Hello all! My name is Tara Peace and I am the newest volunteer for the Library History Round Table blog. I came across the Round Table following a call for submissions in which I submitted an essay I wrote concerning social justice and neutrality in libraries. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the blog by way of bringing y’all interviews and more information regarding social justice within libraries throughout history!
I am going into my second year of the SLIS program at the University of Alabama and hope to embark on a career in an academic library as a liaison librarian. I obtained a bachelor’s in history from James Madison University in 2008, with minors in Spanish and Medieval and Renaissance Studies. In 2017, I completed my master’s in history from California State University, East Bay, minoring in Latin. My thesis focused on the papacy as patrons of the arts, with an emphasis on how the vices of the church contributed greatly to patronage. I also did significant research on William Randolph Hearst and the women in his life as well as prohibition in San Francisco.
During my time as an undergraduate and graduate student of history, I discovered how much I loved being in the library and doing research. And further, how much I appreciated the librarians that helped me not only at my university library but also at the archives I visited in order to conduct my research. This appreciation ultimately led me to pursue a degree in library science and I am ecstatic to embrace a career that I can combine my love of history with my desire to do good in the world!
I am incredibly excited to share with you my limited knowledge of library history as well as grow and learn more about this fascinating topic with you! Cheers!