CV

Employment

  • Mississippi State University Libraries
    • Associate Professor, Engagement Librarian (2017-present)
      • Building library partnerships with the campus and wider communities
      • Teaching primary source literacy to the general public
      • Amplifying voices of marginalized people in Mississippi and the region
      • Teaching classes and workshops on library and research skills
      • Publishing and presenting scholarly research
      • Creating inclusive programming and spaces
    • 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 (2018-present)
  • Genealogy workshops for public libraries (2019-present)
  • “Radical Courage: Black Legislators in Mississippi’s Reconstruction Government,” course for the Mississippi Governor’s School, a two-week program for gifted high school students from around the state (June 2022, 2023, 2024)
  • “The Cycle of Archives: Engaging Mississippians from the Processing Room to the Classroom,” panel with Jennifer Brannock, Ryan Semmes, Kate Gregory, and Danielle Stroulig for the Organization of American Historians conference in New Orleans, LA (2024)
  • “Archives of Resistance,” roundtable with Eola Dance, Kenvi Phillips, Lopez Matthews, and Dana Landress at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History conference in Jacksonville, FL (2023)
  • “Say Their Names: Recovering Ghostlined Narratives of Racial Violence as a Form of Resistance,” roundtable with Kevin Trumpeter, Thomas Aiello, and Roger Ezra Butterfield at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History conference in Jacksonville, FL (2023)
  • “Diversity Reparations and Increased Discoverability: Bridging Technical and Research Services,” presentation with Lauren Geiger for the American Library Association annual conference in Washington, DC (2022)
  • “Against All Odds,” part of the “Recovery of Nineteenth-Century Black Histories” virtual panel for the Association for Documentary Editing (2021)
  • “Against All Odds: Facilitating Research on the First Black Legislators in Mississippi,” virtual 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,” virtual 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