Intern Profile: Kayliegh Penner

August 24, 2020 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

Kayliegh Penner
Archives Student Intern for the Dalhousie University Archives

1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?

I knew that I wanted to work in a library setting when I was working on my undergraduate degree. I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to work in the university archives while finishing my undergraduate, and I discovered that archival work was my real passion. I applied to Dal because I was attracted to the diversity of the program and career opportunities, and particularly because of the archives concentration offered in the program.

2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?

Coming straight from my undergrad, where I worked for four years as a student assistant in the university library and, later, archives, I was eager to look for employment opportunities on campus when I moved to Halifax to start my graduate degree. I remember listening to last year’s Summer Shine presentations, particularly the archives’ summer internship presentation, and thinking “Next year, that could be me.” I was prepared to apply to all and any jobs until someone wanted me, and I jumped on the archives student intern job posting. I was shocked to be given an interview opportunity, thought that I’d take it for the practice experience, and was even more shocked (but thrilled) to be offered the job.

3. What’s your educational background?

I have a certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies from Providence University College, and a B.A. Combined Honours from Brandon University, where I majored in English and History, and minored in Creative Writing.

4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?

I am working on organizing the records of a fonds and preparing an archival appraisal report along with it. I’m also doing preliminary research for authority records and helping to standardize information for a collection in the archives’ database, AtoM (Access to Memory). I would like to think that the pandemic hasn’t changed much in terms of my work because it’s relatively independent work regardless and my bosses are readily available when I have questions. I do find it harder to convince myself to get up in the morning, however, especially when I’m only moving four feet from bed to desk to start my workday.

5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?

I love swimming, long hikes, and I’ve been really lucky to get out kayaking this summer! When the weather’s not permitting, I’m more than happy to read all day. I’m looking forward to exploring more around Halifax this summer, but I’ve really enjoyed exploring the many urban parks and green spaces around the city.

Intern Profile: Molly Coyle

August 19, 2020 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

Molly Coyle
Reference Intern at the Sexton Design and Technology Library

1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?

I was initially drawn to Dalhousie because of the university’s reputation for academic excellence, but I committed to coming here when I read testimonials from alumni and current students. I was impressed by the variety of experiences available to MI students at Dalhousie and loved the overall tone of satisfaction from program participants.

2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?

I was first drawn to the internship program at Dalhousie by the Summer Shine presentations delivered by previous interns. The projects were all unique and I could feel the passion of each intern as they discussed their work; I wanted to feel that level of connection and pride in my work as well. I also knew that I wanted to stay with a library for a longer amount of time to experience a range of tasks and responsibilities and the Dalhousie internship program was a great way to do that.

3. What’s your educational background?

I attended Hope College—a little liberal arts school in Holland, Michigan—and graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in 2014. I majored in creative writing and minored in theatre.

4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?

During my internship, I have mostly helped patrons with reference questions. I have also had opportunities to contribute to a bibliography of donated materials, learn about collections development, and help update LibGuides. The good news, I suppose, is that a good deal of the work that I did during my internship already occurred online, so the transition to working at home did not disrupt too many of my regularly assigned tasks. That being said, I desperately miss face-to-face interactions with patrons. I am a bit of an extrovert and I love being around people. Losing the ability to communicate in-person is a bummer, but I have found that email communication has been pretty fun, too.

5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?

This might sound a little creepy, but I love people-watching and summer is always a great time to observe people as everyone is outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I love to write and draw comics; people-watching provides great fodder for both character design and plot development!

Intern Profile: Ally Patton

August 18, 2020 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

Ally Patton
Library intern at the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library

1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?

I was interested in the opportunity to gather and collect information/data for the purposes of social or other types of research.

2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?

I was very excited to get an internship with the health sciences library. I was looking for an area that allowed me experience with finding information for research purposes. I have found that a large part of my position with the health science library is about finding information and data in the growing field of health information.

3. What’s your educational background?

I have a Bachelor of Arts with majors in psychology and sociology. I have some graduate level background in sociology as well.

4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?

For my internship I have been conducting various searches for different librarians and translating those searches in different databases. I have been removing broken assets from LibGuides or updating ones that need to be updated.

The pandemic has shaped my internship in that it highlights the importance of medical research in my mind. The pandemic has forced the workforce to work from home as much as possible. I am getting more accustomed to this way of work, and it helps me to become more self-disciplined.

5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?

My favourite summer activities are hiking or camping. I enjoy touring the city and the green space in the city.

Intern profile: Mitchell Jabalee

June 21, 2019 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

Where are you interning?
I am interning at the Dalhousie University Archives.

What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal?
What brought me to the MLIS program was in interest in learning and developing a broad range of skills to add to what I already have. My goal is to learn many flexible skills that make me a great fit for working in the field of archives.

What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries?
I was interested in gaining more experience working in an archive and the summer intern job at Dalhousie’s archives was the perfect opportunity.

What’s your educational background?
Previously I have completed an undergraduate degree with honours in history at Cape Breton University.

What have you been doing during your internship?
So far during my time at the Dalhousie Archives, I have been processing records and creating archival descriptions for the materials of Canadian writer and poet Charles Bruce that get uploaded to the archives’ online catalog, helping with the preparations for the renovations to the archives collections space and assisting in daily operations and tasks alongside other small tasks here and there.

Intern profile: Conor Falvey

June 13, 2019 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

I am very excited to be interning at the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library for the coming year. My interest in health information was what first drew me to the MLIS program at Dal. After following a winding road through higher education – first a BA in English, then an MA in History – I found myself working for a health promotion NGO in Nova Scotia. I came to realize that much of our work was similar to librarianship, especially the time spent helping people to locate health information (hello, reference!) and compiling databases of online resources to distribute (a.k.a. digital librarianship). I wanted to know how to do this work properly, so I applied to Dal’s School of Information Management.

The internship at Dal Libraries appealed to me because it provides valuable hands-on training. I wanted the opportunity to see how an academic library works in practice, rather than simply reading about it. So far, my experience has totally reframed what I thought I had learned in my MLIS courses. The internship also allows me to explore my interest in health education from a new angle. So far, much of the intern training has focused on helping health sciences students and faculty with their literature searching. It is very fulfilling to be doing a job that supports medical education and research – in addition to being fun!

Intern profile: Kristy Hancock

September 19, 2018 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal?
My previous experience working at a public library in BC inspired me to pursue an MLIS. I worked at the New Westminster Public library in a variety of positions and loved the environment, the variety of tasks, engaging with the public, and working with librarians. I completed my undergraduate degree with a different career in mind, but when it came time for me to pursue said career, all I could think about was how I did not want to stop working at the library. In terms of MLIS programs, Dalhousie was appealing because of the practicum and the great reviews that I had heard. I was also keen to explore more of Canada but wanted to stay near the ocean, so I made the move from BC!

What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries?
Knowing the importance of professional experience for Information Managers who are early in their careers, I wanted to continue gaining experience in the field while completing the MLIS. In particular, I was keen to explore academic and special libraries. Thus, the opportunity to work in an academic health library was extremely appealing, as it relates to my academic library interests while giving me an idea about what health librarianship in a special library might be like. My position here at the Kellogg has already broadened my career interests!

What’s your educational background?
I obtained a BA in First Nations Studies and Education from Simon Fraser University in BC.

What have you been doing during your internship?
The variety of projects in this internship has been great! Thus far I have been providing reference support for students, faculty and external clients, including guiding them in their use of library resources, helping them find print and electronic information, and creating complex search strategies to support research projects. I have also been compiling books for the library’s “Blind Date with a Book” program, and creating and updating educational resources, such as research guides, handouts and video tutorials.

Fun fact about you:
My favourite spot in Halifax is Point Pleasant Park because of all the dogs there!

Intern profile: Becky Shaw

September 18, 2018 Marlo MacKay Leave a Comment

What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal?
After finishing my undergraduate degree in music history, I knew that I wanted to combine my love of music and libraries, and initially applied to masters’ programs in both areas, not knowing at the time of application which one I wanted to pursue first. In a spur of the moment decision, I chose the MLIS program at Dalhousie, mainly because I wanted to live by the ocean! I have ended up pursuing both degrees (musicology and MLIS) at Dalhousie.

What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries?
I had previously worked in public archival institutions in Ontario, and wanted some experience working in a University Archives. I have always been interested in working in archives, particularly with anything relating to music and manuscripts.

Your educational background
I have a Bachelor of Music, Honours Music History degree from Western University in London, Ontario, and received my MLIS degree at Dalhousie University in May 2018. I am currently pursuing an MA in Musicology at Dalhousie University. I also have Associate Diplomas in guitar and piano performance from Conservatory Canada.

What have you been doing during your internship?
Since starting my internship at the archives in September 2016, I have processed various collections for our online catalogue, Access to Memory (AtoM), from CKDU audio reels and MedIT video cassettes to the collections of musicians and musical organizations (e.g., Ellen Ballon, Upstream Music, Camerata Singers, and John Daniel Logan). I also digitized several scores from the Ballon, Upstream, and Logan collections, which are now available on AtoM. This summer, I am working on a project to add some of our first editions scores and music manuscripts to Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM), an international online catalogue for music sources. I also help to provide on-site and email reference services; prepared a large collection of U-matic tapes from the Centre for Art Tapes for digitization; and have created various accession records.

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