Student Stories

Working for the Elections in Africa Web Collection project as part of the Michigan Library Scholars Program helped me develop valuable skills in project management, technical web archiving abilities, and knowledge on African politics. Though there were obstacles in approaching the wide range of content and the limitations of the Archive-It tool, I greatly improved in my capacity to adapt and problem solve as a contributor to this project.

Pau Nava (they/them) was the 2021 Rackham Public Engagement Fellow hosted by the University of Michigan Library Digital Scholarship (DS) team. This initiative is part of the The Rackham Public Engagement Internship Program which offers summer fellowships for graduate students interested in pursuing public facing projects at various partner institutions within the University and beyond. Pau is a PhD Candidate in the University of Michigan’s department of American Culture. Their research focuses on Midwest Latinx art networks, and includes Latinx Digital Humanities projects such as the Chicana por mi raza (CPMR) digital memory project and the new digital tool Rhizomes of Mexican American Art Since 1848.

As a Classical Civilization major, completing a project about modern Greece presented a few unexpected challenges. However, the skills I learned while helping to create our exhibit were invaluable, and it's given me a new appreciation not only for Greece in all of its forms, but also for all of the work that librarians do.

When I applied to the Michigan Library Scholars program to work for the “A Survey of Global Open Access Policies” project, I took it as an opportunity to learn more about a particular side of publishing and law that I didn’t know much about. As someone who is double majoring in Political Science and Creative Writing & Literature, I have always been interested in how the law interacts with people’s creations — regardless of whether those creations are novels, pieces of artwork, or video games. For some reason, though, I’d never considered works of research under the same umbrella. Through this project, I’ve learned about the importance of open access policies and how they fuel innovation and generate new knowledge.

Michigan Library Scholar Madelin Chau reflects on her experiences over the summer of learning about the importance of open access and working to make open access policies more accessible to the public. Through this internship, Madelin gained important transferrable skills, networked with various library professionals, and gained a broader perspective of her career goals.

I always knew my grandfather could speak this odd sounding language, an ancient Spanish dialect that sounded like a mix of Spanish and Hebrew, both of which I was familiar with growing up Jewish in Southern Arizona. I knew that this was his first language, but I did not know much more than that about his heritage–my own heritage–until I became a part of the Michigan Library Scholars. These past few months have allowed me to learn more about my roots than I had ever imagined I would know.

Being a new transfer student, I was intimidated at first by the scope of the University of Michigan and its library, but when I heard that I could have the chance to work on an exhibit based on the Greek War of Independence through the Michigan Library Scholars Program, it was an opportunity I simply couldn't pass up. Not only was my experience one of learning, but also one of fun, as well as growth as a student and a professional.

Each year, the U-M Library hires hundreds of students to work a variety of jobs in the library. These students are an essential part of keeping the library running, and we couldn't do it without them! Some of these students leave us each year to take what they have learned and make a difference beyond U-M. We celebrate our graduates and wish them well in their future endeavors!

A reflection on working in a pair on a multifaceted project in a remote setting as part of the Michigan Library Scholars internship.

Creating the "Hispanofilipino Literature: Translation as Repa(t)r(i)ation" exhibit as part of the Michigan Library Scholars internship.