Irhamni

After a year of being a Ph.D. student in Information science at the University of North Texas, I realize that there are so many exciting aspects of Information Science that I haven't explored yet. Becoming a Ph.D. student and exploring the nature of Information Science has been one of my dreams since I was in the bachelor's program. Leaving my job as a policymaker in The National Library of Indonesia was the toughest decision that I ever made. I was in a very comfortable position as a bureaucrat and made critical policy for developing the national library of Indonesia's strategic programs;.however, there is a quote that said: "Good is the enemy of great". I was awarded the Fulbright scholarship in 2020. As we all know the Fulbright is one of the most prestigious scholarships in the nation. In 2021-2022 I was also awarded a UNT College of Information Scholarship - Law Librarian and Legal Informatics Scholarship; these scholarships made myself better and stronger to move onward and learn more to attain great contribution to research and implementation of open government data in the future. The scholarship matches with my current interest in the government publication and open government data, particularly involving government agencies through their libraries.  

Doing a Ph.D. Program is not only about studying and discussing in the class or doing research with several methods, but also creating networking among peers from other courses, universities, and other subjects. I am also trying to be involved in several UNT organizations and international-level professional organizations. At UNT, I am active in UNT Data Science Organization as a public relations officer. At the international level, I am nominated as Steering Committee on Government Library Section in IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institution) for 2021-2024. At the national (Indonesia) level, I am maintaining my network among librarians in Indonesia. I hope to connect them with a U.S. librarian to exchange knowledge and share experiences in developing libraries in all aspects. By creating a network, I hope we can expand our knowledge together.