My name is Ian Murray and I am an inspiring librarian and archivist who strives to teach others. I plan to work as an advocate of the preservation of historical documents on both an institutional and individual level. I want to work within an archival space, be that an academic institution or elsewhere within the archival studies field. Within the information science field, I see myself working within two roles. First, I see myself as an archivist working to both preserve community history and to allow said community access to their own history concurrently. I want to work within the archive as organizer, as one who focuses on outreach, and as one who sits at a quiet desk cataloging. I see myself as an all-rounder, who maybe one day will figure out where specifically their passion within the archive lies. Second, I see myself as playing the role of educator. A great deal of my focus throughout the time I spent obtaining my master’s has been directed at ensuring others have free and equal access to knowledge. This comes in the form of creating, mostly college level, information sessions regarding information literacy and archival studies. I also believe the role of educator can be used to share knowledge on preservation of archival materials to help community members preserve their own personal collections of materials such as family photo albums.
While part of me is hesitant, I do believe a third role I wish to play at within my career focus is one of addressing a need for change. Over the course of my graduate degree a great number of lessons were imparted upon to me on the need for institutions to avoid an entrenched mindset. Specifically, I have grown quite aware of the negative consequences of the all-too-common entrenched librarian who does not seek to adapt with the changing times. As information professionals one needs to always be aware of the gaps that prevent patrons from solving their information needs, broken bridges within the community, and ways to reach out to those the institution serves. I believe those who are entering fields anew have a unique opportunity to point out the gaps within information systems, be they the way an activity as trivial as checking in books to complex social matters. Even when one is rushed into positions of higher authority within an institutional system, when entrenchment is ever more common to take root, they can take the time to listen to those who point out such gaps. In this same manner I desire to encompass the energy of those who have strived to make change before and to ever be a voice for progress. Thus, I first see myself within the roles of archivist and educator, but also strive to create change through these positions.
I have come to find that my approach to work is one that favors passion and empathy as motivators for project-oriented work. Over the course of my career/educational development I have found working with those that are passionate and knowledgeable regarding their fields are a great pleasure to work with. They provide the best opportunities to learn from one’s peers, as well as making the work being done feel as if it has meaning. I want to take from these examples and put it into my own work. I have spent a great many hours in a classroom or on a job site where the passion and motivation is not present. I’ve found that I do not strive in these positions, yet when surrounded by passionate people I work even harder. Much of one’s educational journey is filled with monotonous work, and I find myself ever inclined to avoid it.
Over many different instances within my graduate studies, I found myself leaning towards two kinds of works: work that focuses on information literacy and archival access, and work that focuses on highlighting the need for a diverse community focus within the library/archive space. In one instance I worked on creating information literacy sessions for undergraduate students conducting highly personalized research projects. In another instance I helped develop a program for my local library that emphasizes story time for neurodiverse children of immigrant parents, who are an underserviced demographic within my local community.
Being an archivist and overall information professional, to me, means being equipped with the knowledge required to guide others. It is an act of service that requires one to want to strive towards information freedom. When one works within the information profession they must remember what they are doing needs to be in service to others who will later access the information.
Ian Murray 