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Hello, and thanks for stopping by.
My name is Kate Peck, I live in Los Angeles, and I am a second year Master's student in a Library and Information Studies program. For the final credits of my degree in I’m going to travel to the wilds of eastern Mississippi to conduct a directed study project. The public library in Scooba, Mississippi, is one of more than 600 small libraries in this country that does not have an online catalog, and I will be spending three weeks there in late July and early August cataloging their small collection.
People might ask why I feel the need to go all the way to Mississippi, when there are undoubtedly underfunded libraries in the Los Angeles area. I do not doubt that there are local libraries where I could volunteer, but finding trained librarians and library assistants in Los Angeles is not a problem. This is not the case in Mississippi. To say that the Kemper-Newton Regional Library System is run on a shoe-string budget would be an insult to shoe-strings everywhere. The libraries are grossly underfunded despite the heroic efforts of their employees and local supporters. The skill-set that I am able to bring to this project is derived from the almost-seven years that I have spent as a cataloging library assistant at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. In that time I have cataloged almost 4000 books (many of them rare or unique) and provided detailed records for 3700 maps and 4000 images. This experience has taught me how to be detail-oriented and efficient. I believe this puts me in a unique position where I can help a community and also provide a blue-print for others to perform similar work. The fact that one of my cohort members from the University of Alabama heads the Kemper-Newton Regional Library System means that I have a direct link to the town of Scooba.
It’s time for a confession: I am terrible at asking for money. Times are tough for a lot of people, and I have been fortunate enough to have a steady job with good benefits, but paying for this project will be a challenge. I was able to take advantage of my father’s retiree benefits from United Airlines to secure reasonable airfare, and I will spend some of my time staying with Meredith, the KNRLS Director, but I will still be paying for most of my costs out of pocket. So I come to you, hat in hand, in the hopes that you might have a few dollars to spare.
Maybe you dislike the idea of supporting a state that is at odds with your values. I understand that, but this project won’t benefit the people who are passing restrictive laws and shutting down programs and facilities that help those in need. This project is for residents of towns that NEED all of the library materials and programs that they can get. People who deserve better than the scraps that their politicians are leaving them. If you don’t want to support me directly, maybe you would consider buying a book or DVD for them from their wish list (KNRLS wish list ). You could give them Neil Gaiman or Rainbow Rowell or Star Wars or Doctor Who! Books help open minds, and the more books they have at their disposal, the more open those minds can be.
I might experience a bit of culture shock when I visit small-town Mississippi, and I will be keeping a daily blog to record my adventures.
My name is Kate Peck, I live in Los Angeles, and I am a second year Master's student in a Library and Information Studies program. For the final credits of my degree in I’m going to travel to the wilds of eastern Mississippi to conduct a directed study project. The public library in Scooba, Mississippi, is one of more than 600 small libraries in this country that does not have an online catalog, and I will be spending three weeks there in late July and early August cataloging their small collection.
People might ask why I feel the need to go all the way to Mississippi, when there are undoubtedly underfunded libraries in the Los Angeles area. I do not doubt that there are local libraries where I could volunteer, but finding trained librarians and library assistants in Los Angeles is not a problem. This is not the case in Mississippi. To say that the Kemper-Newton Regional Library System is run on a shoe-string budget would be an insult to shoe-strings everywhere. The libraries are grossly underfunded despite the heroic efforts of their employees and local supporters. The skill-set that I am able to bring to this project is derived from the almost-seven years that I have spent as a cataloging library assistant at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. In that time I have cataloged almost 4000 books (many of them rare or unique) and provided detailed records for 3700 maps and 4000 images. This experience has taught me how to be detail-oriented and efficient. I believe this puts me in a unique position where I can help a community and also provide a blue-print for others to perform similar work. The fact that one of my cohort members from the University of Alabama heads the Kemper-Newton Regional Library System means that I have a direct link to the town of Scooba.
It’s time for a confession: I am terrible at asking for money. Times are tough for a lot of people, and I have been fortunate enough to have a steady job with good benefits, but paying for this project will be a challenge. I was able to take advantage of my father’s retiree benefits from United Airlines to secure reasonable airfare, and I will spend some of my time staying with Meredith, the KNRLS Director, but I will still be paying for most of my costs out of pocket. So I come to you, hat in hand, in the hopes that you might have a few dollars to spare.
Maybe you dislike the idea of supporting a state that is at odds with your values. I understand that, but this project won’t benefit the people who are passing restrictive laws and shutting down programs and facilities that help those in need. This project is for residents of towns that NEED all of the library materials and programs that they can get. People who deserve better than the scraps that their politicians are leaving them. If you don’t want to support me directly, maybe you would consider buying a book or DVD for them from their wish list (KNRLS wish list ). You could give them Neil Gaiman or Rainbow Rowell or Star Wars or Doctor Who! Books help open minds, and the more books they have at their disposal, the more open those minds can be.
I might experience a bit of culture shock when I visit small-town Mississippi, and I will be keeping a daily blog to record my adventures.