member, and as a Pinkett Award Subcommittee member. I have also contributed to the Midwest Archives Conference as Bowen Scholarship Committee member and Chair, and to the Society of Indiana Archivists as Steering Committee Members, Vice Chair and Chair. I was a member of the 2011 cohort of the Archives Leadership Institute, and I am also active in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL/ALA as a member of the Workshops Committee.