T18 - Student Government, Advocacy, and Library Work.
Session Description
Where does professional experience for librarianship come from, and what does it look like? As many information professionals know, professional skills can come in various forms and from unexpected places. Traditionally, students in the LAIS field are required to work in “professional organizations” such as public libraries, academic libraries, etc. However, students in these organizations may feel unprepared to do this work without the necessary “qualifications” or specific training, especially if they do not have prior work experience in those organizations prior to graduate school. They are also often asked to do basic “deskwork”, rather than practicing management skills right away. By contrast, student government provides students with a low-barrier way to become involved at the highest levels of an organization with few qualifications besides enrollment as a student and support by election from their peers. Student government positions can be excellent avenues for developing advocacy and consultation skills that can become vital in the library and info fields and provide opportunities to practice management and relationship building for student societies where decisions have effects for the entire student body, and in turn, future professionals. At this session, students involved in various levels of student government at the University of British Columbia, including the Library and Archival Studies Students Association (LASSA), and the Graduate Students Society of UBC (GSS) will discuss how their experience in student politics has developed skills such as advocacy, community consultation, policy development, and relationship building, and how those skills can be put into practice in the field of librarianship and information.
Speakers
Victoria Gomez, UBC iSchool Student, UBC Library and Archival Studies Students Association, Graduate Student Society at UBC
Biography
Victoria is currently in her last year at the UBC iSchool in the MLIS program. She is a second-generation Latinx settler in the Vancouver area, and did not have library work experience prior to graduate school, but has been involved in student government since her undergraduate degree in various roles, including as Co-President of the Speech and Linguistics Students Association of UBC, GSS Representative, Club Liaison, and Co-President of the Library and Archival Studies Students Association, and Chair of the Governance & Accountability Committee of the GSS. Victoria hopes to work in public and community libraries after graduation.
Katharine Sedivy-Haley, Graduate Student Society at UBC
Biography
Kate is a PhD Candidate in Microbiology and Immunology at UBC, and has been the Chair of the Code and Policy Committee at UBC's Graduate Student Society since October 2018. In this role she has gained a variety of transferrable professional skills in stakeholder consultation, organizing collaboration between teams, and developing organizational policy to serve graduate students better. As an avid user of public and academic libraries, she is excited to discuss these skills with students in the library sector.
Anita Fata, UBC iSchool Student, Library and Archival Studies Students Association, Out on the Shelves Library
Biography
Originally from Northern BC, Anita has taken the long meandering route to Library School and is new to student government. Currently in her third term at UBC's iSchool, she is currently on co-op with the Making Research Accessible Initiative in the Downtown East Side and volunteers as a coordinator at Out on the Shelves Library. As a first-generation settler, she hopes to pursue work in libraries as an ally in reconciliation, engaging with community and fostering democracy.
Tarique Benbow, Graduate Students Society of UBC
Biography
Tarique is a Ph.D. Candidate in Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC and the current Vice President of University and Academic Affairs at UBC’s Graduate Student Society. He has held many leadership positions within the pharmaceutical industry (US and Caribbean), which has allowed him to develop collaborative and organizational strategic skills. He now leverages these experiences/skills to advocate at the University level for Graduate student’s mental and financial health.