About

I am an aspiring archivist/librarian and novice bookbinder finishing up my Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree at the university of Western Ontario. I previously completed a BA Honours in History and Classical Studies at the University of Ottawa and a Certificate in Archives and Records Management at Algonquin College. Originally intending to be an archaeologist, I have since geared my career path towards archives and libraries while always maintaining a great interest in history and the preservation of culture!

I have been taking bookbinding courses with the Canadian Bookbinding and Book Arts Guild (CBBAG) since January 2013 and had the opportunity to take an Early Gothic Binding class with the Montefiascone Conservation Project in Montefiascone, Italy in August 2013. At this time, bookbinding is more of a hobby for me than a professional calling but my ideal job would combine the two somehow and teach or be a rare books librarian.

I view myself as a ‘generalist’, rather than a ‘specialist’ and am interested in many facets of the LIS profession including archives, preservation, reference services, special collections, records management, classification, and special libraries. I have research interests in the history of the book and book as an artifact, historical bookbinding structures, privacy and surveillance, makerspaces and the ‘democratisation’ of knowledge, digital preservation issues, and graphic novels.

I like to dabble in everything and try out new things all the time! My personal interests are as varied as my professional ones and I enjoy cinema, theatre, art history, video games, food, music and outdoor activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, cycling, canoeing. My various interests makes me a ‘master of integration’ as I combine the various elements of my life and somehow they all seem to mesh together.

Travel is one of my biggest passions and I hope to visit every continent in my lifetime (so far I have only covered a good chunk of Europe). My favourite places so far have been the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Turkey, which I had the pleasure of visiting in 2011. Next on my bucket list are the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, Peru, Morocco, and Mongolia (because why not). Through my travels I combine my love for adventuring with history, art and of course old libraries and books (highlight was visiting the library in the Strahov Monastery in Prague)!!!

As I am nearing the end of my MLIS, I will be actively seeking employment but also looking to network and exchange ideas with other professionals, which is what I am hoping to achieve through this blog.