Kelly Murphy, MS Library Science with a concentration in Archiving Management, May
2022
Kelly knew that she wanted to combine her love of environmental studies (BA), her
passion for storytelling, and her library science degree, but she did not know how
she would do it until she came across the position for a Records Administrator at
the Trinity River Authority on LinkedIn. That position required three to five years
of experience, which she did not have, but what she did have was experience at the
Dallas Municipal Archives through her practicum, where she gained skills in archiving,
digitizing, imaging technology, and website design, and she had the enthusiasm for
the mission of preservation. As a matter of fact, after a phone interview, during
which she could recognize his enthusiasm for the role and the organization, and a
face-to-face interview with a presentation, she landed the job that same week. Since
she did not have a background in records management, she watched a training webinar
on the topic, leading to seven hours of preparation for her interview presentation.
Kelly loves her job because she gets to make it her own. She says, “Me being brand
new and coming into a very under-developed project has been a great learning experience.”
She says that she will have the opportunity to update the organization’s records management
program. Consistency in records management procedures across the facilities is a big
challenge because the Trinity River Authority is spread over 17 counties and is responsible
for the conservation of the river and the operation of multiple water and wastewater
treatment plants, a recreational facility, and a reservoir.
Before she returned to school to get her Library Science degree, she interviewed
librarians in several sectors and researched the best library science programs. One
of the librarians she interviewed worked at UNT, and he invited her on a tour, which
sold her on UNT’s College of Information Library Science program. She signed up for
the 100 percent online program but had planned to take a few face-to-face classes,
but then COVID hit. Kelly says, “My first class was Information organization with
Dr. Larry Enoch, and I was having trouble focusing due to this new situation we were
living in. I emailed him to apologize for being late on the assignment and explained
that I had been unfocused and stressed. He immediately sent out a communication to
the entire class giving all of us more time to complete the project. He was very helpful
in providing encouragement and timely feedback.” She says that all the classes were
very interesting and interactive, the professors were passionate about their topics,
and the feedback was especially useful. Kelly shared her experience in planning her
coursework. She said, “I loved that the coursework was a great mix of theory and practice
and that I could use my electives to pursue what I was interested in. I never took
cataloging but took classes on archives and manuscripts, which piqued my interest
in DEI- giving voice to historically underrepresented stories. I couldn’t wait to
do oral history projects to preserve those voices and make their stories accessible
to others.” Kelly says that in her personal life, she’s a “ditch everything and save
nothing” kind of person, but that she LOVES other people’s stuff, endeavors to find
ways to preserve it, and is passionate about sharing the stories of the meaning behind
the stuff.
In the fall, Kelly will join the Dr. Yvonne J Chandler mentoring program and become
a practicum supervisor to give back to the department. We will also invite her for
a CODE series interview to share her unique experience at the Trinity River Authority,
applying her skills to connect records management and archiving.