News Category: digital-libraries-&-humanities

For the growing population of midsize venture capital firms in Central Texas, a group of librarians is becoming a vital resource.

Austin-based business research firm Bizologie is not only offering expertise to VC firms, but also to companies in private equity, advertising and marketing as well. The almost-two-year-old company provides detailed business intelligence to clients based on their research needs.

Every year, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Diversity awards 60 Spectrum Scholarships to graduate students excelling in the field of library and information studies. This year’s recipients include three students from the UT School of Information: Maria Barker, Alia Gant, and Maria Fernandez. 

From archives to libraries, from digital assets to user experience research, the newest alumni of the iSchool have made their ways into very interesting new career paths. Recently, several May 2014 graduates talked about where they are and what they're doing with their new MSIS degrees. Here are the stories of alumni Catherine Bell, Kristin Bongiovanni, Tim Mapp, and Harry Ostlund.

Catherine Bell

What and where is your new position?

When Katie Thomas arrived for library volunteer orientation at Casis Elementary School four years ago, she struck veteran librarian Barbara Nichols as quiet and unassuming.

Nichols remembers mentioning - almost as an afterthought - that she could use some help with the Halloween display case. And suddenly, this unassuming volunteer unleashed a creative force that Nichols said transformed the library. It didn't end with Halloween. Thomas kept delivering - creating robots with the students for one author' visit; a circus theme for another.