Lyndsey Blair had studied history at both the undergraduate and graduate level, so it made sense to continue down that path as she expanded her career as an information professional. After earning a BA in History from Ball State University in 2013 and an MA in Public History with a Museum Studies certificate from IUPUI in 2015, Blair applied to the School of Informatics and Computing to pursue an Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree.
Blair’s professional career has consisted mostly of performing archival, collections, curatorial, and public programming work for many cultural institutions in Indianapolis, including the Indiana State Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, and Indiana Historical Society (IHS). She believes the MLIS will supplement her previous education, specifically in enhancing her digital curation skills.
She applied for and was awarded the Wilma Gibbs Moore Endowed Scholarship in 2019. Ms. Moore, who received her BS in Sociology and MLS from Indiana University, worked for 30 years as senior archivist of African-American History at the Indiana History Center and dedicated her life to building a more inclusive history. Coincidentally, Blair had worked with Moore to process the Bethel A.M.E. Church collection, as well as the Madam C.J. Walker collection, while at IHS.
“Hopefully, I will be able to join the ranks of Wilma and other Black professionals in Indianapolis—such as Kisha Tandy, Susan Hall Dotson, Nichelle Hayes, and Willie Miller—as an advocate for greater diversity in the field,” Blair said. Many of them along with Andrea Copeland, chair of the LIS Department, encouraged her to apply for the Scholarship and have continued to offer guidance and support during her time in the MLIS program.
In the future, Blair hopes “to find a position where I can combine my public history skills with my future digital curation skills—collections, curation, web archiving, and preservation” and is especially interested in working with born-digital content.
Media Contact
Joanne Lovrinic
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