CV

Employment

  • Mississippi State University Libraries
    • Assistant Professor – History Research Librarian (2017-present)
      • Assisting faculty and students with research
      • Serving as library liaison to the Honors College
      • Teaching classes and workshops on library and research skills
      • Publishing and presenting scholarly research
      • Contributing to library social media accounts
      • Managing Special Collections blog
    • Senior Associate in Manuscripts (2008-2017)
      • Processed manuscripts collections
      • Researched and wrote DACS finding aids
      • Assisted patrons with academic and genealogical research
      • Taught genealogy classes and workshops
      • Wrote metadata for digitized materials
      • Transcribed handwritten documents
      • Planned and installed library exhibits
      • Managed Special Collections blog
    • Digital Projects Specialist (2007-2008)
      • Wrote metadata for digitized materials
      • Edited and enhanced images in Photoshop

Education


Presentations & Instruction

  • Ongoing library instruction workshops on Ancestry.com, Zotero, HathiTrust, and Wikipedia (2018-present)
  • Genealogy workshops for public libraries (2019-present)
  • “Diversity Reparations and Increased Discoverability: Bridging Technical and Research Services,” presentation with Lauren Geiger for the American Library Association annual conference (2022)
  • “Against All Odds,” part of the “Recovery of Nineteenth-Century Black Histories” panel for the Association for Documentary Editing (2021)
  • “Against All Odds: Facilitating Research on the First Black Legislators in Mississippi,” poster session for the American Library Association annual conference (2021)
  • Telling the Stories of the First Black Legislators in Mississippi,” panel discussion with Karen Burch and Bianca Ford for Society of Mississippi Archivists’ Virtual Table Talks (2021)
  • “Mississippi’s First Black Legislators: Archival Reparations Through Digital Humanities,” presentation for LACUNY Institute (2021)
  • ‘Taking out the Fun Stuff’: Reworking First Year Experience Classes’ Encounters with Archives During COVID-19,” panel with Jessica Perkins Smith and Melody Dale for Society of Mississippi Archivists annual meeting (2021)
  • Researching Black Ancestry,” invited panel discussion with Sharon Morgan, William Johnson, and Mona Vance-Ali for Mississippi Library Commission (2021)
  • “Cowbell Yell: Exploring MSU History and Traditions Through MSU Libraries’ Historical Archives,” First Year Experience fall semester class co-taught with Melody Pittman Dale (2018-2020)
  • Against All Odds: The First Black Legislators in Mississippi,” presentation for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s “History is Lunch” program (2020)
  • “Planning a Virtual Conference for Archival Organizations,” webinar with Rachel Ingold and Mary Rubin for Society of American Archivists’ Regional Archival Associations Consortium (2020)
  • “Genealogy as a Gateway to Teaching Primary Source Literacy,” presentation for Society of Mississippi Archivists virtual conference (2020)
  • “Using Technology to Document African American Cemeteries,” workshop at Black Communities: A Conference for Collaboration at Durham, NC (2019)
  • Against All Odds: Researching and Presenting the Stories of Mississippi’s First Black Legislators,” virtual presentation for Humanities Commons’ first Twitter conference (2019)
  • Mississippi State University Libraries Annual E.O. Templeton, Jr. History & Genealogy Fair,” Poster Presentation with Jennifer McGillan and Corinne Kennedy at Southern Archivists Conference and Mississippi Library Association Annual Conference (2018)
  • “From Analog to Digital: Making Your Collections Available Online,” Panel Presentation with Jennifer Brannock, Elizabeth La Beaud, and Mona Vance-Ali at Mississippi Library Association Annual Conference (2018)
  • “Finding Isom Stewart,” Presentation for Black Communities: A Conference for Collaboration at Durham, NC (2018)
  • “Breaking Through Brick Walls,” Presentation at the E. O. Templeton Genealogy Fair, Mississippi State University Libraries (2017)
  • “Online Research 101,” Presentation at the E. O. Templeton Genealogy Fair, Mississippi State University Libraries (2016)
  • Lesson on beginning genealogy research for HI4343, “Immigration in the U.S.,” Mississippi State University (2015)
  • “Virtual Cemeteries,” Presentation at the E. O. Templeton Genealogy Fair, Mississippi State University Libraries (2014)

Papers & Publication


Professional Development

  • Society of Mississippi Archivists annual conference (virtual, 2021)
  • Mississippi Historical Society annual conference (virtual, 2021)
  • Digitorium: University of Alabama Digital Humanities Conference (virtual, 2020)
  • Society of Mississippi Archivists annual conference (virtual, 2020)
  • Mississippi Historical Society annual conference (Cleveland, MS, 2020)
  • Black Communities: A Conference for Collaboration (Durham, NC, 2019)
  • Society of Mississippi Archivists annual conference (Starkville, MS, 2019)
  • Mississippi Library Association annual conference (Meridian, MS, 2018)
  • Southern Archivists Conference (Montgomery, AL, 2018)
  • American Library Association annual conference (New Orleans, LA, 2018)
  • Black Communities: A Conference for Collaboration (Durham, NC, 2018)
  • Society of Mississippi Archivists biennial conference (Columbus, MS, 2017)
  • Library of Congress Digital Preservation Education and Outreach “Train the Trainer” program (Jackson, MS, 2016)
  • Society of Mississippi Archivists biennial conference (Long Beach, MS, 2015)
  • Society of American Archivists annual conference (New Orleans, LA, 2013)
  • Society of American Archivists training: “Arrangement and Description of Manuscript Collections” (Hattiesburg, MS, May 2008)

Honors & Awards


Professional Memberships


Research Interests & Activities

  • Genealogy and family history
  • Documentation of local cemeteries
  • Libraries and social media / Web 2.0
  • Civil rights and women’s history

 

ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-9402-784X