ARCHIVES 2015

The LA as Subject Resident Archivist program presents an original, multi-faceted approach to archival training for early career archivists. This Institute of Museum and Library Services funded project is the only residency program of its kind on the west coast. The goal is to provide residents with the opportunity to gain professional experience in diverse institutional settings, engage with the LA as Subject community through workshops, and also receive professional guidance through mentorship.

LA as Subject was established nearly 20 years ago as a network of memory institutions, collectors, and enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the history of Los Angeles. The residency program was developed as a collaboration between The Autry National Center, the University of Southern California, and California State University Northridge, each of whom serves as the home institution for one resident. The residents transfer between four three-month rotations, where they will complete projects specifically chosen to address the core set of archival competencies codified by SAA, and to provide opportunities to experience the diverse cultures and practices of a variety of institutions. Furthermore, each resident is required to hold workshops for LA as Subject members and present a capstone project at the annual Archives Bazaar in October.

In this poster, inaugural residents Rachel Mandell, Kelsey Knox, and Beth McDonald reflect on their experiences thus far in this innovative program, discuss their expectations for the remainder of the year, and outline their hopes for how participating in the residency program will benefit their future archival careers.

About the Authors:

Kelsey Knox is the LA as Subject Resident Archivist at California State University, Northridge. She has previously held internships at the Getty Research Institute, Yosemite National Park Archive, and the Peace Corps Records Office in Washington, DC. During this LA as Subject residency, Kelsey is looking forward to diversifying her experiences and learning more about archives in the Los Angeles area.

Kelsey received her B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her MLIS at UCLA with an emphasis in Archival Studies.

Rachel Mandell graduated from UCLA in 2012 with a master’s degree in Library and Information Science, where she focused on the research data management and digital archiving. Her thesis project traced the development of the UCLA Data Registry—an online tool designed to promote data sharing among scholars. After graduating, Rachel pursued a personal goal to live abroad and also gained international experience as a visiting scholar in the Media Library at the Center for Art and Media Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany. She was then awarded a 2013-2014 Fulbright grant in Vienna, Austria where she concentrated on audiovisual archiving by working in the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Phonogrammarchiv—the oldest sound archive in the world—as well as the Austrian Film Museum, where she digitized and archived amateur films. Rachel is currently the LA as Subject Resident Archivist with the Autry National Center. By the program's end, she will have processed paper-based, photographic, and film collections from the region's diverse populations at The Autry National Center, CSU Dominguez Hills, the Los Angeles Police Museum, and the Los Angeles Public Library.

Beth McDonald is the L.A. as Subject Resident Archivist with the University of Southern California. She recently finished her rotation at the Center for Oral and Public History at California State University Fullerton and is currently working with the Pasadena Museum of History. Beth graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with an MLIS specializing in Archival Studies in 2014. She has done research on creating a Twitter archive for UCLA, and done studies to analyze user experience and digital preservation best practices for the South Asian American Digital Archive.

Beth is also the Museum Manager and Archivist for the Campo de Cahuenga, a small historical site in Studio City, California, and has held internships at UCLA, Pepperdine University, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. She previously received her BFA in Theatre from Auburn University and is always looking for ways to blend her love for performing arts and archives. Before her move to the archival field, Beth worked for many years in the entertainment advertising world.