MEGAN RILEY
Δ MLIS, Spring 2020
Δ Department of Information Studies
Δ UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
Δ Advisor: Dr. Johanna Drucker, Bernard and Martin Breslauer Professor of Bibliography
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
My undergraduate degree was a BA in Comparative Literature with a focus on Latin and French. As a result of my work with classical texts, including an undergraduate research position where I assisted in transcribing a 16th century Latin edition of Euripides’ plays, my initial academic interests when entering the MLIS program at UCLA in 2011 were mostly focused on special collections, rare books and preservation. After completing the Fall 2011 quarter, I found myself in need of both a break from academia - having come directly from undergraduate - and more experience outside of academia to better shape my professional interests.
I took time off from UCLA with the intention of returning within a few years, but when I returned to the Bay Area, I eventually found a position at bepress, a company which hosts and supports Digital Commons repositories and other forms of open access academic publishing. During my time there, I learned the ins and outs of institutional repositories, the structure and dynamics of academic library administration, graphic design and some coding, and open access scholarship. My work at bepress is what finally spurred me to re-apply to UCLA’s MLIS program in 2017, and I re-entered the program in Fall 2018.
When I returned to UCLA, I was still interested primarily in special collections and rare book preservation. As I started classes with more non-academic experience under my belt, though, I found my interests shifting towards structural issues in LIS, the experiences of LIS workers, and critical theory in LIS. Although I still find special collections and preservation rewarding and worthwhile, my main research interest has coalesced into a focus on labor issues in libraries, archives, and museums (LAM). The labor issue I have found most pressing and most fruitful for further research and advocacy is the proliferation of contingent, grant-funded and precarious labor in LAM institutions. My deepening interest in this trend and its effects on the LIS field led me to apply for and be accepted to the PhD program in Information Studies at UCLA, where I will be continuing to research labor issues in LAM and working with my advisor Dr. Sarah Roberts on commercial content moderator labor.
Special Collections
I was hired on in Technical Services at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in November 2018 and have continued to work there throughout my time at UCLA. As a result both of my position at the Clark as well as coursework in the MLIS program, I’ve become familiar with many aspects of special collections libraries and their collections, workflows, practices and management. My work at the Clark has encompassed activities and tasks such as creating finding aids, processing new archival acquisitions, building a relational database in Microsoft Access, reflagging books in the fine press collection, shelf reads, setting up and breaking down displays of rare books and other materials for public events, and more. It has also taught me valuable “soft skills” for working in teams to complete both short- and long-term projects.
Preservation and Conservation
During my time in the MLIS program I took two classes with Dr. Ellen Pearlstein on preservation and conservation issues - Issues and Problems in the Preservation of Heritage Materials in Fall 2018, and Environmental Protections of Collections for Museums, Libraries, and Archives in Winter 2020. These courses taught me skills for assessment of collections, disaster preparedness for LAM institutions, restoration of water-damaged materials, environmental monitoring practices and more. This knowledge is useful not only in a practical way for library employment, but also to better understand the labor practices and expectations of LAM workers.
Labor Issues in LIS
Working on my MLIS has, by virtue of it being a professional degree, exposed me firsthand to job precarity in LAM - not only in the classroom in a theoretical setting, but through discussions with friends and classmates whose only job opportunities are grant-funded or temporary contracts, and whose situations are even more precarious now because of COVID-19 and the lack of benefits such as health insurance frequently associated with temporary positions.
My PhD research will give me the opportunity to address this topic in a new way and to contribute meaningfully both to the scholarly discourse surrounding LAM labor and to the professional community affected by these issues itself. One method of research I am particularly interested in is analyzing job listings and descriptions for LAM workers with the intention of identifying any trends as well as collecting concrete data on things like the percentage of listed positions that are temporary versus permanent. I foresee my research also involving interviews with LAM workers who currently or formerly have held contingent positions.
Some research questions I hope to address include: how has precarious labor undermined and devalued LAM professions and workforces? How has the “reification” of information, per Christine Pawley, affected and been affected by contingent labor, neoliberalism, capitalism, etc.? The gig economy is widespread and neoliberalism is present in one way or another in all professions, so why is it important to study the effects of neoliberalism on precarious labor on LAM in particular - that is, what analysis might we miss or misunderstand if we were only to study job precarity today in general?
In the short term, my goals include addressing these research questions thoroughly in my time at UCLA and, as a part of that, contributing to the scholarly discourse by collecting up-to-date and useful data on precarious and temporary labor in LAM. I also intend to continue my activity with organized labor, particularly in LAM; agitating for change and empowering unions is essential to reversing the exploitative hiring practices of the gig economy and contract labor. Long-term professional goals include continuing research and publishing relevant scholarship on labor issues in LAM, as well as teaching. I believe that MLIS programs would benefit from formal instruction about these types of labor issues - library management classes often cover labor practices, but not all MLIS programs offer these classes on a regular basis. Labor studies departments and institutes at universities would also benefit from instruction on LAM-specific labor issues; even cross-listed courses between information studies and labor studies departments could be valuable.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of my professional development statement can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
ISSUE SUMMARY
Contingent, temporary, or contract labor, also sometimes referred to as precarious labor, has quickly become the norm for positions in libraries, archives, and other information and memory institutions over recent years. This shift from stable, full-time positions to positions that are short-term contract-based and often without benefits has drastically altered and undermined the professional library and information science (LIS) workforce. Using both critical theory and the grievance filed by UC-AFT on behalf of six temporary archivists at UCLA and its context as a case study, I examine how the mis- and overuse of contingent labor and its precarity negatively impact workers, institutions, and the libraries and archives fields as a whole.
ISSUE PAPER
Precarious Labor and Its Impact on LIS Workers and Institutions
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of my issue paper can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ ΔMAJOR PAPER
Neoliberalism, Individualism, and the Perceived Value of Labor in Academic Librarianship
Spring 2019
IS 213 Current Issues in Librarianship
Professor Gregory Leazer
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Abstract
Many of the issues surrounding GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) labor problems trace directly back to the neoliberalization project begun in the 1970s, and indeed are still exacerbated by its results and ongoing process today. For LIS in particular, neoliberal policies and frameworks have had an impact on almost every aspect of the field. In recent years scholarship in the field has been more critical of the role of neoliberalism in LIS, but we must continue this analysis if we hope to properly understand these issues and affect change. A number of scholarly works discuss overarching impacts of neoliberalism in LIS, but this paper focuses specifically on neoliberal attitudes and policies towards labor, especially in higher education and academic libraries.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of this paper can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
ELECTIVE WORK
Oakland Museum of California Exhibition Proposal:
The Oakland Black Cowboy Association Parade at 45 Years: Celebrating the History and Communities of the Black American West
Winter 2019
IS 439 Special Collections Seminar
Anna Chen, director of the Clark Library
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Background and Exhibition Overview
Black people have been cowboys and cowhands for essentially as long as the profession has existed. Before the abolition of slavery in the United States, having a job as a cowboy offered relative freedom - solo work on horseback, a gun, and more. After the Civil War, thousands of Black Americans migrated westward, and many found work in the cattle industry. Despite the prevalence of Black cowboys - it’s been estimated that in Texas alone between 1866 and 1895, thousands in the cowboy workforce were Black (Pate 2001) - their history has largely been ignored or forgotten in the general history and mythos of the American West. Sporting events like rodeos solidified its imagery, and “the mythology that has been perpetuated about the American West, cowboy culture, and rodeo privileges whiteness and the contributions of Anglo-Americans” (Patton and Schedlock 2011). Despite the relative lack of attention paid to and scholarship on Black cowboys, there is a wealth of stories to be told and many institutions and organizations dedicated to sharing them and rewriting the assumptions inherent in a whiteness-centered Western mythology.
One of the organizations dedicated to recentering the Black experience in the history of the western United States, particularly California and what is now the Bay Area, is the Oakland Black Cowboy Association. OBCA has held an annual parade in Oakland since 1974, when the organization was known just as the Black Cowboy Association. 2019 will be the 45th anniversary of the parade and thus an excellent time to celebrate its history, the broader history of Black cowboys and ranchers in California and the West, and today’s generation of Black cowboys and cowgirls.
The exhibit will include items from OMCA’s own holdings, including old posters for OBCA’s parade in past years, Juneteenth celebration fliers featuring images of Black cowboys, and other ephemera. Additional objects and materials, such as personal photographs, home movies and sound recordings, should be acquired through consultation and partnership with the community, institutions with related archival materials, and organizations including OBCA and others, such as the Compton Cowboys and Horses in the Hood.
Particular attention will be paid to the history and current community of Black cowboys and cowgirls in the Bay Area; although the focus of many Western exhibits are on the men in the cattle and ranching professions, there were also plenty of women cowhands, ropers, and rodeo riders, and that should be acknowledged and reflected in the exhibition content.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of this proposal can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
Labor and Workforce Sustainability in Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Fall 2019
IS 289-1 Sustainability and Information Professions
Professor Johanna Drucker
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Abstract
Precarious labor - also often referred to as contingent, temporary, grant-funded, or contract labor - in libraries, archives, and museums (LAM) has been an ongoing issue over the past several decades and has only grown in scope and severity. As full-time jobs are eliminated or made out of reach for all but the most highly qualified and experienced (and often privileged), memory and knowledge institutions like libraries (both public and academic), archives, and museums have filled the void with contract positions. These temporary positions vary in length, but many are grant-funded and thus subject to a finite budget source. Contingent positions such as these also frequently do not provide benefits like healthcare or pension plans or allow for workers in those positions to be represented by the union to which their full-time colleagues may belong. Contingent labor issues are by no means limited to the LAM fields - the rise of the gig economy is proof of that - but precarious labor in LAM has some unique contributing factors and effects. This white paper examines the background and context of the issue and explores potential solutions.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of this white paper can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
CORE WORK
Neoliberalism, Race, and Social Justice in LIS
Spring 2019
IS 212 Values and Communities in Information Professions
Professor Sarah Roberts
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Abstract
The library and information science field has long struggled with its overwhelming homogeneity, but it’s only within the last few decades that its deficiencies at the structural level - not just a superficial “diversity” issue - have come under scrutiny. Much of the critical scholarship within and about LIS in this time has approached these fundamental flaws and biases from an anti-racist standpoint; there have also, in more recent years, been more critical pieces regarding the role of capitalism and neoliberalism in the structuring of libraries and archives in the US. Transformational change in LIS, including commitments to anti-racist work and epistemic justice, will require critical analysis of the interwoven nature of racism and neoliberalism in America and its effect on the LIS field. This paper seeks to answer - or at least to begin to unpack - the question of how a critique of neoliberalism can help the LIS field more effectively commit to social justice and anti-racist action.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of this paper can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
COURSE LIST
Fall 2011IS 289 History of Books and Literacy Technologies - Prof. Johanna Drucker
Fall 2018
IS 211 Artifacts and Cultures - Prof. Johanna Drucker
IS 239 Letterpress Lab - Prof. Johanna Drucker
IS 260 Description and Access - Prof. Gregory Leazer
IS 432 Issues and Problems in Preservation of Heritage Materials - Prof. Ellen Pearlstein
Winter 2019
IS 270 Systems and Infrastructures - Prof. Jean-François Blanchette
IS 281-2 Research Methods: Graphics and Historical Illustrations - Rose Roberto, visiting scholar
IS 439 Special Collections Seminar - Anna Chen, director of the Clark Library
Spring 2019
IS 212 Values and Communities in Information Professions - Prof. Sarah Roberts
IS 213 Current Issues in Librarianship - Prof. Gregory Leazer
IS 464 Metadata - Prof. Jonathan Furner
Fall 2019
IS 289-1 Sustainability and Information Professions - Prof. Johanna Drucker
IS 423 Public Libraries - Robert Karatsu, former director of the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library
IS 434 Archival Use and Users - Prof. Michelle Caswell
Winter 2020
GEOG 248 Geographical Political Economy - Prof. Eric Sheppard
IS M238 Environmental Protection of Collections for Museums, Libraries, and Archives - Prof. Ellen Pearlstein
IS 298B PhD Seminar: Methodology of Information Studies, Critical LIS - Prof. Michelle Caswell
Spring 2020
IS 139 Letterpress Lab (modified to Book Arts) - Prof. Johanna Drucker
IS 289-1 Theory and Politics of Collecting - Prof. Shawn VanCour
IS 410 Management Theory and Practice for Information Professionals - Prof. Sarah Roberts
IS 433 Community Based Archives - Prof. Michelle Caswell
ADVISING HISTORY
Faculty Mentorship
The following is a timeline of advising sessions and check-ins, both in-person and via email, with Professor Johanna Drucker, as well as one meeting with Professor Sarah Roberts regarding the UCLA IS PhD program.
2 October 2018: Initial advising check-in and meeting
13 December 2018: Email check-in regarding winter and spring remote advising
19 February 2019: Discussion of spring schedule via email
24 July 2019: Discussion of fall schedule
8 and 22 October 2019: Discussion and revision of issue paper statement via email
15 November 2019: Discussion of applying to UCLA IS PhD program
12 December 2019: Advice on PhD statement of purpose via email
23 January 2020: Chat regarding Clark Library sustainability conference
25 March 2020: Check-in via email
Throughout program: various informal check-ins either in class or in passing
18 November 2019: Chat with Dr. Sarah Roberts regarding applying for UCLA IS PhD program
Outside of formal advising, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Drucker's encouragement of my academic interests and her advocacy allowing me the opportunity to present at the Sustaining Visions conference at the Clark Library in March 2020. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Roberts, Dr. Michelle Caswell, Dr. Gregory Leazer, and Dr. Ellen Pearlstein for their encouragement, advice, constructive criticism, and support throughout my time in the MLIS program.
Peer Mentorship and Collaboration
I would like to acknowledge my 2020 cohort as a source of mentorship, advice, collaboration, friendship, and support (both academic and emotional), as well as a number of the IS PhD students, who were wonderful resources during my PhD application process. I have been inspired by my classmates and look forward to seeing their successes. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Courtney Dean, Lori Dedeyan, and Maggie Hughes for their advice, inspiration, and assistance as I became interested in precarious labor in LIS. I was especially honored to be a part of the Spotlight on Labor session along with them at the Sustaining Visions conference at the Clark Library in March 2020.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of my course list and advising history can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
PhD, UCLA Department of Information Studies
Expected June 2024
Advisor: Dr. Sarah Roberts
MLIS, UCLA Department of Information Studies
Expected June 2020
Advisor: Dr. Johanna Drucker
BA, University of California Berkeley
August 2011
Comparative Literature, focus on Latin and French
Presentations and Exhibits
Conference Presentations
"Precarity, Emotional Labor, and Workforce Sustainability in Library and Information Studies" (7 March 2020) Sustaining Visions: The Future of Special Collections Libraries
Curation
“The Bird Man and the American Woodsman: Scientific and Social Debate in Victorian Ornithological Illustrations” exhibit at UCLA’s Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, March-April 2019
Professional Activity
Leadership
Co-President, SAA @ UCLA, 2019-2020
Co-Chair, UCLA SCA chapter, 2019-2020
Organization Memberships
Society of California Archivists
Society of American Archivists
Progressive Librarians Guild
Los Angeles Archivists Collective
Research
UCLA Department of Information Studies
Graduate Student Researcher with Dr. Sarah Roberts
Beginning Summer 2020
Research for Dr. Roberts' NSF-funded collaborative research project on commercial content moderation done by humans.
Publications
"Precarious Labor, Innovation, and LIS."
Critical Theory and Information Studies (blog)
January 2020
Published as part of Michelle Caswell's Critical Theory and LIS graduate seminar.
"The Stories We Tell: Precarious Labor and Archival Myths."
Acid Free
May 2020
An examination of some common myths about un- or underpaid labor in LIS for Los Angeles Archivists Collective's publication Acid Free's "Fictions" issue.
Experience
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Technical Services - Nov 2018-present
Assisting the technical services team with various tasks such as reflagging, shelf reads, cataloging, archival appraisal, and processing.
bepress
Senior Consultant (Web Design), Operations Associate (Design and Documentation) - Mar 2015-Oct 2018
Consulting, troubleshooting, tech support, metadata best practices, and special collections advice via phone and email for administrators of institutional repositories at academic libraries and open-access scholarly publications. Serving as primary backup to in-house web designer, applying copyediting and scholarly communications skills to help create and maintain internal and client-facing resources and documentation.
UC Berkeley
Library Technical Services - May-Dec 2010
Processing incoming newspapers, microfilm, microfiche and entering them into Millennium ILS; assisting with serials department.
Classics Department Undergraduate Research Assistant - Jan-May 2010
Transcribing 16th century Latin edition of Euripides’ plays using ABBYY Finereader Express.
Δ Δ The full-text PDF of my CV can be viewed and downloaded by following this link Δ Δ
ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT
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UCLA is a land grant institution, and thus I pay my respects to the Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar, which encompasses the Los Angeles basin and South Channel Islands.