LATEST PROJECTS
ARCHIVAL WORK
Project | 01
The Brenda Burt papers, 1977-2018
This project is a product of team efforts by four aspiring archivists: Madeline Goebel, Anne Loos, Elizabeth Seeley, and myself – arranging and describing the papers of Brenda H. Burt at the Black Diaspora Archive (the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, UT Austin). The papers document the career of Mrs. Burt during her more than 30-year-long tenure at UT Austin and highlight her community advocacy with minority groups on campus, particularly Black students.
A finding aid to the collection is available via Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO).
An extension of this work has been presented at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists in August 2020 (see presentation slides).
Project | 02
Seeking Justice under Archival Erasure
This project explores the role of records, recordkeeping and archiving in the legal arguments of Cobell v Salazar — the largest class-action lawsuit in the U.S. history.
Through close reading and critical discourse analysis of deposition statements, Congressional hearings, witness statements, and legal opinions in this case, it traces the summoning of financial records as the evidence of government’s performance of its duties and as the evidence of its failure to do so.
The findings lead to a formulation of several propositions on the co-evolution of governing, record-keeping, and the struggle for social justice.
To see a poster presentation of this project is available
Project | 03
Annette Strauss Personal Papers
Annette Strauss (1924-1998), UT alumna, served as mayor of Dallas from 1987 to 1991. By the time she was elected mayor of Dallas, she had spent over forty years as a volunteer and a fundraiser. She is also remembered as a person who never turned down anyone in real need. Having inherited a city in the midst of economic recession, Mayor Strauss worked tirelessly to build common ground and, with diplomacy and personal grace, to turn Dallas into a city “that works for all people.”
After Annette left office in 1991, Dallas did not elect another female mayor for ten more years.
Some of her personal archive was donated by the family to the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at UT Austin. Her papers hold important materials that document Dallas’ political history and tell a nuanced story of her mayor-ship. They provide insight into her work as a public servant and the city’s ambassador, a successful fundraiser and a skillful negotiator, an eloquent public speaker and a graceful writer.
A proposal to digitize her paper is here.
KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION
Project | 04
Creating LibGuides
The project created a series of library resources (LibGuides) focusing on Native American Rhetorical traditions. It is hosted on a library’s website at Haskell Indian Nations University and will remain a “living” document, expanding with time.
Currently, two parts have been published (“Native American Rhetorical Traditions” and “Native American Materials in the U.S. Archives”).
Part Three dedicated to Oral History is scheduled for completion in May 2021.
UX & TECHNOLOGY
Project | 05
Lessons from Greenstone
This project is an extension of a class assignment completed with David Ruano in Fall 2018. The original assignment focused on examining major functions of Greenstone software and creating a demo version of a digital library collection.
The extension attended to the principles of digital libraries that had stood the test of time. The results were presented at the Student Forum held at the iConference 2021.