SLO 2 – The student identifies, evaluates, conducts, and applies current research and thought in library and information studies and in other fields.

Academic librarianship, my chosen field, is the perfect intersection between my entrenched academic background in history and Appalachian studies and my passion for information access. Research and the discovery of data and information is essential to the academic process. The research foundation, both as a researcher and as someone who guides students through the research process, I garnered from my time at UNC Asheville as both a student and on staff at the library expanded during my time in the LIS program. My oft-times historical focus proved valuable; without understanding the past, we struggle as a field to move forward and embrace changes. I found new avenues for my “research addict” self, including the opportunity to take my foundations in the Japanese-American experience during World War II and focus on the role that libraries played within the camps.