Research Libraries Section
Candidates for 2017 Election
Vice-Chair/Chair-elect:
Anton DuPlessis
Biography and Statement of Interest:
Anton duPlessis, CA (B.A., Political Economy, Tulane University, 1994; M.A, Political Science, University of New Orleans, 1999; M.A., Spanish, Texas A&M University, 2003)
I am a Certified Archivist and curator / archivist at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives (Texas A&M) where I work with the Colonial Mexican, Texas & Borderlands, and Ragan American Military collections. I am also Director of the Primeros Libros Project, an international effort to digitize and make available 16th Century New World materials. While I work with primary documents I am also committed to the creation and use of digital tools to display rare and archival materials to broaden their discovery, accessibility, and use. To that end, I have had roles in several projects that have been funded by CLIR, The Mellon Foundation, and the NEH. At the Portland meeting I aided with developing the section's meeting program -centered on digital scholarship and the relationship with academic special collections and archives - and facilitated the break out sessions.
I routinely conduct instruction sessions to expose students to primary materials for their research projects as well as collect and process materials and aid researchers in locating archival materials. I also have had substantial roles in mounting exhibits concerning World War 1 (2013-14; 2017), The Battle of the Bulge (2015-16), Cervantes / Don Quijote, Texas (Fall 2016), African American churches (Spring 2019) in terms of item selection, layout, drafting of the text used in placards and catalogs, and creating digital displays. I have also published on archival collections regarding the Mexican Revolution.
Through my roles and membership in professional organizations intersecting, such as SALALM’s Subcommittee on Digital Primary Resources, as a representative on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission's Regional Historical Resources Depository focus group, and the international affairs committee of AMBAC (Asociación Mexicana de Bibliotecarios), I am positioned to reach a broad network of colleagues engaged in archival and library work that spans different communities of patrons, researchers, and educators.
Steering Committee Candidates:
Laurainne Ojo-Ohikuare
Biography and Statement of Interest
Within the last four years, I have worked in varying roles within special collection and research libraries and hope to assist in furthering the agenda and interests of our role within the larger institution. Through collaboration, I believe this section can solidify its value and assert the significance of archives within research institutions by allowing its members to share their ideas, research projects, and talking through setbacks and common issues.
Laurainne is currently the Senior Library Associate for Reference and Archives in George Washington University's Special Collections Resource Center. Her primary responsibilities are to assist with all reference and public services, teach within the instruction program, and archival processing. Before GW, Laurainne was a contract archivist for Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, held an archival fellowship at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and worked as an Assistant Curator and Reference Librarian for NYU's Fales Library and Special Collections. She received her M.A./ MSLIS from New York University and Long Island University's dual degree program in 2016.
Chelsea Shapiro
Biography and Statement of Interest
Chelsea Shapiro is the Digital Services Senior Associate in the Special Collections Research Center at the George Washington University. Among many other roles, her primary responsibility is for the digital content, digital preservation, and digital stewardship of George Washington University’s archival collections. Prior to this position, she held many roles in different institutions. She was the Technical Services Librarian II at the University of the Virgin Islands, Digital Services Librarian I in the archive at Montgomery College, an intern at the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art, as well as a Library Assistant at University of Maryland’s Special Collections. She earned her Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from University of Maryland, College Park in 2014, where she also earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature in 2011.
Since beginning my studies and career in the Library and Archive field, I have had a strong interest in Research Libraries. Through such a wide variety of positions in higher education and archival institutions, I have had the opportunity to create a unique perspective of their role and value within a research and archival community. I hope to be able to share this perspective, as well as further the push of the importance of their position within the larger institutions.
