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Intern Profile: Annalise Benoit

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Annalise Benoit
Reference Assistant at the Sir James Dunn Law Library

  1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?
    The opportunity to do a combined degree with the law school.
  2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?
    I’ve been working with at the law library in circulation during the school year. The summer internship is a chance to get involved in more complex projects and develop reference skills.
  3. What’s your educational background?
    I have a degree in History and Cultural Studies from Mount Saint Vincent University. I also have a college diploma in audio engineering and music industry arts.
  4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?
    I’ve been assisting with the administration of the law school’s institutional repository, assisting the law school’s professors in developing their faculty profiles, and helping to run our curbside pick-up. Most of this work can be done very easily from home, so in that sense, the pandemic hasn’t really made much of a difference. However, I miss seeing my incredible co-workers every day!
  5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
    I love going for walks around Lake Banook in Dartmouth, hanging out at the beach, and meeting friends for a drink at the Stillwell Beergarden.

Intern Profile: Kayliegh Penner

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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: Lauren Skabar

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Lauren Skabar
Research and Reference Services intern at the Killam Memorial Library

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

I had got a summer job with Cumberland Public Libraries after the first year of my undergrad and fell in love. I stayed for three more summers, and knew I knew I wanted to keep working to provide accessible community resources and barrier-free access to information.

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

I had worked on the access services side of academic libraries during my undergrad, but wanted more hands-on experience with research and reference questions. This internship was the perfect opportunity for that!

3. What’s your educational background?

I have a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, with a double major in political science and history.

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

During my internship, I’ve been providing research and reference assistance on LiveHelp, as well as in person at the Killam Library. This summer I have been working on special projects around sensory-friendly library spaces, video licensing, and online resource guides.

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

My favourite summer activity is usually attending outdoor concerts, but this summer my favourite activity has been walking my dog along the waterfront.

Intern Profile: Molly Coyle

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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

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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: Cora-Lynn Munro-Lynds

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Cora-Lynn Munro-Lynds
Library intern at the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library

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

I was not entirely sure what this program was about until I got here because frankly, it is a hard discipline to describe. I applied because it was recommended by my thesis supervisor. It was a chance decision, but I can tell you for sure, that I do not regret it! It was the best “accidental” career decision I have ever made.

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

Dal Libraries have many opportunities for library interns to specialize in specific academic fields (i.e. health sciences, law, engineering, etc.). Their internships share the intricate world of academic libraries with newbies. I chose Dal libraries because I wanted experience in an academic setting. The library is the heart of the school and can bring people from many disciplines together. It is a great environment to work in!

3. What’s your educational background?

I have a Bachelor of Arts with a combined major in history and French. I did my honours thesis on the Fisheries Household Resettlement Program in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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

Many others will agree, the pandemic has caused me to quickly adapt the way I work. This is not an easy thing to do. However, it showed me that I am capable of change. I can work from home and it won’t be the end of the world! And last, the best gift of all, I save money from not buying a latté at Starbucks every morning. 😊

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

In the summer, I enjoy all things beach related! This include swimming, surfing, bodyboarding, snorkeling, and even mermaid swimming! I also enjoy painting and gardening.

 

Intern profile: Mitchell Jabalee

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MitchellWhere 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: Nicole Slipp

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Slipp, NicoleWhere are you interning?
I am one of two Nicoles interning at the Killam Library.

What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal?
When I moved to Halifax a few years ago, I got a part-time job at the Halifax Central Library. I’d worked in a public library in high school and an academic library during my undergraduate degree, then focused on academia for several years. I started at Central during a transitional time, and the job made me realize that libraries are where I want to be.

What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries?
The Killam internship provides exposure to such a wide range of experiences in academic librarianship. I also wanted the chance to do reference work with students from a variety of disciplines.

What’s your educational background?
I have a BAH from the University of New Brunswick (Saint John), an MA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in medieval literature from Queen’s University. My interests are primarily in queer and feminist theories, and I work in both medieval literature and comics studies.

What have you been doing during your internship?
So far, I have had great training opportunities through both Dal’s Research Bootcamp series and attending the Data Liberation Initiative’s Atlantic Workshop. I’m honing my reference skills on the KLSP (Killam Library Service Point). I get to work on many projects, ranging from thematic coding of student surveys to assisting on a research guide on copyright and Indigenous knowledge to creating a management plan for photographs taken from space. I’m so excited about all the things I’ll learn through my project work this summer!

Intern profile: Annalise Benoit

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Annalise Benoit

      Where are you interning? Sir James Dunn Law Library

       What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal? I’m one of those people who wants to do all of the things. As a kid, I could never just pick one activity. I wanted to be in dance and theatre and play soccer… and do gymnastics. Fast-forward twentyish years and I found myself struggling, in the last year of my undergrad, to figure out what my next step should be. I knew that I hadn’t reached the end of the academic road yet, but for the life of me, I could not decide which path to pursue. I was interested in law, technology, ethics, digital media, and politics, among other things, so having to pick just one felt like the ultimate injustice. What did all of these disciplines have in common then? The conclusion that I came to was, information. Studying the theory of information has allowed me continue pursuing research that draws from a variety of academic disciplines. It is the critical lens through which I now navigate through the sea of academia. And, ever the over-achiever, I opted to do the combined MLIS/JD option. If you’re a free-spirit with an insatiable curiosity who dreads the thought of devoting yourself to just one area of scholarship, consider the MLIS program at Dal. Scratch all of your itches!

       What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries? As a combined degree student beginning law school in September 2019, having my two academic worlds collide in the form of such a wonderful opportunity was just too good to pass up. Since law school will be taking over my life for the next three years, I was keen to find a way to keep one foot in the library world. The opportunity to work at the Dunn library over the summer and throughout the school year not only allows me to stay connected to the library culture that I have come to adore, it will, hopefully, make me a better law student as well. 

What’s your educational background? B.A. in Cultural Studies and History from Mount Saint Vincent University, 2018. 

What have you been doing during your internship? Learning all of the quirky things that set law libraries apart from other libraries, preparing rare books for digitization, managing LibGuides, avoiding being surprised by mouse-traps. 

Intern profile: Elizabeth McElroy

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  1. Elizabeth McElroy Where are you interning? 

  2. I am interning at the Sexton Library of Technology and Design.

      What brought you to the MLIS program at Dal?

  3. My grandmother told me about her own experiences in an MLIS program at the University of Toronto in the 1940s, and she inspired me to consider other MLIS programs. After moving from Toronto to Halifax and starting my studies at the University of King’s College, I knew that I wanted to continue my studies and libraries were spaces I always felt at home in and spent a ton of time in throughout high school and university. I looked into the MLIS program at Dalhousie University and knew immediately that the close-knit cohort and wide-range of programs was the right fit for me!

    What drew you to the internship at the Dal Libraries? 

  4. I have always been interested in academic libraries because I love applying myself to research projects and helping with instruction! I also enjoy learning about fields and programs that I do not have experience in, and expanding my knowledge in these areas. The Sexton Library felt like the perfect place to both broaden my knowledge and gain experience!

    What’s your educational background? 

  5. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Cinema and Media Studies from the University of King’s College in 2018. 

  6. What have you been doing during your internship? 

  7.  I am working on the reference desk throughout my internship and I will also be updating the current tour video for the Sexton library. I will also be working on a collections management project.