This I Believe

Based on Edward R. Murrow’s This I Believe project and NPR’s 2004 revival of the project.

I believe in open access. This has always been a defining value in my life, one that took root back in middle school. My rural school received a grant the year I entered sixth grade, a grant that gave every student access to a computer and provided training for teachers to help them utilize this new technology in the classroom. This grant gave us access to a whole new world, one that went far beyond what many students would be able to access in our low income, rural community. In a world where internet access was a luxury for most, and even when your house had internet, it was still dialup, having this level of access at school was powerful. Even early 2000s cultural heritage institutions’ websites gave us inspiring and engaging access to resources we otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to. This early experience emphasized the power that digital access to cultural heritage resources can have.

The impact this grant had on my life and my peers’ lives has always been at the front of my mind and has been a huge reason I’ve gone into the LAM field. Access is a defining value of the professions of libraries, archives, and museums. In fact the American Library Association (ALA, 2010), American Alliance of Museums (AAM, n.d.), and the Society of American Archivists (SAA, 2011), all cite access as a core value. For example, the Core Standards of the AAM emphasize physical and intellectual access to the museum’s resources as a core part of the museum acting as a public trust (AAM, n.d.). The ALA also puts special emphasis on access as applied to digital collections (ALA, 2010), tying this value back to the inciting moment in my life and my goals for the future for digital access. Today, I would love to give back to my younger self, and create the next generation of websites and projects that provide access to cultural and natural heritage resources in engaging and innovative ways.

References

AAM. (n.d) Public Trust and Accountability Standards. American Alliance of Museums. https://www.aam-us.org/programs/ethics-standards-and-professional-practices/public-trust-and-accountability-standards/

ALA. (2010). B.4.6.2 Principles for Digitized Content (Old Number 50.15.2). American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/50natinfosvc

SAA (2011). Core Values of Archivists. Society of American Archivists. https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics