Volunteer Work & Community Service
At a Women's Suffrage exhibit opening
Capitol Museum, Olympia, WA
Photo courtesy of Sue Lean
Capitol Museum, Olympia, WA
Photo courtesy of Sue Lean
I believe that volunteer work and community service are an important part of professional development, especially in the field of libraries, archives, and history. It is a way to engage with various communities, and perform outreach, education, and market both the overall profession as well as the services offered by a particular institution, all in a low-pressure environment that can be inclusive of all.
Many of these experiences can then serve as a jump-off point for more long-term professional activities: my volunteer work for the Bainbridge Island Historical Society while studying as an undergraduate history major was one of the experiences that led me to study in the MLIS program. I served as co-chair of the Society of American Archivists chapter at the University of Washington, which gave me a chance to meet and talk with archivists at several institutions and learn about their practice. My interest in Victorian clothing has developed into several full-blown presentations, and I hope to take these outreach and education events to the next level in whatever location I wind up in for my next full-time job - I plan to apply for grant funding, and hope to be able to offer an hour-long presentation, complete with audio-visual accompaniment, in schools, historical societies, and museums. I have even incorporated my choice of personal car into my historical outreach activities, and you can watch a YouTube video interview with me at a vintage car show on the page linked below.
All uncredited photos on this site were taken by Gabriel Chrisman
All material copyright Gabriel Chrisman, 2010
No reproduction allowed without permission