By Kayla Daspit
Turns out, six weeks is not a lot of time to revitalize a library. What I had initially pictured upon being hired as a Summer Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies was diligently and thoughtfully reorganizing the existing collection into something more useful to Center Fellows and UW-Milwaukee faculty. What I didn’t expect to find was a collection that needed to be totally gutted because it was a mishmash of books maybe read once and then placed on a shelf to collect dust. The state of the library when I inherited this project isn’t the direct fault of anyone; it was clearly a reflection of years of over-worked, understaffed scholars who didn’t quite have the heart to toss a book, nor the time to maintain a collection. A few fellows before me had (thankfully!) started the process, but never had time to finish due to the realities of being a graduate student with other roles to fulfill.
The first few days of this project, I found myself asking again and again, why would I come here for books when the UWM Library is right on the other side of the fountain? The conclusion I reached after talking through the question with the other Fellows, frankly, was that I wouldn’t. At least, not for the same purpose I would go to Golda Meir for. A large academic library and a small, departmental library are different entities which serve different users. C21 needs to have a specific purpose to its collection because it is not serving a general user. The user base I decided to curate the collection for are the Fellows who work in the Center and the community partners who visit for events. I combed through each of the approximately 1,200 books (with help from the other Summer Project Fellows) to create selection criterion that I hope works well for these users:
Keep the books written by past C21 fellows, UW-system researchers, Milwaukee community partners, and C21 publications.
The Center has an incredible legacy of knowledge produced not only from our Center, but from UWM’s academic and local communities. I want that to be showcased with this collection. I want future fellows to look at the shelves and think, “Yeah, I’ll get my own book added here one day,” or for visitors to browse and be amazed at the incredible, thought-provoking topics covered in these books.
Now that about 90% of the books have been donated and their imposing shelves removed, the rest of the library space feels lighter and more exciting. . The shorter shelves mean more light can get in through the windows. Fewer shelves mean more room to create a comfortable workspace for those who want to gaze out over the lake while they work. I know I will be making use of it in the upcoming year!
What I’ve done is certainly not the end of this project. Like I said, six weeks is not a lot of time to revitalize a library. There are certainly a few more tasks I wish I could’ve tackled before my time was up. Regardless, I’m proud of what I managed to accomplish, and I hope those who use it in the future take what I’ve started and continue to fine tune it to their benefit.
Kayla Daspit is an MA/MLIS Candidate in Women’s and Gender Studies. They are interested in the relationship between information organization and social justice, feminist theory, and queer/trans* speculative fiction.
