By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A master’s degree student and intern at Sitka Public Library is collecting information on user experiences in hopes of helping the library be even better than it is today.
“We do want the library to be an important place in the community,” said Amy Salmon, who is working toward a Master of Science in Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky.
This summer, Salmon is completing an optional internship or practicum in her master’s program, through the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museums.
She’s talking to members of the public about user experiences.
“Anything they’d like to see, suggestions. What they use, if they don’t use the library, why. Negative experiences, and why,” Salmon said. “What the community is looking for in the library ... the goal is to make the library more what the users want it to be.”
Amy Salmon. (Sentinel photo)
Salmon who has never lived in a small town before, says she can see that the library here plays an important role in the community, and hopes her work can lead to “prioritizing what the library is, what it can be in the community.”
Salmon, 48, said she was looking for an internship in an archive or a public library, when the opportunity came up for a paid internship here. She is on an accelerated path toward earning her MSLS degree, with 24 of 36 credits already earned.
It’s been a long and winding path for the University of Delaware graduate, with a number of foreign stops and different careers along the way.
She grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and attended a public school French immersion language program from kindergarten through sixth grade.
“I really took to it,” she said. “I learned the metric system – all of our books were from Canada – I met kids from all over the world, and I grew up wanting to see the whole world.”
In high school, she was an American Field Service foreign exchange student in France, then majored in international relations in college.
She’s had multiple careers, including as a production assistant for Bantam-Doubleday-Dell and an actor in New York City and Los Angeles, with bit parts on “General Hospital” and “As the World Turns.” She was a legal secretary in law offices in NYC and L.A., and a dog groomer in the D.C. suburbs and in Georgia. She taught English as a second language in South Korea, Chiang Mai, Thailand; and China.
While living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Salmon taught English remotely, including to commuters stuck in traffic in Moscow, Russia. In college, she worked for two years in a library for the College of Education.
“I remember loving everything about it, thinking this would be a great job,” Salmon said. “It’s something I put on the back burner. I remember as a kid going to libraries. It was always my happy place.”
Salmon is enjoying her course of study and still doesn’t know whether her career will take her toward a libraries or archives.
After her time spent here – and completing her degree – she also hasn’t ruled out working in a small-town library. She’s been here since July 2 and will wrap up her work August 25, spending time not only on her project, but enjoying the outdoors as well.
“I would encourage the public to reach out and participate in this project,” said Jessica Ieremia. “When the public participates it allows us to create a user-centered library, instead of just guessing what people want.”
Salmon is working with Ieremia to design a series of surveys, and patrons are welcome to fill out all of them, Ieremia said.
Those wanting to weigh in with their views may fill out the surveys at the library, contact Salmon at sitkaintern@gmail.com or call her at the library at 747-4020.
