Angelique Carson Interview, November 12, 2021 - Angelique Carson Interview Part 2, November 12, 2021.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you so much!

No problem. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear.

No, I when they said -- I mean -- I just -- You know, no need to apologize. And thank you.

I will just upload the audio version. So picking up where we left off, kind of the transition back to on-site work. You talked about when you went back to work on-site in about February of 2021?

Yes.

All right. What concerns did you have about coming back to work on-site, if any?

My staff was very concerned about safety measures.

Were you able to -- What what kind of steps did you take to help alleviate those fears?

Like all schools, it was really the university that was driving a lot of our pandemic protocol. Well, was driving all the pandemic protocol. So making sure that we were distant, making sure that we have plenty of cleaner. Making sure that we have masks and gloves. Making sure that we were stationed in different areas of the library so that we could work safe distances apart from each other.

Okay. Great. What did you enjoy most about work during this period?

I was proud that we were continuing to provide services and that we had made more partners via Interlibrary Loan. So that -- that ensured that we were making -- That in short even more opportunity for finding material that wasn't available on campus.

What kind of services did you offer during this period of being back on campus?

We initiated pick up/drop off services that were contactless.

Great. Could you talk a little bit about what that involved?

Sure. Our request would come in and that part actually is fairly automated, with of course some staff processing, but overall we created a calendar where patrons could make an appointment to come by and collect their items off of a cart. And that was contact -- was picking up -- contactless pickup. And that was very popular for those graduate students who were still on campus. I think most instructors had found ways to ensure that their students were getting the material they needed. Graduate students, of course, and PhD students, have a lot more ongoing research underneath one topic. So we were able to keep those going, and they were happy about that of course.

That's great. How have on-site operations changed over the course of the pandemic?

I think that every institution is investigating more online courses, and underpinning it with maybe more staffing. I'm sure those -- I'm sure those businesses that help design online learning are booming right now. It's really hard to do that in-house without the help of a vendor to organize that material. So I think maybe even -- not necessarily Howard University, but I imagine those schools that were managing their programming in house, are now considering vendors. Again, I think that the library world and academia is looking to build more relationships where sharing is at least no cost to low cost to become more competitive for students. So I think those are some of the bigger -- I think schools are really -- taking another eye at their online classes, their own online programs, and seeing -- and just seeing where they can make them stronger.

That's great. Did you have any student employees working on site during the early phases of reopening?

I did not I did not choose to have any student employees come back. We didn't have enough work to keep them busy remotely with data entry or clean up. And I did not -- I chose to wait until the school opened up.

So you have student employees working in Access Services now?

I do.

Okay great. Are they happy to be back on campus?

Like a lot of schools our first and second year students are on campus, where I think the decision was made to move as many grads and students off campus. So, the first years, this is their first year not just at Howard University, but their first year of formal education away from home. I don't think that excitement hasn't dampened at all. I would say no, the population that's on campus is happy to be on campus.

That's great. Do you notice -- I know at a you we have not only an incoming class of freshmen, but essentially two years of students the, sophomores and juniors, who most of their college education up to this year has been remote. Are there any particular challenges that you're noticing with the sophomore and Junior classes?

Not that I've noted. No, I think, honestly, those who are on campus, are at the beginning of what it's a traditional four-year college experience. And I think they're just really excited to be there. So I haven't noticed any concerns from like one year versus the next that's pandemic centered.

So what changes and adaptations that you made during the COVID Pandemic are you and your library adopting permanently, if any?

[Pause] I think we were already, collection development wise, searching to purchase as much online versus physical as possible. Virtual reference has been -- I cannot speak at length on that because it's not my department, but I know that the reference department has sought to beef up its a virtual reference service. And I think those configurations we made on the OPAC, within Primo, making sure that the virtual shelf was reflecting, making sure that we're defaulting to online material, and a lot of information that's going to go on the new library website detailing how to help manage your library material. All of that has changed, but I wouldn't -- But maybe they were even good -- would have been good ideas even before the pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the need for them.

All right, so that kind of leads into my next question. Are there any other COVID based changes that you like?

No, I think I mentioned them all. I did. I think again, and maybe that's why, it's because these were all good ideas that out of necessity perhaps had not given been given as much attention. But now that they've been put under way, so much of our lives are not going to look exactly like they did before the pandemic, that their use is still valuable and maybe we'll even look upon a way to improve those.

Are there any changes brought about by the pandemic that you dislike?

[Pause] None that I could think of. None that I could think of. We all get really used -- I mean, it only takes thirty days to make a habit, right? And now we're used to sitting further away. Now, it's kind of crazy to me that we used to lean in so close to speak to each other without a mask on. No, I can't think of anything. The pandemic has made us look at services and communities that might have gotten over look for any various reason beforehand. And now I think that services that respond to the environment, you're in are always a good idea.

Awesome. Do you think the library's role on the Howard University campus has changed as a result of the pandemic?

Well, this is qualitative because I don't have any numbers to support it. Because more classes became online, and because instructors started becoming more savvy with online resources and tools, and the library is one of the primary -- it was in that with it's within our purview, these material, maybe access concerns. How do I access this? How do I get this? It has that -- making sure that we're providing opportunities for self education. But that's always been a concern, that maybe we're just a bit more acutely aware of it now.

You have your feelings about your job or about library work in general changed due to your pandemic experiences?

I have to say that since the pandemic in my -- my open educational resource education began kind of in tandem with that. I do -- As an African American woman, I've always thought about access and diversity and equity and inclusion. I just think that -- I do think of the pandemic has accelerated all these discussions. And I'm very interested in seeing what the next five years even look like and the next year. I don't even know -- I think it's a combination of everything. It dovetails one into the next. I think the pandemic gave room for people to protest and that protest highlighted concerns that were inequitable in every environment. And how could academia not be one of them. I don't know if we'd hear these heightened discussions of DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] without the pandemic. So in that respect certainly.

And what do you hope to see happen in librarianship with DEI?

I love to see more investment in low cost, no cost, educational resources. And I'd like to, as one librarian from a partnering institutions said, "How do we tell -- decentralize Shakespeare from English -- English literature?" How do we decentralize any one predominant voice, the male voice, the white voice, and still ensure -- not still -- and ensure that we're giving a robust, round education. So I think academia has that to discuss now. And that's probably -- and that, not probably -- that has been a long time coming.

And you are -- I know you mentioned that you are part of that discussion with the your open access position as an open access research librarian. Are you hoping to carry that into your new position in the WRLC?

Yes, my new position exactly. I you know -- I think it's a lot of the same work just meta. Now doing it for -- with a more holistic view of the entire WRLC.

Great. Thank you. Do you feel your relationships with other groups in the university changed as a result of COVID?

I don't think they changed. I think now we all value, perhaps even more so, responsiveness. When you're not in person, and you have to depend on remote -- on solely remote -- and you can't just stop by someone's office, how important being responsive, via email and just circling back, when you don't have opportunities to just do it organically. So perhaps in that respect we're more likely to make sure that we're getting back and circling back since we lost it organic opportunity. Maybe that's a largest one, but I can't -- I wouldn't say -- Not anything else I can think of right now.

All right. Are there any other changes that you see that you want to talk about?

I think I've talked about the primary ones that are so important to me as a library professional. Expanding these, corrective cataloging. The material that we purchase. The access to the material that we purchase. And how academia is going to address the concerns and the needs of the generation that's going to be entering school this coming -- even next year. There have -- these students are having conversations that I don't know -- I don't know that we as eighteen year olds were definitely having at our age, where it's just so much more self-aware. They're so much more internationally aware and savvy. They're so much more politically aware. It'll be interesting to see -- and they're so much more consumer aware. And I don't think they feel they need -- I feel that they are empowered to demand more. So it will be very interesting to see what this next five years brings to academia.

Let's see. What lessons -- you talked a little bit about this already. But what lessons do you think library workers and librarians in general can take from COVID or the pandemic?

How prepared you are to be nimble if your services were to change dramatically. And with what plans you may have, does it address as much of your -- is it inclusive of as much of your service community as possible. Where just because you say on your -- in order to become a student, you need to make sure that you have this grocery list of items when you attend school, does not mean that every student was able to purchase a laptop. They're probably hoping that there'll be a resource when they get to college, but they couldn't guarantee for themselves that they can make a purchase for a laptop. So why are -- We're assuming so much with the services that sometimes that we offer to our to our service population. So maybe more of an eye on if your redrafted, reconfigured response, it is it leaving anyone -- is it inclusive as in your entire population?

Kind of a more specific Howard question. How was the library affected by the ransomware attack in September?

We are having access issues to our -- to our -- our platform. To be really frank though, I cannot speak with specifically on behalf of the library. Just -- I just cannot do that. I'm sure you can appreciate that.

Absolutely.

I can say that a cyberware attack is no small thing. We're working to repair some access issues.

Alright, well, thank you. I was curious ask the question but I understand if you can't answer.

Well, I can't answer on behalf of the university, or University Libraries, and I'm not entirely sure of how much would be too much. So I'll just say that, like a ransomware is as much of a headache as you think it is, as it looks. [Laughs]

Well thank you for that. Alright, so I just have four more questions for you. And then -- I'm sorry that this went over time a little bit.

Oh we're fine!

What do you think was the most important thing that you learned during the COVID era?

[Pause] I was very grateful that so much of our -- We've invested so much time and effort in making sure our departments material was in online shareable. It might seem that that's very obvious, that you would keep it in a shared drive, but no, not always. Sometimes it's like, oh, it's a paper document that someone wrote eight years ago. But I invested a lot of time in my last two years making sure that we have lots of training and policy procedural documentation, because that's what my department -- is very important to my specific department that we have that on hand, and it serviced as well. And it also made it possible for us to plan remotely how to improve our services because I had the information. I had my department's information organized and ready to go. So a lot of being nimble is based on how prepared and organized your department's policy procedure is.

Did you have any unexpectedly positive experiences during the pandemic?

We did increase our library partnership by thousands of schools. We joined the Libraries Very Interested in Sharing -- LVIS. We -- And so that was very valuable to us, and that was a big deal. And also OCLC as well created pods that expanded for pandemic time that did free lending for materials and books and articles. And that was very -- that was invaluable. Those were valuable.

Any unexpectedly positive personal experiences?

[Pause] Well in regards to being tech-savvy, I think we all learned a lot in a short amount of time, and maybe surprise ourselves with how quickly we could onboard or shift gears. So that was that was a pleasant surprise.

And then my final question for you today. Is there anything that I should have asked you that I did not?

No, I have to say that you are extremely thorough. [Laughs] I can't think of any aspect of it.

No, actually I was very pleased to see the students lean in so easily as their environment changed. And I think that we could take a lot from them. They were digital natives to a large extent, so certainly that worked in their favor. But I've seen -- I think the students we've worked with have just done a tremendous job. And as difficult as we it was for us, it's their academic career, and I think that's where the focus should always be. That it's their academic career that we're servicing. And I'm just really -- I'm just really proud of the ways I've seen students be resilient and bounce back. That has been very impressive.

Definitely has on my end as well.

Yeah, I've been really impressed with them.

Me too. So those are all of the questions I have for you today. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I really appreciate your answers and this interview has been incredibly informative for me.

Oh, I'm so happy to hear that India.

And I know that it's going to be a valuable resource for people -- other people seeking to understand our profession and your pandemic experiences going forward. Before we wrap up, I sent you a release form on the email. Would you be able to sign that, scan it and send it back to me?

Well part of the pant and experience has been that we lost office functionality for printing. So what I'll do is, if you can like wait a day, I can do that tomorrow. I can go to my local library and I can have it printed and scanned. And there's a plug local public libraries! [Laughs]

Thank you. There's also a blank space in the in the release form with any other additional specifications. And if you'd just like to write that you'd only like the audio deposited it in the Humanities Truck and the American University Archives, you can absolutely write that in if you'd like.

So India, I'm really excited to see your finished product. I hope you keep me posted because it's been really cool. And I'm so sorry that I didn't realize -- like I knew there was a time, and I wasn't trying to get on the interview any sooner. I just scheduled something, and my husband went ahead and rescheduled. So my apologies about having to pause the interview.

No problem. I absolutely appreciate it. So what I'll do in the next couple of weeks is I will make an audio -- I'll make a transcription of the interview. And once I get that all cleaned up, I will send that to you as well as the audio file for your personal records.

Are you gonna do like any kind of trimming so we sound a little smoother?

I may. So for my final project for this class, what I'm going to be doing is -- I have not decided if I'm going to write a paper yet or produce a podcast-- a podcast episode -- based on the interviews that I've conducted, but I can absolutely send you my finished product.

It's alright, I just was curious because on your you're basically an editor now, not just like an interviewee or an interviewer.

Yes. Yeah, that's part of the oral history process. My professor was like "Yes, you have the interviewing, but then there's the everything that comes after."

Yeah, you gotta -- You got this project you got to make tidy. [Laughs]

Yes. [Laughs]

All right. Thanks a lot India. Looking forward to seeing it.

All right. Thank you so much again.