Tamara Rhodes
How did you become interested in librarianship?
I happened upon a description of librarianship three years after I got my undergraduate degree. I was searching for a career path that would suit me since I had such varied interests within the social sciences. Librarianship allowed me to learn about them all and use my range of knowledge, while also using my skills for finding information. It was perfect!
Describe the first time you worked in a library.
I am the 2016-2017 Chair of the LAUC-SD Research & Professional Development Committee and the incoming 2017-2018 LAUC-SD Secretary/Treasurer.
What do you like best about being a UC librarian?
I like that there are a lot of opportunities for professional development and professional success – state and local grants for research and CKGs to connect with colleagues.
Describe a recent or current project on which you are working.
After the UCSD campus was tagged with chalkings targeting underrepresented students, a group of librarians and I created Tell Us How UC It: A Living Archive. It is a project derived from a paper I wrote about how libraries can use living archives, modeled after The New School’s living archive of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, to support social movements in their communities. I got to take that theory and put it into practice when we created a physical exhibit and online collection outlining how students feel about UCSD’s current campus climate in the wake of events like the Compton Cookout from 2010 and Trump chalkings that happened throughout 2016.
It soon became an exhibit that highlights UCSD student activism and student voices. We have since partnered with multiple courses, like Race & Racism and Art of the Protest, and the UC Student Association to share the project. We’ve presented about the history of the UCSD campus and student activism; how to find, critically evaluate, and preserve this information; and we also had a workshop on how to organize for action. The project and the site were a labor of love that took a lot of collaboration within the library and on campus. They are still works in progress, but we are so happy to be able to support students by providing them this history, and sharing their voices to inform current and future activism. The online collection can be found at: https://library.ucsd.edu/tellushowucit/
Describe your recent professional work outside of work, such as association work, writing, research, or anything else.
What would you like the next big thing in libraries to be?
Complete this statement: "One surprising fact about me is...”
I don't know if it's surprising, but I am a singer and have been writing music since I was 13.
Can you recommend a book or movie or tell us your favorite book or movie and why?
“Sex Criminals” - I'm really into this comic right now. It’s so funny, has such an interesting premise, and the illustration is beautiful.