Jennifer R. Sharp

My Activities Before Graduate School

A native of Glastonbury, CT, I graduated from Colgate University with a BA in Russian Studies and History. During my time at Colgate I was active in the Pep Band and worked as a lifeguard/head student lifeguard. I spent the spring semester of my junior year in Yaroslavl, Russia.

The summer of my graduation I worked as a Docent for the Nantucket Historical Association. Returning to Connecticut, I soon began a seven year adventure as a mainframe developer at The Hartford Financial Services, Inc. As a member of the Spectrum team I worked to maintain and develop (mostly in COBOL) the product’s front and back end systems. I often participated in troubleshooting system problems and was considered an expert with the rate database.

Outside of work I led a junior high church youth group for three years and served on the board of my condominium association.

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Entering the Archives

Michigan

Looking for a way to combine my technical skills, research abilities, and love of historical materials, I entered the School of Information (SI) at the University of Michigan (U-M) in the fall of 2005, concentrating in Archives and Records Management. I also took several traditional library science courses, as well as cognates in American literature and American immigration.

While at Michigan I gained invaluable experience working at the Bentley Historical Library. I spent my first two semesters as a Graduate Student Processor, arranging and describing materials for both the library's Michigan Historical Collections and the University Archives and Records Program, and preparing EAD-ready finding aids. For my final two semesters I enjoyed helping patrons more directly as a Graduate Reference Assistant. Having taught myself HTML and CSS I was able to complete a website celebrating some of the pioneering Women of Michigan.

I was able to tie in my Russian language skills working at U-M’s Special Collections Library during my final semester. I began by processing a collection of records related to the U-M Press’s publication of works by Boris Pasternak in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Following graduation I processed and created a finding aid for the collection of former Ann Arbor publishing company, Ardis.

Additionally, I participated in the activities of several student groups at SI, most notably the U-M Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists (SAA). I served on the Board of the Student Chapter as Publicity Chair for 2006-2007.

Princeton: Summer in the Mudd

One of the highlights of my graduate school experience was a fabulous summer as the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fellow at Princeton University’s Mudd Manuscript Library. Building on the skills I acquired in the classroom and at the Bentley Library, I spent the summer processing collections, answering research queries, assisting patrons, and developing a draft plan for archiving websites. I hand-coded finding aids in XML using DACS standards. Additionally, I cataloged the records for the collections in MARC format. I was also introduced to the Endeavor/Voyager system. I was able to attend my first Society of American Archivists conference, as well as a meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region Archives Conference/New Jersey Caucus.

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More Recently

After a year as Manuscript Librarian at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, I returned to Connecticut to begin a two year, NHPRC grant funded, Project Archivist position with the Connecticut Historical Society. Working with other CHS staff members, I am cataloging approximately 900 manuscripts and account books, dating from the 18th century to present. As of this writing I have been on the job one week. So far, so good!

When I am not working or studying I enjoy (among other things) bicycling, swimming, fly fishing, attempting to golf, baking, volunteering for Colgate University, playing with my digital camera, and, of course, spending time with family and friends. Additionally, despite my recent relocation, I am serving as Webmaster for the Junior Woman's Club of Williamsburg, VA for the 2008-2009 club year.

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