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May 21, 2010 | Volume 50 Issue 18

Folio Home > May 21, 2010 > Librarian student heading to Washington

Librarian student heading to Washington

Dawn Ford

Brianna Erban, graduate student in the School of Library and Information Studies’ master of library and information studies program, is heading to Washington’s Smithsonian Institute to intern at the Cultural Resources Center of the National Museum of the American Indians.“I feel incredibly fortunate to be involved in a field that holds the potential to improve the quality of people’s lives tangibly, and I am grateful to the committed faculty for encouraging me to pursue my passion for social responsibility,” says Erban who will spend her internship expanding upon her existing research interests.

“While at the U of A, I have focused the majority of my research on overcoming barriers to information access, including work on the impact of public library policies on homeless individuals, meeting the information needs of temporary foreign workers in Alberta and the accessibility and ownership of First Nations archival resources in Canada.”

A volunteer at community events and agencies such as Homeless Connect and the Boyle Street Community Services Centre, Erban says it is principle that first drew her to her future career.

“I have been being increasingly drawn to a career in librarianship because of the principles it encompasses, including equitable access to services, social inclusion, intellectual freedom and the promotion of lifelong learning,” says Erban who for the last two years has served as co-chair and blog master of the Future Librarians for Intellectual Freedom student group at the School of Library and Information Studies.

Erban, who also completed undergraduate and graduate programs in English literature at the U of A, is a recent recipient of a U of A libraries award. She will be graduating from the program in November.“I look forward to bringing back the insights, experiences and knowledge I gain from the internship in Washington, D.C. to Alberta.”