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Home > People > Alumni Profiles > Spotlight
SI SpotlightAnne
M. Holcomb (MSI '03)
"I'm convinced that there's a place in the information professions for many different types of people with vastly different career goals and interests. It's a career path that's intellectually stimulating and challenging, but also flexible enough to allow you to be yourself and be devoted to your unique goals. I think that an education at SI addresses all of these aspects."
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Before SI: Attended Albion College, a small, private liberal arts school in central Michigan, double majoring in English and philosophy.
"Obtaining a liberal arts education has proved important to me, because it sparked my interest in research and gave me the ability to comprehend knowledge from diverse subject areas."
Anne's undergraduate work experience consisted of a variety of student jobs. She worked at the college archives, processing collections and creating finding aids, and also worked at the campus information desk for three of her four years there. That experience gave her a good understanding of others' information needs.
"Most inspiring was an off-campus semester with the Newberry Library in Chicago, where i attended a student seminar and worked in the Newberry's conservation lab, repairing 18th-century manuscripts. This experience prompted me to look for a graduate education in the information field."
At SI: While a student at SI, Anne found that employment at the U-M Museum of Art (UMMA) and her summer internship at Northern Arizona University's archives provided valuable experience.
"Working with the UMMA collections database helped me prepare for my work with our electronic archives database at my current position -- plus I got to spend hours looking at art; what a great job!
"My summer internship helped me with project management skills as I chose archival content for an interactive Web exhibit, and gave me the opportunity to experience life in beautiful Northern Arizona."
Anne also enjoyed working with fellow students and the professors in the Archives and Records Management specialization. "The ARM courses were very academically challenging and inspiring."
After SI: Now newsroom librarian for a daily newspaper in Michigan, the Kalamazoo Gazette. "Although the news industry is based on the idea of communication, I noticed right away that the newsroom, my new workplace, had a lot of issues with using information effectively."
Anne found that working for the newspaper provided situations similar to those encountered in group work in the SI 501 course.
"I was able to make a lasting impression on our editors by creating a survey of information use and by creating goals and a strategic plan for our information services based on the survey results.
"I find it very effective to approach issues in the workplace through the idea of information use and to solve problems accordingly. When I was a student at SI, I had no idea that the experiences in my core classes would be so exactly reflected in the workplace."
Anne lists the diversity of coursework, student field experiences, and internships that she was able to participate in as a student as things that help her on a daily basis. At the paper, her work tasks range from conducting archiving and deadline-based research to performing tech support and reference assistance. She's even involved in employee training.
"I draw on a different set of skills for each of my tasks, but I am also aware of how they are all interconnected."
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